Itinerary of 10 Days Upper Mustang Trek in Nepal

Facts About 10 Days Upper Mustang Trek
Region	Annapurna Conservation Area
Highest Elevation	3870m (Tasrang-La Pass)
Difficulty	Moderate
Trek Duration	10 Days
Distance	70 KM
Starting Point	Pokhara
Ending Point	Pokhara
Permits Required	Restricted Area Permit ACAP Permit TIMS
Best Season to Visit	Spring (March to May) Autumn (October to December)

 

Mustang is divided into two parts as upper and lower area. Both areas have their own culture, tradition, language, living style and geographical structure. Here we are mostly talking about the upper part of the Mustang.

Unique culture is the first attraction of the upper Mustang. The culture is inspired by ancient Tibetan culture. It is believed that the ancient Tibetan culture is still in practice over there. People in the upper Mustang celebrate all those Tibetan festivals wisely. Tiji and horse riding festivals are notable festivals. Natural landscapes of the upper Mustang through the Kaligandaki corridor is another attraction.

The desert vegetation beyond the Himalayas and high elevation is a major thing for study. It could be the best place for researchers to research geographical vegetation. Several Buddhist monasteries are another attraction of the upper Mustang. Thubchen Gompa, Namgyal Monastery and Choede Monastery are the remarkable monasteries in the upper Mustang. Mysterious sky caves are also the things to explore in the upper Mustang.

This 10 days upper Mustang trek itinerary starts and ends from/to Pokhara. One need to combine his/her other required duration with our given schedule. You can customize this itinerary, can shorten by using drive in the available area and extend by staying in short camps.

Day 01 - Fly from Pokhara to Jomsom and Trek to Kagbeni (2800m).

Today is the first day of our trek and you start by flying to the beautiful Jomsom town from Pokhara in the early morning. Jomsom lies at the lap of the Annapurna and Dhaulagiri mountains so the flights take place in the morning because the day is windy.

After reaching Jomsom you will start our trek from Jomsom towards the Kagbeni village. you will follow the bank of the Kaligandaki river, passing by the apple and potato farms. Overnight at Kagbeni teahouse.

Day 02 - Kagbeni to Chele (3050m).

Kagbeni is the starting point of the restricted area. After checking our permits you will start our Upper Mustang trek. you will follow the upstream of the windy Kali Gandaki river reaching the Tangbe village.

You will pass by the barley and buckwheat fields, and apple farms in between beautiful villages. Finally reaching Chele you will stop for the night here.

Day 03 - Chele to Ghilin (3530m).

After breakfast, we will start the trek. Today’s trek is a comparatively hard one among other days. You will cross the two beautiful passes, Dajori La pass (3,735) and Taklam La pass (3,624m). The magnificent views of Tilicho, Yakawa Kang and Damodar Danda and Ramchung cave is seen from the trail. You will descend to reach Samar village before you further start the steep descent to reach Ghilin. Overnight at the teahouse.

Day 04: Ghilin to Charang (3570m).

After breakfast, you can start your trek ascending Yamada La pass (3,850m) through the teahouse, chorten and beautiful villages. Then you will trek through the poplar forest, barley field to reach Nyi Pass (4,010m) from where you will descend down towards the beautiful Ghami village. Next, you will descend down first to cross the Ghami Khola.

After crossing the river, you will start our uphill climb to reach the Tasrang-La pass (3870m). You have to pass through the beautiful mani walls to reach the Charang village. Charang village lies at the top of Charang Chu canyon with a huge fortress and a red gompa towards its east. Overnight at Charang tea house.

Day 05 - Charang to Lo Manthang (2840m).

After breakfast, we descend down to the canyon and cross the river before we start our climb towards Lo pass (3950m). Beautiful Lo Manthang village is seen from the top of the pass. From the top, we will then descend down towards the beautiful walled village. The magnificent view of the Himalayas including Nilgiri, Tilicho and Annapurna I, Bhrikuti Peak and Damodar Kunda can be seen. Overnight at Lo Manthang tea house.

Day 06 - Lo Manthang to Ghami (3520m).

After breakfast, you will descend down the same trail as you came to Lo Manthang. The trial is up and down crossing the rivers and climbing the passes. Beautiful Annapurna and Dhaulagiri mountains will be around you throughout the trail. Overnight at Ghami.

Day 07 - Ghami to Samar (3445m).

You will further follow the Kaligandaki river going back towards the Samar village. Overnight at Samar teahouse.

Day 08 - Samar to Kagbeni.

You will further follow the Kaligandaki river going back towards the Kagbeni village. The restricted area ends here. You can check out after reaching Kagbeni check post. Overnight at Kagbeni.

Day 09 - Kagbeni to Jomsom.

Today is the last day of our trek. The trail is almost flat and easy going. Jomsom is the last point of the trek. Jomsom has good facilities for hotels and restaurants. Overnight at Jomsom hotel.

Day 10 - Jomsom to Pokhara.

Today you will take an early morning flight to Pokhara. The tiny aircraft passes through a gorge between Annapurna and Dhaulagiri mountains making the flight itself amazing. Overnight at Pokhara hotel.

Upper Mustang trek is moderately difficult. Trek starting elevation is 2800m and ending at 3840 but in some points, you have to cross passes above 3900m. The vegetation makes it difficult, requiring physical fitness and walking through the thin air could make you weak.

Permits require for every trekking in Nepal. Trekkers required an ACAP permit, TIMS permit and a special area permit required to visit the upper Mustang of Nepal. The cost of ACAP is NPR 3000 per person, TIMS is NPR 2000 per person and the special permit is USD 500 per person for the first 10 days and USD 50 per person /Day beyond 10 days. Two regular permits can be obtained from TAAN and Nepal tourism board but for a special area permit, you need to get it from Nepal immigration.

Basic guest houses and lodges are available for your stay in the upper Mustang region. You may get a twin sharing room or dormitory in these lodges. They offer various food menus, mostly Nepalese and continental foods. Local cooks will serve you all these foods with their own taste. Jomsom has luxurious guest houses, services and more varieties of foods available. Until Kagbeni electricity and mobile network is available, after that in some places electricity can be found like mobile signals.

Upper Mustang trek costs a little higher than other regular treks in Nepal, even more than Everest base camp trek. It’s not a mass trek, the entrance fee is also high so limited people visit.

Upper Mustang has no specific season as you can visit almost throughout the year. Only in the two winter months from January and February, snowfall could affect your trip. Autumn and Spring are the best time to visit as per climate and temperature.

The desert vegetation of the upper Mustang is suitable for trekking in the monsoon season. The flight connection from Pokhara to Jomsom depends on climate so sometimes you may face a sudden cancellation. In such a situation, a dive back via Beni is possible, you can get a private hire Jeep as well as a public bus transfer.

Related Article: Best time to Visit Mustang