Tilicho BC & Mesokanto La Pass Trek

Your guide will meet you at your hotel in the morning to begin your city tour of Kathmandu. You will visit the Boudhanath temple, the largest Buddhist stupa in Nepal, Pashupatinath, a Hindu pilgrimage site, and possibly view cremation ceremonies along the banks of the Bagmati River and continue drive to Patan Durbar Square to take in ancient Nepalese architecture and end your tour after a lunch. Then, you will visit the Patan museum. Overnight in Kathmandu

We drive along the Kathmandu-Pokhara Highway to Dumre and then follow the rough route by the Marshyangdi River; we pass through the low-lying villages and rice fields. After 6 hours long drive, we finally reach Besi Sahar which is the district headquarters of Lamjung

The trail leaves the road and follows a long suspension bridge over the Marshyangdi Khola. The trail travels up the east bank of the river, past a majestic waterfall 60m high surrounded by a tropical tree called a pandanus, or screw pine. Watch for langur monkeys playing in the treetops. The path wanders through small villages scattered among extensive rice terraces with continuing views of Mt. Manaslu (8156m) and Ngadi Chuli. We choose the right-hand trail that leads to Ngadi village.This village is more pleasant and cleaner to stay than Bahundada.

We cross the Ngadi Khola at 950m & head towards a Tibetan settlement. The trail moves gently upwards through scrub forests , crosses landslides and climbs to some cold-drink shops opposite the rice terraces of Lampata. After having a rest for a while we again continue our trek. The trail descends into another tributary valley and ascends to the main river valley. We arrive at the large suspension bridge over the Marsyangdi and cross it to the right bank to pass through. The gorge now becomes narrower and the trail rises and falls. The trail continues until we reach to the village of Jagat situated in a saddle in the forest.

We pass a few houses,then procceed on along the right bank of the river Marsyangdi. Within an hour we come to a new, long suspennsion and cross it from the left bank of the Marsyangdi and reach Khotro village. Again we cross back to the west bank of the river and finally we reach Dharapani (1884m)

The trail passes a school and climbs over a spur. A stone- staircase leads uphill to the west. Take the lower, right-hand trail and walk through a forest of blue pine, spruce, hemlock, maple and oak. The trail has now entered the east-west Manang valley and goes west up the valley with high Himalayan peaks to the south. While walking along the trail you will seean occasionalglimpses of Lamjung Himal (6986m) and Annapurna II (7937m). To the east, some of the peaks of Manaslu Himal provide a dramatic backdrop at the foot of the tree-filled valley. At the entrance to the Chame village we will see a long wall with many prayer wheels, typical of villages in Manang. Be sure to walk to the left and spin the wheels clockwise. Here in Chame you will find a telephone office, a school many well-stocked shops, a health post, post office, bank and several hotels.

We begin our trek crossing the bridge and make round a bend of a curved slab of rock rising more than 1500m. Then we cross a suspension bridge from the south bank of the Marsyangdi and make a long, gentle climb over a ridge through deep forests of blue pine, then descend to the entrance to Pisang.The lower portion of Pisang clustered of houses and a long Mani wall with prayer wheels, is situated at an elevation of 3240m.The main village of Pisang is across the river and 100m uphill. Pisang marks the beginning of the region known as Nyesyang, the upper portion of the Manang district, which has about 6000 inhabitants in six major villages. The people of Nyesyang raise wheat, barley, buckwheat, potatoes and beans; the cold, almost arid, climate limits them to a single crop a year. They keep herds of Yaks, goats, cows and horses.

The trail makes a long climb over a forested ridge that extends across the valley. At the top of this spur we can have a glimpse of the Manang valley, with Tilicho peak 7134m at its head. The trail follows along the valley floor to Hongde where you will find several curio shops that sell ‘real Tibetan things and if you are lucky, you can even buy a Yak’s head. The trail passes a long Mani wall with amazing number of brass prayer wheels, then a gompa with a huge prayer wheel. Just south of the trail, in this spectacular setting, you can visit a mountaineering school operated by the Nepal Mountaineering Association in cooperation with the Union of International Alpine Associations. This school provides a six-week course for climbers from Nepal and neighbouring countries every year in the month of August. After 30 minutes walk from Braga we reach Manang.

You must spend the day in Manang village and the vicinity to acclimatize to the higher elevations you will encounter towards Thorung La. It is possible to climb the ridge to the north of the village for excellent views of Annapurna IV, Annapurna II and Tarke Kang. Also, you may walk to visit the Bhojo Gompa, the red edifice perched on the ridge between Bryaga and Manang, and the most active monastery in the region.

The trail goes downhill to a chorten, then turns north-west and heads down towards the river. Stay on the north bank and head west, following a trail alongside the river. You will soon come to a bridge just above the confluence of the Marshyangdi and the Jarsang Khola. After crossing the Jarsang Khola we climb steeply onto a ridge from where we can view back to the villages of Manang and Pisang. We follow along the ridge on a wide trail, then traverse along the south side of the ridge through a blue pine forest. It soon becomes a pleasant walk through wheat fields to the entrance kani in Khangsar at 3770m.

Today, it will be a difficult walk of about five hours. Beyond Khangsar the trail climbs steeply to a small chorten, and then climbs more gently through Juniper to a crest at 3900m. Then we cross a small stream and traverse for about 30 minutes to the isolated Thare Gompa at 3930m.After that we traverse into a side valley, cross a stream and climb to some herders’ huts and a trail junction at 4050m. The high trail to Tilicho Base Camp leads to the right. This is the safest route to Tilicho Lake although it involves a long climb to 4950m and a steep, exposed, 800m descent on scree to the Base Camp.

The route via Masokanto La (5099m) to Nama Phu offers the adventurous and fit trekkers high mountain scenery at its very best. Masokanto La is low altitude pass than Tilicho but more technical and need to use rope. We will trek above the tree line on the upper limits of cultivation, in the north of Manang district. It takes five hours to reach from Mesokanto La pass that links Nama Phu with Manang and three other Bhotia villages in the Nyershang down valley.

Today we follow the trail down to the Eklebhatti, and then follow the Kaligandaki River to Jomsom. Jomsom is large town with many facilities, it is also a headquarter and official town of whole Mustang district where all the government offices are available for local people in Mustang

In this day you will have a scenic flight to Pokhara observing the spectacular mountain views as well as striking natural beauty of Nepal.

You can spend your day in Pokhara as you like, you can either relax in your hotel or do sightseeing.

We drive back to Kathmandu through the endless terraces of lowland Nepal, the six hour drive get back us to the buzz and bustle of Kathmandu. Overnight in Kathmandu