Upper Mustang Trek - 17 days

Things to Know
  • Duration17 Days
  • Difficulty Level Strenuous
  • Altitude 3,840m at Lo Manthang
  • Trip Type Trekking | Hiking
  • Start and End Kathmandu - Kathmandu
  • Best Time Feb-Jun, Sep-Nov
What You’ll Do
  • Experience a scenic flight from Pokhara to Jomsom with stunning Himalayan views.
  • Explore the ancient walled city of Lo Manthang, the heart of the hidden kingdom.
  • Discover centuries-old monasteries, sky caves, and sacred Buddhist sites.
  • Enjoy the magnificent valley of the Kali Gandaki River and its dramatic landscapes.
  • Walk through the colorful cliffs, canyons, and high mountain passes of the trans-Himalayan region.
  • Witness the rich Tibetan-influenced culture and daily life of the local Mustang people.
  • Visit Muktinath Temple, an important spiritual site for both Hindus and Buddhists.
  • Capture panoramic mountain views of Dhaulagiri, Nilgiri, and Annapurna ranges.
  • Experience the unique desert beauty and peaceful atmosphere of Upper Mustang.
  • Trek through a rain-shadow region, ideal for trekking even during monsoon season.

The Upper Mustang Trek takes you to the hidden kingdom of Lo, a remote and fascinating region near the Tibetan border. The trail to Upper Mustang was opened for trekking in 1992. Remoteness and the rugged landscapes with century-old monasteries, Tibetan Cultures, and trans-Himalayas make this trek special among travellers. This 15-day Upper Mustang Trek is a delightful walk with incredible scenery of landscapes and panoramic views of mountains such as Dhaulagiri, Nilgiri, Annapurna Ranges, and many others. Upper Mustang Trekking begins with the exciting fight from Pokhara to Jomsom. The flight delivers exotic views of the mountains from the air. After landing at Jomsom, the trek starts at Kagbeni and continues through Chele, Syangmoche, Ghami, and Lo Manthang. Likewise, after discovering Lho the trek goes passing Dhakmar, Ghiling, and Chuksang and ends at Jomsom. Between this start and the end of the trek, you will get to see caves, rock paintings, monasteries, gompas, and mountain views. Likewise, visit an ancient popular Ghar Gompa, which is over 1200 years old. Trek to the Mustang region is a perfect way to discover the magical and remote part of Nepal. Experience the traditional culture and lifestyle of a Tibetan-influenced community. People of this community follow the Buddhist religion, which allows you to get close to Buddhist culture.

Iconic Holiday Nepal assures you of making your visit to Mustang with remarkable experience and adventure. Our professional trekking guides and staff have local insights and have good experience in this trekking trail. Likewise, we can make a flexible Upper Mustang Trek Itinerary that is ideal for our clients.

The Secrets of Upper Mustang

Cultural Wonders and Scenic Beauty of Upper Mustang

Known for its breathtaking desert terrain and rich Buddhist traditions, Upper Mustang is home to monasteries, cave dwellings, and ancient villages. The region’s festivals, warm locals, and spiritual energy make it a rare cultural treasure in the Himalayas.

 Tiji Festival – A Celebration of Peace and Tradition

Held every May in Lo Manthang, the Tiji Festival symbolizes the triumph of good over evil. Locals dressed in vibrant robes join monks performing sacred masked dances, prayers, and rituals. It’s one of the most captivating cultural experiences in the Himalayas.

Life and Culture in Upper Mustang

The people of Upper Mustang live in harmony with nature, preserving centuries-old Tibetan traditions. Horse racing, ancient monasteries, and the hospitality of the Lopa and Thakali people give every traveler a glimpse into an authentic Himalayan lifestyle.

Wildlife and Landscape of Upper Mustang

Despite its barren beauty, Upper Mustang shelters rare wildlife like blue sheep, snow leopards, and Himalayan vultures within the Annapurna Conservation Area. The region’s wind-carved cliffs, deep gorges, and panoramic views of Dhaulagiri and Annapurna create a surreal trekking experience.

