Upper Mustang is one of the most stunning corners of the Nepal Himalaya. If you've ever been drawn to Tibet, Ladakh or the remoter parts of Nepal, the chances are you'll love the barren beauty, traditional Transhimalayan villages and Tibetan-style monasteries and cave murals of this former Buddhist kingdom. Simply put, it's one of the world's great treks.
But it's changing. Fast. A lot of information in print and even online is now outdated, so here are 15 things you need to know about planning a visit to Mustang now. Anything from more than a couple of years ago is now invalid.
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| Trekkers on the road near Ghemi, dwarfed by the Annapurna range to the south. |
1) Roads The main thing to know is that there is a dirt road now from Jomsom to Lo Manthang up
the western side of upper Mustang, via the villages of Kagbeni, Samar, Syangboche, Geling, Ghemi
and Tsirang (Charang). Traffic is light but there are at least a dozen jeeps a
day, all of which will cover you in choking clouds of dust if you are walking along the
dirt road. Of less significance is that the road now continues from Lo Manthang north to Choser
and on to the China/Tibet border at the Kora La pass.
Walking on a road always sucks, so you really want to avoid
the road as much as possible by making the following detours. The flipside for glass-half-full types is that
you can now hire jeeps to cover all or part of the journey to Lo Manthang,
shifting the trip from a trek into an adventurous 4WD or overland motorbike option.
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| Setting off on the upper Mustang trek from Kagbeni |
2)
Detour to the Chungsi Cave from Samar. The footpath detour from Samar village involves some
climbing, a steepish descent and then a gradual climb, but it's worth it for
the dramatic scenery and for the interesting cave of Guru Rinpoche, where you
can do a small kora around an earth chorten covered in votive plaques, with
several naturally arisen statues hidden in the darkness. Oddly the cave is
looked after by two Hindu priests. It's wild and remote, and best of all it avoids the road. Overnight at guesthouses in Syangboche.
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| Descending to the Chungsi Cave |
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| Admiring the cave chorten at Chungsi |
3)
Detour number two is from Ghemi via an impressive set of
chortens to the dramatic red Drakmar cliffs. From here a steep switchbacking
trail climbs over a pass to descend to overnight in Tsirang. The next day you
can head up valley to visit Ghar Gompa, the oldest in Mustang, before climbing
another pass to descend to Lo Manthang. This avoids the fairly dull road
walk from Tsirang to Lo Manthang via the Sungda chorten.
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| Chorten en route to Drakmar |
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| Caves burrow into the red cliffs of Drakmar |
4) Budget some time in Tsirang (Charang). There's plenty to
see in this charming traditional village, including the 16th-century Thubten Shedrup Dhargyeling Gompa and an old fort that was once home to the royal family and doubles as a small museum.
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| Descending to the oasis village of Tsirang, one of Mustang's largest settlements |
5) If possible budget three days in Lo Manthang. You'll need
one day inside the walled inner town to see the three amazing temples restored with Italian assistance. Day two
can take you on a day hike northwest to Tingar, looping around to a cliffside cave retreat and then up to the fort above Lo Manthang. Day three could be a day trip
to Choser or to Konchokling. With your own transport you could even drive to
the Tibetan border at the Kora La.
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| Rooftop view of Lo Manthang |
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| Cliffside meditation retreat across the valley from Tingar |
6) Overnight in Choser. There are a couple of guesthouses in
the village of Choser, a couple of hours walk north of Lo Manthang and almost
no tourists stay there, so you'll get the place to yourself. Visit the
monastery and the two cave complexes above town.
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| Inside the Nupchokling Caves above Choser |
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| Climbing up through the four-storey cave complex of Jhong, near Choser |
7) Visit the caves of Konchokling. This isn't an easy trip
but if you are not afraid of heights it's well worth it. Firstly it's a hike (or 4WD
drive) up a side valley, then a switchbacking climb to the end of the dirt road. Then the real hike
starts on a sometimes fairly exposed path down and then up to a ridge top ruin. The trail
then drops through eroded gullies before you lower yourself down a yak hair rope
to finally reach the caves. Magic.
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| Eroded landscape around Konchokling |
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| cave murals of Konchokling |
8) Walk back via the east valley path. Road don't really
connect the east valley path. It's a wilder, more remote and much less visited section that ended up being our favourite part of the trek. The scenery is wild and the villages are stunning. Note that
there is one exposed section between Tangye and Chhusang that can be a bit
hairy if you are afraid of heights.
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| Trekker descending to Dhi |
9) Spend two nights in Yara and make the day trip to Luri Gompa. Yara
is a lovely village with a series of photogenic wind-eroded cliffs to the west.
Best of all is the day hike to the Tashi Kabum caves and on to Luri Gompa for some stunning examples of Buddhist cave art. A
teahouse offers a chance to break before arriving back at Yara.
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| Sensuous eroded cliff and caves of Yara |
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| Scenery around Yara |
10) Budget some time in Tangye and Tetang villages. These
are two of the most atmospheric villages in Mustang. Unfortunately most
trekkers arrive late and leave early but if you can arrange things to spend at
least an hour poking about, you'll be happy.
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| Tangye village |
11) You don't need to camp. There are guesthouses in every
village, including Chele, Samar, Syangboche, Ghemi, Tsarang, Lo Manthang,
Choser, Yara, Tangye, Tetang and Lubra.
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| Advertising, Lo Manthang |
12)
Finish off the trek from Tetang, leaving upper Mustang
via views of the Thorung La and Nilgiri peak at the Gyu La, before dropping down to the Hindu pilgrimage site of Muktinath.
Muktinath has become very busy in recent years so consider overnighting in
Jhong or Jharkot instead. The next day continue to Jomsom via the roadless Lubra
Valley.
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| Scenery around Jharkot in lower Mustang |
13) Hire a jeep between Jomsom and Kagbeni. It's an
unpleasant walk, windy and dusty and with hundreds of jeeps headed to
Muktinath. Don't do it.
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| Descending the Lubra valley from Muktinath at the end of the trek |
14) For a really wild expedition-style camping trek, walk from
Kagbeni to Dolpo; or from Tangye over the 5595m Teri La to Nar-Phu, or from
Yara to peak climbing in the wild Damodar Himal. For these you'll need full
agency help.
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| Trekkers leaving Yara village |
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| Stunning Buddhist mural art at Luri Gompa |
