Kinddom of Mustang |
Explorers
such as Professor David Snellgrove and the Italian scholar
Guiseppi Tucci and Michel Peissel visited Mustang in the
1950s and it has largely been their tales of a Tibetan-like
arid region locked off from the outside world that has fuelled
interest in the area. Recognizing the special nature of
this old, tiny kingdom, the Nepalese have imposed a surcharge
for anyone wishing to trek past Kagbeni, the border of Upper
Mustang. With legal trekking groups only being allowed in
for the first time in March 1992, you would be part of a
small privileged minority to visit this remote outpost of
Nepal. This is the famed “Land of Lo” Forbidden
and isolated to world for centuries, during which its own
culture and traditions evolved. Actually the capital of
the Mustang district is Jomsom, but the real Tibetan-style
district lies north of Kagbeni and is usually referred to
as Upper Mustang.
The real capital, Lo Manthang, where the present king lives,
is a fantastic square-walled town sitting on the 'Plain
of Prayers'. Mustang has an average elevation of 13,200ft/4,023m
and is located to the north of the mountain giants of Dhaulagiri
and Annapurna and is therefore north of the main Himalayan
range and geographically is part of the highlands of Tibet.
It is a vast high arid valley, characterised by eroded canyons,
colorful stratified rock formations and has a barren, desert
like appearance. One of the most fascinating features of
Mustang is literally thousands of cliff dwellings, some
of which look completely inaccessible. The most recent theory
is that they may date from 8- 10,000 BC when Mustang was
a much greener land. Naturally, most of the history is now
a matter of legend rather than recorded fact, but it seems
clear that Lo was once part of Ngari, part of Tibet and
a rather loose collection of feudal domains. It was incorporated
into the Tibetan Empire under the most famous of the Tibetan
kings, Songtsengampo.
It was an important means of crossing the Himalaya from
Tibet to Nepal, and many of the old salt caravans passed
through Mustang. By the 14th Century much of Ngari became
part of the Malla Empire, whose capital was Sinja in western
Nepal. Really, it became an independent kingdom in its own
right, under the rule of Ame Pal, the founder king of Lo
in 1380. The present royal family can trace its history
25 generations back to Ame Pal and the city of Lo Manthang,
which you will visit, was the centre of their power. In
more recent times in the 1960s, Mustang became the centre
for Tibetan guerrilla fighters, who carried out small operations
against the occupying Chinese. The CIA assisted them and
the Tibetan Khampas were secretly trained in America. With
Nixon's visit to China in the 1970s, the CIA's support was
withdrawn and the Nepalese managed to disband these resistance
fighters. We have given considerable thought to our Mustang
itinerary and it does not skimp in terms of time spent within
the kingdom. It does give you the opportunity to visit the
main town, Lo Manthang, and returns to Jomsom via a different
route.
|
|
|
|
Fact Box |
Duration of
the trek: |
20 Days |
Total days |
23 Days |
Maximum elevation |
Nyala Pass (3950m) |
Trek grade |
Strenuous/Moderate |
Destination
|
Lo-Manthang (Capital
of Mustang) |
Accommodations |
Camping |
Geography
|
Countryside
/ Small town, cold places, Mountains |
Transportation |
Car / Van
/ plane |
Minimum Group Size:
|
2 |
Itinerary
type |
Fixed |
Best Season |
February,
March, April, May, October, November |
Per day Walking: |
5 to 7 hours
|
People & Culture
|
Mar
- May-Oct to Nov |
Himalayan sights: |
Annapurna,
Dhaulagiri, Nilgiri, Mustang himal etc |
Most Attraction of the
trek: |
landscape,
culture, special permits area, monestary |
|
|
|
Day
to Day Itinerary |
|
Day
-01: |
Arrive
to Kathmandu & transfer to the Hotel |
Day-02:
|
Kathmandu sightseeing
We will be visiting three of the famous heritage
sites in Kathmandu. You will visit first the
Swayambunath Stupa (Monkey Temple). It is said
that Swayambunath Stupa is more than 2,000 years
old, and it symbolizes knowledge. The painted
eyes on all four sides symbolize the all-seeing
power of Buddha. It is an important Buddhist
place where pilgrims from all over the world
come. It is situated to the west of the city
on a hill some 77 meters above the valley.
