North of the Annapurna and Dhaulagiri ranges, the Kali Gandaki river cuts one of the deepest gorges on earth and opens onto a high, dry plateau that looks more like Tibet than Nepal. This is Mustang. Its lower half, around Jomsom, Marpha and Kagbeni, is Thakali country of whitewashed villages and apple orchards. Above Kagbeni lies Upper Mustang, the former Kingdom of Lo, where red cliffs riddled with cave dwellings lead to the walled capital of Lo Manthang at about 3,840 m.
For Hindu and Buddhist pilgrims the region means one place: Muktinath at 3,710 m, where water pours from 108 spouts behind the temple of Vishnu and a natural gas flame burns at the Jwala Mai shrine. Indian families reach it in three ways. A helicopter from Pokhara takes 35–40 minutes each way and fits into one morning. A flight to Jomsom with two nights in the valley takes 5 nights from Kathmandu. A jeep over the Beni–Jomsom road takes 6 nights and costs the least.
Upper Mustang has been open to foreigners only since 1992, and its permit still keeps numbers low. Trekkers walk 10–12 days through Chhusang, Ghami and Tsarang, or ride a jeep to Lo Manthang in about 7 hours from Jomsom. In May the monks of Chode Gompa perform the three-day Tiji festival in the city square. Because Mustang gets very little monsoon rain, it is one of the few Nepal treks that works in June, July and August.
West of Mustang, Dolpo is wilder still. Flights from Nepalgunj land at Juphal, and a 7–9 day walk through Dunai and the Tarap valley crosses Numa La at 5,190 m and Baga La at 5,169 m to Shey Phoksundo Lake, Nepal's deepest lake, at 3,611 m. Lodges are few, so Dolpo treks use camping and simple homestays. Our packages here include permits, licensed guides, flights, jeeps and hotels, priced in INR and USD.