    Itinerary
    Expand AllCollapse All

    • Altitude1,400m
    • AccommodationHotel

    The Iconic Holiday Nepal team will welcome you at the Tribhuwan International Airport terminal on your arrival day. You can see our team holding a play card with our company name. Then they will transfer you to the hotel via private transfer.

    • Altitude820 m
    • Accommodation3 star hotel
    • Time6-7 hours

    Our trekking staff will pick you up from the hotel and escort you to the tourist bus station. The bus to Pokhara leaves at around 7 am. Pokhara is a beautiful valley set on the banks of Phewa Lake.

    • Altitude2,800 m
    • AccommodationTea House
    • Time20 min flight and Trek 4-5 hours

    Our flight of approximately 20 minutes to Jomosom (2720m) from Pokhara early in the morning. We can see the magnificent views of Annapurnas and Dhaulagiri ranges and pass through the kaligandaki goreges. We cans see lots of people (Piligrim), touristes travel to Muktinath from Jomsom, Upper Mustang Trekking offers you to watch the spiritual journey of individuals who are looking for enlightenment. We arrive at Jomsom the main city of the region, chief small city. We will meet our Nepali staffs and start to walk through kaligandi river to eklebhatti and our night at Kagbeni typical tibetain houses village. Which is known as the gateway of Upper Mustang trek. It is lies in the Upper Mustang's resticted region and fortified village of Tibetain architecture. 

    • Altitude3100 m
    • AccommodationTea House
    • Time5-6 hours

    We submit our upper mustang special trekking permit at the Kagbeni checkpoint before continuing beautiful mineral landscapes to the village of Tangbe (3060m). The village seems silent, with lots of Buddhists monuments like painted chortens, old ruined fort, surrounded village by fields of barley. We pass inside the village and move towards Chuksang village where we lunch along the eastern bank of the Kali Gandaki River. We can see in this day, the beautiful mountains Nilgiri (7061m) and in the day mountains like Dajori La pass (3650m) from where we enjoy a superb view of the Damodhar Himal and Annapurna range. We cross the river and steep part to arrive our camp Chele (3100m), small colorful village with Buddhist monuments.

    • Altitude3,800 m
    • AccommodationTea House
    • Time5-6 hours

    Upper Mustang Trek difficulty level will increase slightly as you will gain an elevation of around 800 meters. We pass through ghyakar Gurung village (3562m), we start to climb up gradually, and downs and steep climb up to Samar village(3620m), where we lunch. This day is long day of walk as we go to visit the Rangchung cave of Buddhist, Guru Rimpoche with up and down path. We can drink a tea by lama. And really steep scents up to our camp Syangboche village (3800m). We might be tired in this day.

    • Altitude3820 m
    • AccommodationTea House
    • Time6-7 hours

    Small climb up to Syangboche la pass (3850m) with big old stupa and perfect view of Gheling village and visit monasteries and start to climb up towards Nya La Pass (4020m), we descends towards Ghami la (3765m) and arrive at Ghami pretty big village (3510m), where we stop for the lunch break. We cross through the middle of village by turning the prayer wheels in manies and stupas. Beautiful typical Tibetan styles houses. and cross the river and passing by the old big stupas and ascents gradually to Dhakmar village (3820m). We can see the different landscapes at Dhakmar, imposing natural red earth fortress pierced by troglodyte.