It is a 30 minutes drive to Boudhanath Stupa,
another important Buddhist pilgrims site. This
ancient Stupa is considered one of the biggest
in the World. Every morning and evening, many
Buddhist devotees come here to pray and circumambulate
enabling the visitors to observe local religious
practices.
The sacred Hindu temple Pashupatinath is considered
the holiest cremation ground, and people bathe
in the Bagmati River with a faith of cleansing
themselves spiritually. Many Sadhus or Hindu
Ascetics live here. During religious festivals,
Hindus come to make offerings, and it is sometimes
very crowded.
Evening on your own. Hotel accommodation in
Kathmandu.
|
Day-03
: |
Driven
or fly to Pokhara. The bus ride will
take about 8 hrs. You will take the short flight,
which offers sensational views of the Greater
Himalaya.Pokhara is Nepal's second largest city;
enjoy a relaxing boat ride on Phewa Lake. overnight
at Hotel. |
Day-04
: |
Fly
to Jomsom (9,000ft / 2,743) & Begin Trek to
Kagbeni. (9,500ft/ 896m)
Early morning flight to Jomosom (2700m), if the
weather is clear the high peaks of the Annapurna
range will appear almost close enough to reach
out and touch. Jomsom is a relatively new town
that is now home to the local government and an
army base. Clear our permits. Short trek to Kagbeni
(2850m/9400ft), and the day to acclimatise. As
we enter into Kagbeni, legend says that one should
think good thoughts when going through the gate,
leaving all bad will outside the town. (2.5 hours)
|
Day-05
: |
Kagbeni
– Chele / Tshe - Le (3050m) - 7 hours
After Kagbeni almost immediately the path climbs
quite steeply up into the Upper Mustang and trail
keeps to the east bank of Kaligandaki River. Chele
is quite closer to the Cluster of 16 caves and
old habitat of Lamas. After the police checkpoint
in Kagbeni, we then officially enter the restricted
region of Mustang. We trek up the kali Gandaki
valley, with the Annapurna range to the south,
we get to view peaks as high 7485m/24550ft Khangsar
Khang. Onto Chhuksang, which is a truly beautiful
place set deep in the kali Gandaki canyon, with
red, orange and silver/grey cliffs. Surrounded
by the inaccessible cliff dwellings in the large
red rock face opposite Chhuksang. These are also
quite common throughout Mustang. They were carved
out and lived in by Buddhist hermits. After lunch
at Chhuksang we trek and follow the Kali Gandaki
river past a town called Chele, and the Chele
Canyon. Some places literally carved into the
cliff-side. We stay ovenight at Tse- Le. |
Day-06
: |
Chele
– Ghilling (3800m) - 7 hours
This day we trek our first mountain pass at 3320m/10,881
ft. Samar is a small village set in a grove of
poplar trees, with a spectacular view of the valley
below it. (6 hours) Two trails are leading to
Ghilling: the simplest one on the hillside takes
4 hours, the other one follows the 'pilgrims trail'
and takes more time. We will take it. At first
a steeply drop into a canyon will lead us to an
other world…. here we will find a holy cave
fervently venerated by the inhabitants (especially
a chorten shaped stalactite). Through a spectacular
canyon Shyangmochen |
Day-07
: |
Ghilling
to Tsarang (3500mvisit red, black and white small
chortens) - 5 hours
On a clear day the kitchen team will lay out an
alfresco breakfast for us and what an appropriate
place for it. The day begins with us heading North
West up to Nyi La the southern border of the land
of Lo. After the pass the dry arid landscape becomes
so pronounced. We descend to the Tangmar river
besides which there is a green patch, right below
the village of Ghami, where we have lunch below
the old Poplar trees. After lunch we cross the
river to climb to the world's highest rice growing
area, an experimental site, Ghami hospital, vegetable
farm and the longest prayer wall in Nepal. Climb
steadily to a pass to thereafter descend gently
to the magnificent Red Gate of Tsarang. |
Day-08
: |
Tsarang
to Lo-Manthang (3730m) 5 hours
Tsarang - Lo Manthang (3750m) The highest point
on our trek is 4200m/13780ft we pass over and
then on our descent get the first views of Lo
Manthang far off across the 'Plain of Aspiration'
below us. Lo Manthang has two gates: the main
one on the north, the second one, unobtrusive
and discrete, on the south is where we enter.
