Upper Mustang Trek

Upper Mustang Trek is a popular trek in Nepal that takes you through the remote and ancient kingdom of Upper Mustang. The trek takes you through the barren and arid landscape of the Tibetan plateau, offering breathtaking views of the Himalayan mountain range, including Dhaulagiri and Annapurna.

Mountain Dhaulagiri (8,167m/26,796 feet) and Annapurna I (8,091m/26,546 feet) are the highest peaks in the world. In addition, Tourists can enjoy the view of multiple high mountains over 6000 meters on their hikes.

The trek starts from the city of Pokhara and takes you to the walled city of Lo Manthang, the capital of Upper Mustang. Lo-Mustang is bounded by a wall by its surroundings and ruled by a Jigme Palvar Bista king. Along the way, you’ll visit traditional villages, ancient Buddhist monasteries, and cliff-side caves. You’ll also have the opportunity to interact with the local people and learn about their unique culture and way of life.

The trek requires a special permit, as Upper Mustang is a restricted area, and can only be visited with a government-approved guide. The best time to trek to Upper Mustang is from May to October when the weather is warm and stable.

Mustang is a doorway to exploring lo manthang town and the corolla border to get to Tibet. The best destination for photographers to capture those magnificent arid landscapes. However, it’s a challenging and rewarding trek that offers incredible insight into the remote and little-visited region of Nepal.

The Upper Mustang trek has a moderate level of trek difficulty in terms of the daily walking hours over the sands. It is not as comfortable as the easy treks nor as difficult as the strenuous level treks. However, you can modify the difficulty level to a certain degree to suit your demands.

Price Per Person for 12 days hike in the Upper Mustang route.

If you’re wondering to know about what is included and what is excluded on this trip price, kindly check on cost given on a tab button.

Upper Mustang Trek Itinerary details.

Hike to upper Mustang is a classical trek itinerary compared to most walks in the Tran Himalayan Territory in Nepal. The particular route is designed for world travelers who wish to hike to the upper mustang hike but are restricted time-wise. Travelers who wish to reach Lo Manthang and back in a more relaxed manner can try this best plan. However, email us if you need a customized itinerary.

Drive to Pokhara by tourist bus. On the way, we will see the natural beauty like the Trisuli river which is most popular in Nepal for rafting and we will follow the way almost the bank of the Trisuli and Marsyandi River when we arrive in Pokhara transfer to the hotel.

Reaching Pokhara, you can hike with a guide to explore the Phewa lakeside to visit Tal Barahi temple by boat. Tal Barahi temple is considered to be a symbol of unity and peace. People from different ethnic and religious backgrounds visit the temple and offer prayers, making it a place where people of all backgrounds come together in harmony.

Visitors to the temple are expected to dress modestly and remove their shoes before entering. The temple is open to visitors throughout the year and is a must-visit destination for anyone visiting Pokhara.

Early morning flight from Pokhara to Jomsom airport. Jomsom airport is situated at an altitude of 2,720 meters, the District headquarters of Mustang. Your mustang hike begins right after landing in Jomsom Bazaar. On the first day, we walk to Kagbeni.

Kagbeni fort is the gateway of the Upper Mustang, where you can make your eyes busy with the breathtaking views of Nilgiri, Dhaulagiri, Tukuche peak, and Dhampus. Kagbeni is the most interesting typical Tibetan village and the entry point of the upper Mustang for an overnight stop.

The trail leads up toward the east bank of the Kaligandaki that climbs over many ridges as it heads north and reaches Tangbe Village. The town has narrow alleys among white-washed houses, and fields of buckwheat, barley, wheat, and apple orchards.

The Nilgiri peaks, dominate the southern skyline of Kagbeni. The trek now leaves the Kaligandaki valley and climbs steeply up a rocky gully to Chele guest houses.

The climb continues along steep, treeless, waterless terrain, along the side of the impressive steep canyon to pass and cairn of rock at 3,540 meters. Then the trail makes a long gradual descent to some chortens on a ridge, and the trail descends further into a Samar village.

The Annapurna, still dominated by Nilgiri, is visible far to the south. The route climbs sharply up and down over a series of high passes.