    • Altitude3,840 m
    • AccommodationTea House
    • Time7 hours

    This day is very important day that we arrive at the capital of this region (Lo-mathang). We climb up to Mui la Pass (4170m). Descents slowly towards 'Ghar Gompa" (3920m) is the oldest monastry. The pure virtue of Nyingmpa secte, scriptures of Padhmashambhava. We take of packed lunch in this day and climb up to another second pass of the day, we lunch just before arriving the second pass of Chogo La (4280m). It seems as we change the valley, we can see open valley and descends towards the Lo-manthang village, the mythical capital of the kingdom of Mustang, which was founded by Ame Pal at the end of the 14th centaury. This village was only accessible throught two gates which were closed at night. Lo-manthang is historical, Tibetan culture with 3 big monasteries and we can see the people regrouping at the center of village, just infront of the gate of the palace royal.

    • Altitude3,840 m
    • AccommodationTea House
    • Time4-5 hours

    Today is the day for acclimatization and explore Lo-Manthang and it's region. We don't have lots of time to visit Lo-Manthang village et to explore near it's area. That's we reserve local transportation to gain our time, Breakfast early in the morning and reserve local jeeps to go Chosar cave, Jhong and Nyiphu monasteries. Like most cave complexes in Mustang, these caves were probably dug during the first millennium BCE, perhaps during the second, when the Bonpo kingdom of Zhang Zhung was at the height of its power. We lunch over there, and return back to Lo-Manthang to visit the visit the main sites and monuments of Lo Manthang: the Jhampa Lhakang which houses a huge statue of Buddha as well as superb mandalas, the monasteries of Thubchen and Chodey, Royal palace and village. The distance from Lo-Manthang to the Tibetan border is around 50 kilometers. Lo-Manthang served as the main commercial junction for garments and salt between Nepal and Tibet. We sleep for the second night in the same lodge.

    • Altitude3620m
    • AccommodationTea House
    • Time6 hours

    Time to return back but not from the same way, today, you will depart from Lo-Manthang and go via Lo La before arriving in Dhi, we leave the path which lead to Tsarang village and walk through the magnificent balcony path. This is the beginning of a magnificent Upper Mustang Trekking with Muktinath that will offer an incredible panoramic view of the surroundings and the view of the Annapurna and Dhaulagiri. Arriving at a small pass (4000m) overlooking the village of Dhi. The scenic settlement is situated along the banks of the Kali Gandaki, where you can find a collection of homes, a stretch of fields, and some trees and descend in a landscape of fairy chimneys that water and wind have slowly shaped. A lovely village named Yara is located far above the river. Like most of the villages in the Upper Mustang, this one has terraced fields as well as a collection of traditional houses and we pierced by a seventeen-story troglodyte city on climbing up to Yara. We might meet a group of enterprising local women selling bracelets and other souvenir in the way before arriving our camp at Yara village.

    • Altitude3600m
    • AccommodationTea House
    • Time6 hours

    We head towards Luri Gompa, by following the small river and visit Tashi Kabum cave, which is in the cliff of the mountain. he Newar style suggests that the artists were from the Kathmandu valley. The luri Gompa (3880m) is also dug into the cliff, surrounded by impressive fairy chimneys. It is in a very small room, where we can see a old and beautiful decorate Stupas, probably dating of around 13th century. And we back towards to our camp, before we stop for the lunch break at a small village Gharagaon.

    • Altitude3240m
    • AccommodationTea House
    • Time5-6 hours

    From Yara village, we ascend and descend via a peculiar cliff and cross numerous beautiful plateaus and long climb to a pass at 3700m. That day is fablous day to walk on the open plateau, with the magnificent views of Mt. Dhaulagiri (8167m) and Mustang himal. We steep descent towards the Dhechyang Khola river, in summer time, we have to cross it early in the morning, in day time, the glacier melt and the river flow up in big size. We stop for the tea break (3400m), and start to climb of steep part up to the top second pass of the day (4015m), we descend for a while and take a packed lunch. After, gradually, descends at the steep at the end, we then reach at the hidden but beautiful scenery surrounds the settlement, including a wide riverbed and the iconic Mustang Mountains beautiful. We can take a good photos of village with it's Stupas and stone walls inside the village.

