Upper Mustang and Damodar Kunda 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. Continue drive to Patan
Durbar Square to see ancient Nepalese architecture and end your tour after lunch. Then, you will view ancient Nepalese art in the Patan museum. Overnight in Kathmandu.

If you drive, it takes about 6 to 7 hour to reach Pokhara and if you fly, it takes 25 minutes. As soon as you reach Pokhara you will be transferred to Hotel.

Pokhara is situated in the mid western Nepal. It is linked by the main highway of 200 km driving distance from Kathmandu, and by air approximately 20 to 30 minutes flight with a sweeping panoramic view of the mid western Himalaya. Mother Nature has certainly blessed this fertile valley with outstanding scenery of the landscapes, snow capped mountains, moderate tropical climate, and beautiful pristine lakes of Begnas, Rupa and Phewa. The most stunning of Pokhara’s sights is the magnificent panorama of the Annapurna range which forms its backdrop. Annapurna massif includes Annapurna I to IV and Annapurna South. Among these high peaks it is the towering majestic Mt. Machhapuchare (Fish Tail) which dominates all others in this range Pokhara with its natural beauty is also a starting point of trekking, mountaineering expeditions and it’s an ideal spot for all types of holiday makers.

We take an early morning mountain flight (weather permitting) from Pokhara to Jomsom (2696m). After landing at the airport, we will meet the Sirdar and crew the porters, Sherpa guides, and pack animals for the trek. We begin our first day trek along the bank of the Kali Gandaki River, passing through Eklebhatti to the medieval-looking village of Kagbeni , The arid climate, mud-walled houses, and Tibetan dress and language are indications of how closely this area is linked with Tibet.

You trek right up to the river valley. The trail then widens significantly revealing and endless stretch of sand on the west bank of the river, you stop for lunch at the village of Tangbe, where you come across the first black, white and red chortens that typify Upper Mustang. The little town is a labyrinth of narrow alleys among white washed houses, fields of buck wheat and barley and apple orchards. Nilgiri Peak continues to dominate the southern skyline. Chusang village is only about a 2hrs walk beyond Tangbe at the confluence of the Narshing Khola and the river Kali Gandaki

Here you will find a distinct change in the topography as well as the culture, lifestyle and people of the area. The settlements become more scattered, smaller and more basic. The people of Lo or Mustang practice agriculture. Lack of rain and fertile soil, cultivation is carried out in sheltered plots of land, covering the brown landscape with patches of green vegetation. Continuing north, you reach a huge red chunk of conglomerate that has fallen from the cliffs above, forming a tunnel through which the river flows. The trek now leaves the valley and climbs steeply up a rocky alley the village of Chele. From Chele you climb a steep spur and then continue ascending along the side of a spectacular steep canyon to a pass. Beyond the pass you descend on a pleasant trail to Samar, situated in a grove of poplar trees. This is a major stopping place for horse and mule caravans.

We climb up to Samar on a good trail winding up and around from the bottom of the Grand Canyon. We have an early lunch, then trek for 4hrs ascending three high ridges to the highest one at 12,464 ft. We pass some teahouses at Shyangmochen then we continue trek to Geling. This day is possibly the hardest day of the trek.

We trek a high loop southwest and lunch on the way outside Ghar Gompa . Ghar Gompa is the oldest active monastery in Nepal, dating back to the 8th century. It is also being restored with the funding of the American Himalayan Foundation and well worth a visit. From here we climb to a ridge and descend through a spectacular series of red rock formations at Dhakmar. We continue to Ghami and camp overnight, one hour beyond Dhakmar.

We climb another high ridge of 11,808 ft, and enter the ancient town of Charang. While passing through the picturesque entry portal we see the five – storied dzong (fortress), formerly the home of the kings of Mustang, and the vast red Dorje Dhen Gompa. We will visit the monastery and fortress later in the evening.

Today we descend to cross the Charang Chu River and climb to a ridge. We then hike through a desertlike landscape to climb again to a ridge at 12,628 ft from where we get our first view of Lo Manthang, We descend for a while and then a short climb brings us to camp.

A day to explore Lo Mangthang, including visits to two important monasteries built in the early 15th century. Thugchen Gompa has very fine Buddhist murals on the walls of its massive assembly hall, which is supported by huge wooden columns. Champa Lhakhang contains a fifty-foot-tall image of Maitreya,
the future Buddha, making it the largest clay statue in Nepal. Both monasteries are restored now by a team of Conservation Architects and Wall Painting Restorers with the help of the American Himalayan Foundation. We also visit the Choedhe monastic school and the imposing four-story Raja’s palace (if he
is in residence). The current Raja can trace his ancestry back to the first king of the late 14th century, which suggests Lo Manthang dates back to that period

Today we start our walk in the flat path for about 3hrs without any strenuous trail and then gentle descending downward. But, before reaching Dri village it is a steep down walk for half an hour and ultimately we reach Dri village. After crossing Dri village we come to cross the river on a metallic bridge and also enjoy walking on the bank of the river. Now we have a steep climb up for about an hour and some gentle steep walk before coming to Yara village.

This highland route offers dramatic views of snow clad peaks in the background. Just past the scattered settlement we reach. Bas Khola

Damodar Kund (Lake) is situated in a rain shadow valley on the eastern edge of the Annapurna range at 4890 m. It is a cold and windy place. Many Hindu and Buddhist pilgrims visit Damodar Kund in full moon day in the month of August. Every year there holds a big festival.

The trail drops to the Ghechang Khola at around 3350m, then again goes up at an elevation of 3800m before dropping again. We visit the remote village with a remarkable architecture, especially its wonderful chortens.

From Dhi the trail goes through the river for around 2 hours and crosses a river from Damodar Kunda, one of the sacred lakes, there is no bridge on the river so we need to walk across in bare feet to cross this river. After crossing the river the trail climbs up till high above a pass of 3850meters. The trail goes through a grassless, treeless bare hill. After the pass the trail again drops directly to Tangbe village at an elevation of 3370m.Tangbe is a small village of around 30 houses but most of the houses are attached to each other. On the rooftops one can see piles of dry woods, which also reflects the prosperity in their society. Overnight at tented camp.

The trail walks through a steep ridge of hills providing some fine views of the wind carved hills. Tetang village is formed between 2 hills; they should have found it a safe place to avoid the strong wind that hits the entire Kaligandaki valley. Tetang is the upper village of the Chuksang, which we visit on the first day
entering to Mustang from Kagbeni. Overnight at tented camp

We make an easy 3 ½ hrs walk up to a pass leading to Muktinath. After crossing the pass we leave Mustang area. In Muktinath we visit a sacred temple where thousands of Hindu and Buddhist Pilgrims from Nepal and India visit this site every year. Apart from its religious significance, Muktinath is also quite known for unique biodiversity, the scenic grandeur of Annapurna mountain range and the multicultural and multi-ethnic diversity

Today you trek down for nearly two hours and then walk through the flat path till we reach Jomsom. Between the walk lies Eklebhatti village where we find some tea houses and lodges.

Day 21: Fly back from Jomsom to Pokhara which takes about 35 minutes.
The flights are available during the morning time. The strong breeze blows during the after and frequent change of the weather prevent the flight being landed and taken off in the afternoon. During the flights in morning, the sky looks very clear which makes you able to enjoy the splendid views of different mountain peaks