From Gelling, the trail climbs gently to the interesting NYLA pass and descends below the blue, gray and red cliffs. Crossing a steel bridge of the Tangmar chu (river), we will arrive at a prayer MANI WALL perhaps the longest and most splendid stretch of mani wall in Nepal. Climbing over another pass at 3,600 meters, the route makes a long gentle descent to Tsarang.

Tsarang is a village development committee in the Mustang District in the Dhawalagiri Zone of northern Nepal. The huge five-story white Dzong and red Gompa is an interesting visit to observe collections of statues and Thankas paintings of seated Buddha.

The trail descends about 100 meters down from Charang, crosses the Tsarang Chu and climbs steeply up a rocky trail to a cairn on a ridge and continues to climb. Finally, from a ridge at 3,850 meter, there is a perfect view of the walled city of Lo. After a short descent, cross a stream then climb up into the plateau of Lo- Manthang.

Another day in Lo – Manthang gives you an opportunity to explore its many sights; the Tall Champa Lakhang (God house,) the red Thugchen Gompa, Chyodi Gompa, and the Raja’s Palace. As well as to look at the surrounding panoramic views of the Tibetan Plateau and the Himalayas. Besides Lo-Manthang there are two other interesting valleys worth visiting.

The western valley Tingkhar, the sight of Raja’s summer palace, Kimling and Phuwa as well as the Namgyal Gompa (The Monastery of Victory) is the newest and most active Gompa in Lo. In the eastern valley lies the Chosar settlement, also rich in gompas, and the valley is the main trading route to Lhasa.

This is an opportunity to visit two other villages on your return trek. The trail climbs steadily to the pass marked by a cairn, offering a last glimpse of Lo-Manthang. Cross the highest pass this trek and arrive in Ghar Gompa (3920 Meters).

Ghar Gompa is very old comparing the Samye monastery in Tibet, supposed to be built around 730 AD. Crossing the pass around 4100 meters, we descend down to Dhakmar village (3,520 meters) to stay overnight.

From Dhakmar the way goes down to until Ghami (3,460 meters) the huge greenery village in Mustang where we can see the ancient monastery and stupas with. You can see the local houses here like caves. The trail goes ascends until Nyi La pass and descends to Samar through the same route.

Today, we trek descend to Chhusang village. The trail offers panoramic red stone cliffs. While you are in mustang hiking, you are surrounded by desert-dry landscapes including beautiful 35+ mountains. After Chhusang, we climb to Tangbe village foothills and finally reach Kagbeni fort for a lunch stop.

Later lunch, we continue our trek to Jomsom airport walking at the bank of Kaligandaki River. Hike especially from Kagbeni to Jomsom is windy in the afternoon thus better to walk with sunglass. As you hike, you can hunt the Saligram fossils in the Kali Gandaki river.

Ammonites were shelled cephalopods that died out about 66 million years ago. Fossils of them are found in the Kali Gandaki river, sometimes in very large concentrations. Therefore, discovering ammonite fossils in the Kali Gandaki valley is very popular in this zone.

Walk further to the Annapurna conservation check post, check out all permits, and a few steps further, we reach our hotel in Jomsom. Interested tourists can hike at Jomsom eco-museum for a better view of Kali Gandaki valley and Annapurna peaks.

How much does the Upper Mustang trek package price?

Nepal upper mustang trek price is USD 1490 per person on a double occupancy basis. The 11-night 12 days hike in Mustang is a lodge basic trekking that we can offer tourists.

For the deluxe and luxury mustang trekking tour plan, we add Kathmandu – Pokhara – Kathmandu round trip airfare, 3-star category hotel deluxe air-conditioned room in Kathmandu & Pokhara with breakfast. Likewise, a double bedroom with an attached toilet/bathroom while trekking in the possible places. AND WE ARE OPEN TO CUSTOMIZING YOUR TOUR AND PACKAGES PRICE AS PER YOUR REQUIREMENTS.

We can organize a group to join Upper Mustang trekking starting on any date but we can also run this private trip if that works for you. Please contact us for more information.

Question: Is pick-up service available on my arrival day in Kathmandu?