    • Altitude2980 m
    • AccommodationTea House
    • Time8-9 hours

    This day, we have to wake up early in the morning, one of the hard and longest day of walk of this Upper Mustang trek but most beautiful. No logdes, tea shop on the way before we arrive at Chhusang. We cross the two rivers, and steep descends towards the Paa Pass (4183m). After few downs and up, we stop for our packed lunch, near small water stream. After the way is easy for a while with magnificent views of Dhaulagiri, Tukuche Peak, and Nilgiri snow-capped peaks are also visible in the distance and passesing through more climbing and declining. We can see some extremely amazing rock formations, including hordes of sharp rocky pinnacles, when we start to descends towards Chhusang. During the hike from Tangge to Chhusang, we can see the witness a Himalayan salt mine in Nepal. We arrive at the evening only. Not to forget to put lamp in the day bag.

    • Altitude3800m
    • AccommodationHotel
    • Time6-7 hrs

    We start our day, passing through Tetang village and start to attack Gyu La pass (4050m), from where we can observe spectacular Himalayan views of Dhaulagiri (8167m), Nilgiri (7061m), Thorang la Peak (6144m), Tilicho Peak (7134m) and Muktinath Himal. We pass through some small villages like Jhong, Chyongur and climb towards the holy and scared pilgrims place of Hindu and Buddhist in the same centaury. We can see the 108 bathing spouts, a Buddhist monastery at the same place at the last one, we can see the everlasting flame which was left by the creator of universe Hindu god Bramaha.This is the important junction of Upper Mustang trek , Kaligandaki trek and Annapurna circuit trek. After crossing the famous summit of Thorang La Pass (5416m), we descents and arrive at Muktinath village/city. Mukti (liberation), Nath (The god). We can see lots of pilgrims indienne, Nepalis and tourists.

     

    • Altitude2800m
    • AccommodationHotel
    • Time6 hours

    Today is also, on of the best day for the scenery and views of magnificent Dhaulagiri, Nilgiri, Thorang Peak, Tilicho Peak and Tukche Peak. From Muktinath we climb up towards some small passes and walk on the balcony for a while. We descends down and cross the suspension bridge to our lunch camp village "Bon Po" religon village Lupra. It's hidden and charming settlement small village. Newly discover village for the trekkeres. The broad, level path from these communities continues along Panda River until it joins the route to Jomsom, the administrative center of the Mustang district, which is situated along the banks of the windy Kali Gandaki River valley. Possible to take the bus/jeep after 1 hour of walk from Lubra to go to Jomsom. It's windy valley after around 10/11 am. The last day of the trek with Nepali staffs.

    • Altitude1400m
    • Accommodation3 star hotel

    We take a flight to Pokhara after getting up early in the morning to take in the stunning dawn. Around 25minutes of beautiful mountain flight to Pokhara passes through several picturesque sceneries in the area of Annapurnas in the left and Dhaulagiri in the right side of the flight. We enjoy it and from the airport of Pokhara, we will take the flight back to kathmandu et transfer to hotel at kathamandu and rest time. Incase, of the cancellation of flights from Jomsom to Pokhara beacause of bad weather and techinical problem. We have to reserve jeeps or bus to go back to Pokhara. In that case, we have to pass our night at Pokhara. That's why, we put one day more to stay in Kathamandu as a rest day, if we arrive at time. If the flight is not at time, we will use that day, for the security of the international flight. We gain one day from there.

    • Altitude1400m
    • Accommodation3 star hotel

    You can visit Kathmandu city with lots of famous historic temples, Stupas and Royal palace. Time for shopping. Note : Flights can be delayed or canceled due to bad weather. That's why we put one day more to arrange and manage the situation.

      Return back flight to the destination.

