Upper mustang trek

This day we follow the high trail or the riverbed route, depending on the height of the river. The trail ascends immediately to a ridge and then descends and climbs over another ridge. After few more ups and downs and a short climb, the trail gets you to Tangbe, the labyrinth of narrow alleys amongst white washed houses, fields of buckwheat, barley, wheat and apple orchards. Leaving Tangbe you come across Gompa Kang and some caves on the west bank of the river. The Gompa is inaccessible from the town when the water level in the Kali Gandaki is high. Further along, walk for an hour to reach Chhuksang village at the confluence of the Narshing River and the Kali Gandaki. Cross the Narshing river either wading or hopping from boulder to boulder, go past numerous ups and downs to end up at Chele. The cultural transformation from the Manangi to that of Tibetan is distinctly evident in this village, where most of the houses have unique sheep horns above the doorways and many twigs in the shape of a cross with threads in five colors woven in a diamond- shaped pattern, known as zor, supposedly used for warding off evil spirits.

The rest of the trek to Lo Manthang is via high altitude barren region, climbing in and out of the vast Kali Gandaki valley. The trail from Chele is up a steep spur to a cairn with a view of Ghyakar, and its fields encircled by a long wall of packed earth. The ascent continues past Chele La pass at 3630m and enters a huge side valley making a long gradual descent to Samar, which is surrounded by a grove of poplar trees and is a chief stopping place for horse caravans. Looking around, we can still see the Annapurnas and Nilgiri in the south. The trail climbs up and down past few houses in Bhena before approaching another pass, the Yamdo La pass at 4010m. After passing over Yamdo La, descend steeply following a ridge to Shyangmochen. A brief subtle climb to the Shyangmochen La at 3850m puts you on a route that enters another huge valley which, in turn, leads you to an intersection. Head to the left to reach our overnight destination, Tama Gaon.

Passing below Tama Gaon, follow the direct trail which later becomes a rigid climb across the head of the valley to the Nyi La pass at 4020m, locally known as Jaite La. The descent from the pass is fairly gentle. But then, the trail drops steeply to Ghemi, a large settlement distinguished by scores of white washed houses surrounded by hectares and hectares of field.

Drop down to a bridge across the Tangmarchu and climb up onto a broad plain. What we’re going to witness now is quite remarkable- An undisputed contender for the longest prayer wall in Nepal, more than 400m long, about 2.5 m tall mani wall adorned by the hues of mountains reflecting on its surface. Beyond the mani wall, the trail climbs a rocky channel, and then traverses to the Choya La pass at 3870m. Later, gently descend and ramble across the fields to Charang.

Leaving behind Charang, we tread on a steep rocky trail to a cairn on a crest into the Tholung valley. The trail then crosses a stream, then becomes an expansive thoroughfare traveling across desert like terrain tinted in hues of grey and yellow. A short descent from Lo advances you to a trail that crosses a stream and climbs up on the plateau of the walled city of Lo Manthang, the entrance of which is at the northeastern corner.

In Lo Manthang, there are around 150 houses, nestled in close proximity to each other. The doors of most houses open onto a two storey open central courtyard and the floors are used as the storage space. A wooden staircase leads to the first storey, which characteristically has a veranda overlooking the courtyard and doors leading off to living rooms and the kitchen. A jagged log leads to the roof surrounded by enormous stacks of juniper twigs and firewood. Every house has toilet on the upper floor that drops into a ground floor chamber and ashes from the hearth are dumped into the toilet to eliminate smell, and the resulting product is used as organic fertilizer. The best way to get a look at the town is to climb up onto the roof of one of the houses. There are four major temples within the periphery of the city walls- namely, Jampa Lhakang, Thubchen Gompa, Chodey Gompa and Choprang Gompa. The King’s palace, a magnificent four storey building, is in the centre of the city. Though only ceremonial, the king is still respected by the locals and consulted about many issues by villagers through Lo. You have two full days to look around the city and the surrounding area. Savour the breathtaking views of the Annapurnas, take a walk to Namgyal Gompa, ‘the monastery of victory, situated in a spectacular setting atop a deserted ridge.

While returning back to Ghemi, we take an alternative high route through monastery at Lo Gekar heading west, contouring the top of the valley and climbing gradually to the Marang La pass (4050m). amidst the landscapes that are exceptionally gorgeous. After we get into the village of Lo Ghekar, a little further down, the trail reaches grassy pastures on which Ghar Gompa stands, which looks more like a house than a Gompa and is surrounded by basic living quarters for monks and pilgrims. This Gompa is festooned with paintings and statues and has numerous large prayer wheels as well. We keep on the route to our next pass, the Mu-I La, pass through alpine meadows, drop steeply down a rocky path through fluted red and purple cliffs, into an eroded channel, eventually leading us to Dhakmar, meaning ‘Red Crag’. The surroundings here are relatively fine looking and the remaining hour’s walk back to Ghemi is one of the most pleasant paths in the whole Kingdom.

Continue to retrace back to Jomsom from Ghemi passing through Tamagaon, Shyangmochen and Samar making the night stops at Chele and Kagbeni, and the following day the descent to Eklai Bhatti eventually leads us to Jomsom where you have ample time to relax.

We take an early morning flight back to Pokhara where you can relax sitting by the Phewa Lake with the magnificent backdrop views of Annapurna range, including the Fish-tail summit of Machhapuchhare or indulge in shopping and recreation. You can also visit some famous landmarks of the city.

The very next day, we take a flight back to the capital. Time permitting, you can roam around the inner sections of the city, make a visit to the numerous temples and shrines. Finally, make preparations for your flight out of Kathmandu.