Damodar Kund Tour via Muktinath is a longest and most popular pilgrimage tour in the Himalayas. Located in Upper Mustang at an altitude of 4890m, the trek to Damodar Kunda is an arduous but rewarding journey to a most sacred natural spot. According to Hindu Puran, visiting the lake absolves one of all sins. Damodar Kunda actually consists of three lakes: Brahma Kunda, Rudra Kunda and Ananta Kunda.
This tour involves trekking through some of the most rugged and beautiful landscapes in the Himalaya, visiting culturally rich places like Jomsom, Kagbeni, Chele, Samar, Charang, Yara and passing through many Buddhist sites including Luri, Jhampa and Thupchen Gompas. Other highlights of this tour are the visit small walled capital city of Lo Manthang and the sacred Muktinath (Chumig Gyatsa) Temple, both carrying fascinating history and artifacts.
All along the trail you will have cross through several high Himalayan passes that affords plenty of opportunity to witness towering Himalayan peaks such as Dhaulagiri, Annapurna, Damodar Himal, Lamjung Himal, etc. along with world's deepest Kali Gandaki Gorge.
After early morning breakfast, you will be picked up from the hotel and taken to the tourist bus station. Drive from Kathmandu to Pokhara (914m.) take most of our morning time, reaching Pokhara for afternoon sightseeing. If you choose to fly, you can reach Pokhara in 25 minutes as plenty of flights operate daily from Kathmandu to Pokhara.
Pokhara is the tourist's paradise with full of natural as well as cultural heritage sites such as lakes, caves, Buddhist monasteries and Hindu temples along with the magnificent views of Lamjung Himal, Annapurna, Dhaulagiri and several other mountain peaks. Stay overnight at hotel in Pokhara.
You take the spectacular early morning flight to Jomsom. The trail is quite barren with craggy rocks and sand and is mostly flat, which makes it easy going. Take in thhe views of big peaks all including Dhaulagiri, Tukuche,Nilgiri and the entire Annapurna Massif. Stay overnight at lodge.
You trek right up to the river valley. The trail then widens significantly revealing an endless stretch of sand. Chusang village is only about a 2hrs walk beyond Tangbe located at the confluence of the Narshing Khola and the Kali Gandaki. Stay overnight at lodge.
The trek now leaves the valley and climbs steeply up a rocky alley to the village of Chele. From Chele you climb a steep spur then continue ascending along the side of a spectacular steep canyon to a pass. Beyond the pass you descend on a pleasant trail to Samar, situated in a grove of poplar trees. Stay overnight at lodge.
You climb above Samar to a ridge and then descend into a large gorge past a chorten before entering another valley filled with Juniper trees. You further cross a stream and after climbing to a pass, you descend along a ridge to Shyangmochen, a tiny settlement with a few tea shops. The trail climbs gently from Shyangmochen and you enter another huge valley before descending to Geling with its extensive fields of barley. Stay overnight at lodge.
From Geling the trail climbs gently through fields, up to the center of the valley, passing above the settlement of Tama Gun and an imposing chorten. You then begin a taxing climb across the head of the valley to the Nyi La [3840m]. The descent from the pass is quite gentle and about half an hour later you come to a trail junction; the right trail is goes to Charang, the left trail leads to Ghami. Ghami is a large white-washed village sheltered by overhanging cliffs. Stay overnight at lodge.
Today's walk is perhaps through the driest part of Mustang. Charang is a large spread-out village at the top of the Charang Chu canyon. At the eastern end of the village are a huge dzong [fortress] and a red Gompa which houses an excellent collection of statues and thangkas. Stay overnight at lodge.
You will spend part of the morning exploring the interesting village of Charang and its large monastery, before setting out for Lo Manthang. You climb gently above the valley to a large isolated chorten that marks the boundary between Charang and Lo. The trail then broadens and eventually you get your first view of the walled city of Lo Manthang. The city has only one entrance so you circumambulate the wall to the gate on the north east corner. Stay overnight at lodge.
Today is a rest day at Lo-Manthang. You will acclimatize with the weather and climate by spending the day exploring nearby caves and villages, visiting Jhampa and Thupchen Gompas and take a short hike up to Tingkhar. You can additionally make a short drive to Tibetan border if you are interested. Stay overnight at lodge.
You will resume your trek today towards Dhi village passing a canyon. The trail crosses Lo la pass at 3960m and becomes flat before the final short stretch of steep climb to the village of Yara. Yara is a small settlement featuring cliffs and Tashi Kabum cave that houses rare paintings and a stupa. Stay overnight at lodge.
After breakfast take a short hike to Luri Gompa as the trail follows Puyung Khola. Luri Gompa belongs to Nyingma Sect of Buddhism. After exploration you will return to Yara. Stay overnight at lodge.
Today you will cross one of the highest passes on this trek. The trail follows a barren, rugged trail and climbs up to 5100meter pass which offers panoramic views of the valley across. From here it is another 2 hour hike to Ghuma Thanti. Stay overnight at tented camp.
This is the day you will visit Damodar Kunda, one of the high altitude wetlands in the Himalayas. The trail involves climbing up to 5600meter pass and then the path levels all the way to Damodar Kunda. Stay overnight at tented camp.
Damodar Kunda is sacred among Buddhists and Hindus. Composed of three small lakes, the Kunda offers beautiful views of Damodar and Annpurna peaks. Stay overnight at tented camp.
After exploring Damodar Kunda you will return the same route to Ghuma Thanti. So the trail once again crosses 5600m high pass. Stay overnight at tented camp.
Return to Yara Village today. Though there are frequent ascents and descents initially, the trail levels from midway to Yara village. Stay overnight at tented camp.
The rugged trail continues with a steep ascent. In no time you will reach Luri Gomba from where the trail goes down to Decchyang Khola. The river is famous for Shaligram fossils. The trail then rises up to a pass at 3850m and then dips to the village of Tange that features Buddhist chortens. Stay overnight at lodge.
The trail from Tange to Tetang passes by deep ridges and rolling hills to drop down to Kali Gandaki valley. Magnificent views of Nilgiri and Dhaulagiri is visible once you reach Tetang. Stay overnight at lodge.
The trail ahead is an uphill one all the way to Muktinath. En route you will come across maniwall and beautiful views of Dhaulagiri peak. Muktinath or Chumig Gyatsa is a sacred temple revered both by Buddhists and Hindus. You can explore the temple in the afternoon. Stay overnight at lodge.
Today we continue down the trail for first two hours and then walk through the flat path till we reach Jomsom. Stay overnight at lodge.
The flight is a scenic one with panoramic views of Himalayan peaks, especially Annapurna, Dhaulagiri, Nilgiri etc. and Kaligandaki River. The flight to/from Jomsom is operated only in the morning because of high wind in afternoon time. Stay overnight at hotel in Pokhara
After breakfast early morning, drive from Pokhara to Kathmandu that takes about seven hours. En route, you will enjoy the mountain views, green sceneries, rice terraced fields, vegetable fields and people engaged in their daily life activities. If you choose to fly back to Kathmandu from Pokhara, it takes jsut about 25 minutes. There are plenty of flights from Kathmandu to Pokhara from morning to afternoon.
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