(6 hours) |
Day-09
: |
Lo-Manthang,
Rest in Lo Manthang
Eastern valley: Thukchun, Nyphu (Nifuk) &
Gharphu (Garfuk) - 3 / 4 hours for round trip.
Western valley: Namgyal (Palace of Historic King
Ami Pal), Tingkar or Thikar or Tegar (Summer Palace)
3 / 4 hours for round trip. If trekkers will be
interested to walk long hours as 8 hours for the
round trip we can take them up to Kimaling and
Nyamdok Gompa and come back to the Lo-Manthang
/ 15 km
(Another 3 days permit has to be taken to explore
this site) |
Day-10
: |
Lo-Manthang
- Ghami (3690mt.) - 7 hours via Lo Ghakar
monastery.
Lo Ghakar monastery the oldest Gompa in Nepal,
Ghar Gompa (built between 775 and 787 AD), which
is rumored to be the site of a great battle between
Padmasamblhava and the forces out to destroy Buddhism.
|
Day-11
: |
Ghami
- Samar (3700m) - 7 hours |
Day-12
: |
Samar
to Tetang 3 hours |
Day-13
: |
Tetang
to Muktinath 5 hours |
Day-14:
|
Muktinath
– Jomsom – 5 hours |
Day-15:
|
Fly
back to Pokhara (20 minutes) rest od day explore
Pokhara city |
Day-16:
|
Drive
to Kathmandu by bourist bus (202km 7/8 hours) |
Day-17
: |
free
day in Kathmandu |
Day-18: |
Depart
Kathmandu
You will be transferred to the airport for your
final departure from Kathmandu.
Breakfast included. |
|
|
|
Our most competetive
cost: |
Group Size |
2
- 3 |
4
- 5 |
6
- 7 |
8
- 9 |
10
- 11 |
12
+ Above |
Price in US$ |
1980.00 |
1945.00 |
1890.00 |
1850.00 |
1800.00 |
1765.00 |
|
|
Package price Includes:
-
Airport Pickup and
drop off service
-
All the ground transportation
by touris/local bus
-
4 night hotel in Kathmandu
& 2 night hotel in Pokhara
-
All the meal during the
trek (Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner)
-
Trek Permit & National
Park Fee
-
Trek leader for entire
tour (All camping equipment like tent, Sleeping Bag,
Kitchen Equipment etc.)
-
An experience guide (trained
by Ministry of tourism), one porter for every 2 persons,
their meal/accommodation/transportation/salary/insurance/equipments.
-
Demostic Airfare ( Pokhara
- Jomsom / Pokhara and domestic airport tax)
-
Special Trekking permit
for 10 days in Mustang Valley US$ 700 per person
Package price Excludes:
-
Personal bar bill,
travel insurance/International airfare
-
Items of personal expenses
such as alcoholic drinks, cold drinks, laundry, tips
etc.
-
Nepal entry visa fee
US$ 30 (duration 60 days from date of issue)- Available
at Royal Nepalese Embassies and Royal Nepalese Consulates
abroad or on arrival at Tribhuvan International Airport
in Kathmandu.
-
All the entrance fee
of temple in Kathmandu. and Pokhara
|
|
|
|
Hightight
of Trek |
|
- Buddhist culture &
many monasteries, many high passes above 4000m,
- Picturesque Tibetan village,
excellent high altitude holy Lake, Beautiful dry and
desert landscape
- Excellent Mountain View,
spectacular scenery, abundant wildlife
- Impressive display of wild
flower, friendly & Smile people
- Forbidden kingdom,Typical
culture
|
|
|
|
Departure
date: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Travel
Tips |
|
|
Tourist visa |
|
Trekking Equipments |
|
Some Dos & Don'ts |
|
Treks Grades |
|
Altitude Sickness & Acclimatisation
| |
|
Insurance |
|
What to Bring |
|
Permits & Fees |
|
|
|
Flora
|
|
|
|
|
|
|