18 days Upper Mustang Biking
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Upper Mustang biking is thrilling way to enjoy biking in Nepal, one of the most famous trekking route. The place came in the light only after 1992 government allowed the foreigner to visit issuing the special permit. Popularly known as the hidden kingdom of Nepal, it was an independent kingdom from the 15th century until it was annexed by Nepal at the end of 18th century granting independent monarch to this state. Although monarchy ended in Nepal on 7th October 2008 and became the Republic of Nepal officially, but sill the resident of Lo-Manthang recognizes monarchy on this region.
Upper Mustang has Trans Himalayan climate with minimal or no rain due to the ranges of Annapurna and Dhaulagiri mountain. The interesting climatic zone starts as soon as you land at the Jomsom. The natural wind erosion makes the landscape more hostile, rocky, windy and barren. Biking to upper Mustang is a great alternative opportunity to explore the landscape that is similar to Tibet.
Due to isolation from the outside world, most of the people practice Tibetan language and culture. The culture and traditions of people provide an alternate way to experience Tibet. Most of the people practice Buddhism. Moreover, in 2007 a shepherd discovered 55 cave painting explaining the life of Buddha. This explains that Mustang is rich in ancient monasteries and stupa which needs more recovery and restoration. Tourism has been one of the good sources of income for the people beside negligible crop and animal farming.
These days the upper mustang biking has been much easier due to the road access all along the route. Some people visit Mustang & Lomanthang (capital of Mustang) in Tiji Festival which generally falls in the month of May. Starting biking after flying to Jomsom from Pokhara can be a good option. Also driving/ biking through Kaligandaki valley is another way to bike in upper Mustang.
Outline Itinerary
Day 1 International Arrival in Kathmandu(1300m)
Day 2 Sightseeing in Kathmandu,Permit preparation day, briefing by official executive, handing assignment to guide.
Day 3 Drive/ Flight to Pokhara(850m)
Day 4 Short flight from Pokhara to Jomsom(2715m) and bike to Kagbeni(2810m)
Day 5 Ride from Kagbeni to Chele(3080m)
Day 6 Bike from Chele to Ghiling(3570m)
Day 7 Bike from Ghiling to Charang(3560mm)
Day 8 Bike from Charang to Lo-Manthang(3810m)
Day 9 Reserve day for Exploration around Lo-Manthang(3810m)
Day 10 Biking from Lo-Manthang to Dhakmar(3820m) via Ghar Gompa
Day 11 Bike from Dhakmar to Syangbochen(3800m)
Day 12 Bike from Syangbochento Chhusang(2980m)
Day 13 Bike from Chhusang to Muktinath (3760mm)
Day 14 Bikefrom Muktinath to Marpha(2800m)
Day 15 Bike from Marpha to Tatopani(2670m)
Day 16 Bike from Tatopani to Beni and Drive to Pokhara(850m)
Day 17 Drive/Fly from Pokhara to Kathmandu(1300m)
Day 18 International Departure
Note: This is a standard itinerary proposed for general bikers which can be modified until then, that do not violate our business ethics and norms. We will always seek verification from our field experts before approving your itinerary.
Detailed Day to Day Itinerary
We will drive you straight to your hotel in private vehicle as soon as you land at Tribhuvan International of Kathmandu . We will give you short briefing on our final agreed program and if you are the first time traveler in Nepal we will give information about restaurant, ATM, money exchanges and other useful information until we meet for next day.
There are various major cultural historical and religious places around Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur for sightseeing. Pashupatinath, Bauddhanath, Swayambhunath, Bhaktapur Durbar Square, Kathmandu Durbar Square and Patan Durbar square are our top lists , since most of them are listed on UNESCO world heritage sites. Later in the evening we will arrange dinner with your biking guide so you can know each other and talk about your biking itineraries.
If you want to drive to Pokhara it is always better to start in the morning after your breakfast, it will be little tiring day due to 6-7 hour drive. Driving from Kathmandu offers you to enjoy interesting zigzag road of hilly part of Nepal along with diversified culture, landscape and people all the way to Pokhara. The flight is short from Kathmandu to Pokhara but you can have leisure time to spend around lake-side of Pokhara, which is always a happening place for the visitors.
20 min flight from Pokhara and you will reach Jomsom, headquarter of Mustang. The Trans Himalaya climatic landscape appears as soon as you land at Jomsom.Mount Annapurna Mount Dhaulagiri Fishtail & Nilgiri could be noticed from your aircraft window. All the administrative and government work in the Mustang district is operated here. As far you move forward from Jomsom the landscape becomes more barren and isolated.The bank is widely eroded due to the Kaligandaki river.The afternoon is really windy and dusty as your biking start.After couple of hour easy walk and you will reach Kagbeni.
The biking trail stretches vividly by the bank of Kaligandaki river. We ascend and descend proportionally and climb a northern ridge just before reaching Tangbe village. The only greenery seen around are the seasonal crop fields mainly buckwheat barley and potatoes accompanied by few backyard apple garden. An hour ride from Tangbe then we reach to another settlement of Chhusang. Cross a suspension bridge and ride steep up to reach interestingly located human habitat at the top of cliff;Chele.
Today we ride on three different passes Taklam La(3625m)Dajori La(3735m) and Yamda La (3850m) which offer magnificent landscape of Mustang region. The trail is steep up from Chele and the trail flattens up just before descending down to Rocky River canyon to reach another settlement of Samar village then we climb rocky canyon to reach Syangbochen .From Syangbochen we again ascend to Yamda-La and gradually descend down to reach Ghiling which takes little more than an hour.