      Customize TripDownload Brochure
      Trip Map
      Upper Mustang Trek - 17 days map
      Useful Info

      Things to Know Before Trekking to Upper Mustang

      Trekking to Upper Mustang requires proper preparation due to its remote location, high altitude, and restricted status. Trekkers need  a Restricted Area Permit, which can only be issued by a registered trekking company like us , and note that at least two clients are required to get the permit due to government regulations. The trek involves crossing high mountain passes, including Mui La Pass (4,170 m) and Chogo La Pass (4,280 m), so customize the itinerary with proper acclimatization days, and basic fitness are essential. Lo Manthang, the region’s walled capital, lies in a rain shadow, making the trek suitable even during the monsoon season.

      While ATMs are available in Jomsom, trekkers are strongly advised to carry sufficient cash before starting the trek to cover expenses along the route. Upper Mustang is also a high-wind area, so it is essential to bring windproof jackets, scarves, caps, and other protective clothing. Trekkers are advised to carry basic medicines for altitude sickness, headaches, or minor illnesses. Trekking packages usually include meals, accommodation, permits, guide, and porter, while tipping is expected but not mandatory. Horse riding is available for those unable to trek certain sections, and We advice our every clients to have travel insurance that covering helicopter evacuation. Trekkers should respect local culture, follow the guide’s instructions, and practice leave-no-trace principles to protect this unique Himalayan desert landscape.

      FAQs

      • There are many Upper Mustang Trek itineraries ranging from a minimum of 10 days to a maximum of 18 days starting from Kathmandu and navigating back. These itineraries have a lot to offer in terms of the radiating history of the former Kingdom of  Lo Manthang, distinct geography, and remarkable rituals.

      • The best season for the Upper Mustang Trek is during spring (March to May) and fall (September to November). During these periods, the weather is relatively stable, with clear skies and pleasant temperatures, making it ideal for trekking in the region.

      • Yes, trekking solo without a guide is not allowed in the Mustang Region. Moreover, there should be at least a minimum of two trekkers to trek in Mustang.

      • Yes, you need to spend money along the trail for various purposes like Wi-Fi, snacks, hot showers, etc.

      • Trekking above 3,000 meters carries a risk of Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS) and other altitude-related health issues. Travel insurance with medical coverage ensures you can receive prompt treatment in case of illness. It is highly recommended to have emergency medical evacuation coverage, as remote trekking areas often lack immediate access to hospitals. This ensures timely and professional care, potentially saving lives in critical situations.

      • As an international traveller, you are required to obtain two permits to enter the Upper Mustang trekking region. Restricted Area Permit: The RAP need to enter the restricted region of the Upper Mustang. This is a special permit that cannot be obtained independently, and the Annapurna Conservation Area Permit (ACAP) is essential to enter lower Mustang because it lies in the Annapurna Conservation Area. And, anyone who passes through the conservation area must have a permit to enter the region. 

      • Trekkers in Nepal are allowed to trek as FIT (Free Individual Trekker) or in a group of various sizes. However, there are certain trekking regions known as 'Restricted Areas' that are highly regulated by the Government of Nepal and hence FITs are strictly forbidden. Trekking in these areas is allowed only upon acquiring permit from the Department of Immigration.  Interested trekkers should contact the authorized trekking agencies who then can apply for permits (on behalf of trekkers) at the Department of Immigration fulfilling all the necessary formalities. Trekkers should be trekking in a group (of minimum two persons) accompanied by licensed trekking guide.Individual trekker cannot apply for the permit.

      Price fromUS$2600US$3000(per person)
      We Offer Group Discount Price
        
      2 paxUS$2800
      3 - 6 paxUS$2600
      7 - 10 paxUS$2400
      11 - 20 paxUS$2200
      Book Now
      Speak to an Expert
      upendra dawadi
      24/7 WhatsApp+977 9851328431(Mr. Upendra Dawadi)

      Add-on Trips

      Send Inquiry

      Need Travel Advice

      Our global team of experts is here to assist you.

      We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website.

      Privacy Policy