Answer: Yes sure. Provide us with your TIA arrival flight details and request for pickup. Our representative will come to pick up you at Kathmandu international airport.

Question: Can I store my luggage/stuff in Kathmandu?

Answer: Yes, you can leave your luggage at your hotel or at our office. Store your stuff in the Gokyo Treks agency office is for free.

Question: Do I need experience for express Upper Mustang trek?.

Answer: It is suitable for keen trekkers/walkers who are able to walk around 4 or 5 hours a day, with a lightweight daypack. For this trekking – yes, you need to have experience in high altitude – somehow about 9,000 feet above sea level.

Question: What kind of accommodation can I expect at Upper Mustang trek lodge?.

Answer: We provide you with tourist standard accommodation in Kathmandu and during the trekking routes. Rooms in the routes are clean with a cozy bed with a nice mattress and blankets. However we recommend you take your own sleeping bags if you have one with you otherwise, you may rent them while you are in Kathmandu.

Question: What kind of food can I expect in express Upper Mustang trek?.

Answer: All the guest houses/lodges in the trekking have attached restaurants. They cook a delicious range of mostly vegetarian such as Pasta, tuna bakes, noodles, potatoes, eggs, bread, and soups, fresh vegetable rice.

dinner and breakfast are provided in the same lodge you spend the night every day and Lunch will be provided on the way to the next place where you are going.

Question: How do I get drinking water on Upper Mustang standard lodge trekking?.

Answer: There are enough places where you can buy bottled mineral water to drink but we advise against buying mineral water in plastic bottles, as currently there are no provisions for disposing of these. Instead, we provide you with boiled water or bring chlorine tablets to purify the normal water as the normal water is available at the campsite/along the way in the camping trekking.

Question: Can I charge my digital camera or other batteries on my trip?

Answer: During the Tea house trekking there will be more chances to charge the battery. We recommend you bring an extra pair in case. Remember to bring your adapters!

Question: Are there any communication facilities on Upper Mustang lodge trekking days?

Answer: Yes it is possible. You can get telephone service but we advise you to buy a local SIM card for calls and a 4G network. You can buy a daypack as per your wish.

Question: Can I use credit cards in Upper Mustang lodge trek?.

Answer: No possible till now.

Question: When should I book my trip and what are the payment terms?.

Answer: Because our trip books up months in advance, we recommend booking early to avoid any kind of misunderstanding. We will, of course, make every effort to accommodate last-minute bookings.

And regarding the deposit, we prefer a 15% advance deposit [non-refundable] of the total price of the trip in order to confirm your reservation before you arrive in Nepal. And rest of the payment can be made after your arrival in Kathmandu.

Question: Who will carry my luggage on the Upper Mustang trek?

Answer: We do provide porters to transfer your luggage en route daily. As we are a responsible trekking tour operator agency, every porter carries a maximum of 25 kilos of your backpack which means 2 guests (12 kg luggage of each guest): 1 porter basis.

Question: How much distance do I walk each day?

Answer: When walking/trekking in the mountains, the distance you cover each day can vary greatly due to gradient, terrain, and altitude. As such it is very hard to give specific distances for each day, however, you have to be prepared to walk for roughly about 5 hours each day.

Question: Do I need walking poles for the Upper Mustang trek?

Answer: It is better to hike with lightweight walking poles. Learn how to use trekking poles for balance and stability, whether on the sidewalk or on trails. Walking poles can help prevent slips and falls. They are just recommended but not compulsory.

Question: Is there any possibility to hire just a guide and permits?.

Answer: Considering the budget of backpacker travelers, we also offer expert Local Guide/porter hiring services for the Upper mustang trek in Nepal. Normally, to make an Upper Mustang Trek permit, we need a minimum of two people in a group. If you are 2 trekkers and want to go hiring a guide, it is possible to go with the Gokyo Treks Nepal agency.

Question: How much additional money do I need per day?

Answer: You can allocate US$ 08 – 10 for a lunch/dinner in Kathmandu/Pokhara but it depends on your spending habits. US$ 7 to 10 US$ each day will be enough to buy bottles of water, chocolates, tea coffee, and some drinks while you are on your trek.