The Upper Mustang Trekking is an exotic tour to unspoiled Tibetan influenced villages on the Nepalese Himalaya bordering with Tibet. This remote trans-Himalayan mountain region has a distinct Tibetan feel to it, both in its people and culture and in its arid landscape of high cliffs and rocks of unusual formations and colour. The main highlights of upper Mustang trekking are it’s rare medieval Buddhist arts and culture with unique beauty of the Himalayan desert in high altitude. Foreigners were not allowed to enter Upper Mustang until 1992 and was not much in contact with rest of Nepal, which keeps an aura of a remote, mysterious and unusual land that is one of the unique charms of the upper Mustang trekking. All their festivals are religious in nature, the Tiji festival being the biggest festival that usually happens between April and May each year. This small medieval kingdom in the vast desert was ruled by local king and was once considered as a forbidden kingdom until the 90s. The capital called Lo Manthang, a walled complex with the houses of local nobilities and monasteries and also the caves with interesting history will be one of the main attractions of the upper Mustang trekking adventure.
Mustang trekking is located in restricted trekking area. It is necessary for international trekkers to buy special trekking permit for upper mustang trekking and costs USD 50 per day, and it is compulsory to buy 10 days trekking permit. It means minimum 500 US $ only for permit charge and there must be at least two trekkers followed by a guide to go to the Upper Mustang region because the Department of Immigration will not issue trekking permit to mustang trek for an individual and also a licensed trekking guide is compulsory.
We are here to take you to one of the most exotic and isolated Tibetan settlement in Nepal during the Tiji festival. Tiji festival is a fascinating annual three-day festival consisting of Tibetan rituals. Apart from the culture, you can also witness a deserted Himalayan landscapes and historical caves, Gumpas and small chhortens along the trek which are one of a kind.
We start our actual trek from Jomsom after a drive from Kathmandu to Pokhara and then a flight to land on Jomsom airport from Pokhara. From Jomsom, we trek northwards into the heart of upper Mustang reaching the region’s capital Lo Manthang after 5 days of trekking through amazing villages and stunning landscapes which is one of a kind. We spend two days in this ancient city of Lo Manthang before returning to Jomsom for our return flight via a slightly different route that takes in the pilgrimage site of Muktinath, a holy place for both the Hindus and Buddhist pilgrims.
Upper Mustang trek is also popular for a 4WD Jeep tour or a dirt bike tour for a thrilling adventure; needless to say that it’s a heaven for landscape and travel photographers and videographers. Explore Hub Nepal organises an intimate landscape Photography Treks especially focusing on amateur and professional photographers in a places like Upper Mustang for an absolutely stunning portfolio.
The festival date 24, 25 & 26
A distinct Tibetan feel you can expect from both in its people and culture. The arid landscape of high cliffs and rocks of unusual formations and colour will mesmerise your feelings and a perfect place to capture those unique moments of rare medieval Buddhist arts and culture and scenic beauty. There are also so many natural and manmade caves which holds historic and cultural values across a once forbidden kingdom.
Welcome to Nepal. Our team is thrilled to greet you on your very first day of your visit to Kathmandu. We will provide a private car to pick you up from the airport and take you to the hotel for your convenience. The hotel is located at Thamel, which is a hub for the tourists in Kathmandu. The dinner will be hosted by Explore Hub Nepal.
On this day, we will assign you a guide who will be leading your trek providing all the necessary information about Nepal and do the preparation thoroughly. We will also do the permits arrangements on this day while you are engaged in sightseeing around Kathmandu. Sightseeing includes the visit on UNESCO world heritage listed sites such as Pashupatinath, Boudhanath stupa, Swayambhu (monkey temple), Kathmandu Durbar Square etc. as your preferences.
After breakfast, we set off early to drive to Pokhara. The road winds its way out of Kathmandu Valley along the Trishuli River until the point we stop for lunch when the road becomes flatter.
On the way, we catch glimpse of mountains in the distance. On arrival in Pokhara, there are even more stunning mountains to see. In fact, you cannot escape the gaze of Machhapuchchhre (also known as Fishtail) that towers over the city. After checking into your hotel, you have time to explore the lakeside area, boating on Fewa lake, visit one of many bars and restaurants before dinner or simply relax.
*Note: We normally use tourist bus, which are to a high standard. But if you would like to hire a private vehicle or a flight then please let us know.
We get up earlier to witness a magical sunrise from Sarangkot viewpoint. It is just 20 minutes drive from the lakeside and the whole Pokhara valley with fishtail and Annapurna range towards the North can be witnessed during golden-hour. After sunrise, we will come back to our hotel in Pokhara and then take a private jeep to Tatopani. Tatopani is one of the popular hotspring in Nepal, specially because it is not too far from Pokhara and it is also on our way towards Mustang. We reach Tatopani in between 4 and half hours to five hours drive from Pokhara. After reaching our hotel, we will then go to the hot-spring to relax our body and enjoy our day after a long drive.