We visit a monastery at Ghiling which has nothing much special but shows some nice paintings of Shakya Buddhism.From Ghiling we bike up the valley to reach Nya-La pass (4010m) from where beautiful Annapurna Nilgiri and Mustang ranges are seen .The trail descends further more to reach another big and beautiful village of Mustang region Ghami. By the afternoon the cloud may block the mountains that surround the village.The trail further descends from Ghami and after crossing suspension bridge, we can see the long and beautiful manis wall, the path gradually ascends to reach another pass Charang-La(3870m) . An hour ride from the pass to reach Charang.
After visiting few interesting old gompas and Chortens in Charang ,our biking trail descend steep down cross suspension bridge and climb steep up. The path is fairly easy and gentle as it ascends to another pass Lo-La(3950) from where you can see beautiful Lo-Manthang for the first time. Nilgiri,Tilicho and Annapurna I are also visible from the pass. Descend down to reach hidden kingdom of Nepal Lo-Manthang.
Lo-manthang is itself very rich in ancient architectural designs whether it is about chortens or monasteries or even houses. All of them represent unique historical norms and values even in this modern era. Today we do village tour and visit three significant gompas Chhoeda,Jhampa and Thupchen each has own history .Numerous ancient mandalas,statues,Thangkas and painting decorates the Gompas extensively.We can make a day riding on northern side of Lo-Manthaang to Garphu Gompa and explore Chosser caves.
Today we bike southwest of Lo-Manthang enjoying the high mountains and deep gorges. The trail gradually climbs up to reach the highest point of Mustang trek Marang-La (Chogo-La) 4230m and an hour descend from the pass to reach Ghar Gompa. The Gompa dates back to 8th century and is believed to be built by Guru Rinpoche(Padmasambhava). The trail ascends further and gradually descends towards narrow valley of Dhakmar surrounded by huge eroded cliffs with numerous caves on them.
Our biking further descend south to reach one of the biggest and beautiful village of Mustang region Ghami. From Ghami we retrace the same biking path we had taken earlier and head toNya-La pass (4010m) from where beautiful ranges of Annapurna Nilgiri and Mustang ranges are seen .Descend to Ghiling, and again we ride up Yamda-La to reach Syangbochen.
Basically we retrace the same path we took to reach Lo-Manthang. Riding in between all those rocky canyons and passing by numerous villages we reach Chhusang village the habitat in between Tangbe and Chele. The village is located by the bank of Kaligandaki River surrounded by numerous eroded colorful cliffs. People here are actively engaged in farming.
We head south east from chhusang to reach Muktinath. The steep short ascent takes you at the top from where you can see beautiful Muktinath valley accompanied by beautiful mountain ranges. We drop down to Jhong Khola cross suspension bridge and make short climb to reach holy site of Muktinath.
Muktinath is holy site equally important to Hindu and Buddhist pilgrims. It is worthy to visit the Muktinath temple in the morning before descending Marpha. Lot of Hindu and Buddhist people take bath in icy cold water. The medical herb centre and Jharkot monastery accompanied by old Jharkot fortress is the centre of attraction while descending down to Jomsom. You can see massive Mount Dhaulagiri (8167m) dominating the Kaligandaki valley.
The biking trail is gentle down by the bank of Kaligandaki river on dry and dusty path. We pass many small settlements of indigenous Thakali people enjoying entirely new landscape on this region. Beautiful Tukuche peak, Nilgiri peak,and Dhaulagiri are seen on your back as our biking continues downhill. Kaligandaki River disappears down in between deep gorges. The biking continues with green lush vegetation accompanied by waterfalls and towering hills. Gradually the farming terraces appears and the biking trail becomes more flat, familiar and gentle to Tatopani.
The temperature becomes more warm and humid as you continue your biking from Tatopani to Beni.You follow Kaligandaki river from Tatopani to Beni. The environment becomes friendlier and you can see towering hills on both of your side with dense tropical forest.Reaching upon Beni we take private transportation to reach Pokhara. You can enjoy the dinner together with Nepali staffs as a tribute to their hard work for making your biking trip successful.
From Pokhara either you can take a short flight or take a private transportation to Kathmandu accordingly to the agreement we made before the start of trek.
Our office representative will be in your hotel 3 hour prior your flight time to drop you at Tribhuvan International Airport.
what's included?
- All Airport Transfers.
- Accommodation in Kathmandu & Pokhara with Bed and Breakfast.
- Tea House Accommodation during Biking.
- 3 Meals in Biking Breakfast Lunch & Dinner.
- Air and Road transportation as per the agreement made.
- All the necessary biking staffs and porters for the biking including 1 English speaking biking guide.
- All the paper works and documents required for the biking including all the permits.
- Sleeping Bag.
- Salary, wages, food, accommodation and transportation of all the Nepalese staffs during biking.
- Insurance of all the Nepalese staffs during biking.
- First Aid Kit Bag(specially for Nepali staffs).
- All local taxes and fares.
What's not included?
- International Flight Fare.
- Visa fees.
- Travel Insurance (mandatory) of all the clients that needs to cover medical and Helicopter evacuation.
- Expenses of Personal nature (Laundry bill/Telephone bill/Equipment Charging Bill/Bar bill etc).
- Expenses incurred due to the unexpected situation (Strike/Natural calamities).
- Tip to biking staffs.
- All Expenses not mentioned on Cost Includes section.
CANCELLATION
Free cancellation up to 60 days prior departure, after which the deposit becomes non-refundable.