After breakfast at a hotel in Tatopani, we will slowly move towards Marpha village in a private jeep drive for around 4 hours. Marpha is one of a popular and unique village in lower Mustang region. It’s distinct houses in white colour and apple farming with rich Thakali culture will make our stay special and memorable. After exploring Marpha village, we will take a short drive towards Dhumba lake which is close from Marpha village and Jomsom village. Infact, many Nepalese movies have been shot in Marpha village and also in this lake.
Early morning after having Thakali breakfast in Marpha, we start our ride towards Muktinath village. In between, we stop in some other cool villages in lower Mustang region like Jomsom and Kagbeni. Muktinath is one of holy place for both Hindu and buddhist pilgrims. It has both cultural and geographical significance in Mustang region. Many Hindus from all around Nepal and even from India visit Muktinath temple for spiritual blessings. Muktinath is also one of a destination for people doing Annapurna circuit trek. After crossing the highest pass in the world, Thorong Pass (5,416m), muktinath is a resting camp for the trekkers. They have lots of hotels and teahouses. There is also plenty of old and new monasteries to explore in Muktinath.
Today, we will start our journey towards Upper Mustang region. After 20 minutes drive down towards Kagbeni, we head towards Chusang village. Kagbeni is a junction and serves as a border between lower Mustang and Upper Mustang. We need to do an entry of our special permits for Upper Mustang in Kagbeni ACAP checkpoint. We continue our Jeep ride towards Dhakmar village by passing villages like Chusang, Samar, Ghami etc. The deserted mountain landscapes along the way is something special and magical about this region. Dhakmar is another small village with nice rural settlements and some cool rugged landscapes. Overnight stay in a teahouse in Dhakmar.
Today’s drive will be towards Charang which is just and hour drive from Dhakmar village. But, we will be exploring the many significant surroundings in Charang village. Charang village is situated at an altitude of around 3,570m above sea level. It has lots of historical and cultural values with many old and new Tibetan Buddhist influenced monasteries, specially with one of the oldest monasteries in Nepal and Tibet (Ghara Gompa), one of the oldest palace in Upper Mustang region, and beautiful looking Chortens (stupas) and landscapes. We will also visit another places like Ghara, Yara village , Dhigaon, and some old caves during our day tour. Overnight stay in a teahouse in Charang.
This is another short ride day from Charang to Lomanthang which is just an hour. But, once we reach Lomanthang, we will be doing lots of side trips in it’s surroundings. The first sightseeing will be the Jhong cave in Choser village. Choser village is the last settlement of Upper Mustang towards the Nepal-China border (Korala border). Jhong cave is believed to be around 800 years old manmade multi-storied cave. There are more than 40 different rooms inside a cave with natural skylight and ventilation. From the window of Jhong cave, you can see the stunning views of Choser valley and surrounding mountains. If we get time, we can also visit a tiny hot-spring nearby after coming back from Choser valley.
Tiji festival is a fascinating annual three-day festival consisting of Tibetan rituals which includes traditional dancing of a masked man, horse riding, archery, etc. within the 3 days of celebration. There will be a massive gathering of locals and the visitors to watch this festival and you can see that all the local tea houses have 100% occupancy of the guests during this period. You will have an opportunity to visit several old monasteries that performs Buddhist rituals every morning from 6:00 am throughout the Tiji festival time. This ancient village also has many vintage shops to see and buy locally made antics souvenirs that showcase an ancient Tibetan culture and tradition.
We will take a Jeep ride from Lo Manthang to Jomsom which will be roughly 6 -7 hours of ride. After reaching Jomsom, we will take rest and enjoy the view of Nilgiri himal and overnight stay at the hotel.
We will take an early morning flight to Pokhara from Jomsom after having a breakfast at the hotel. It is roughly 20 minutes flight. After reaching Pokhara, we will take a rest at the hotel we will stay for that day and later on take a little tour around the lakeside area. Overnight stay at the hotel.
The flight of Jomsom is weather dependant as it is a very windy valley. The flights are usually done during the morning time until 10:00 am and sometimes there is a chance of flight cancellation because of bad mountain weather.
This will be a final day of our Tiji Festival trip to Upper Mustang. After having a breakfast at the hotel, we will head towards the Pokhara domestic airport and catch a flight to Kathmandu. It will be around 20 minutes of flight overlooking the mountain range. After arriving Kathmandu, we will do a final shopping tour around Thamel area to buy gifts or souvenirs. Evening time will be a farewell dinner celebration for the success of Tiji festival trip.
