Upper Mustang Trek — Kingdom of Lomanthang, Nepal, 10 Days
Overview
Behind the Himalaya, in the rain shadow of the Annapurna and Dhaulagiri giants, lies a desert kingdom that the modern world reached late and lightly. Upper Mustang — the old Kingdom of Lo — was closed to outsiders until 1992 and is still a restricted area entered on a special permit. Over ten days you trek up the ancient salt-trade route along the Kali Gandaki, the deepest gorge on earth, into a landscape of ochre and grey cliffs, wind-carved canyons, whitewashed Tibetan villages and cliff-face cave monasteries, all the way to the walled medieval capital of Lo Manthang.
This is Tibet without the border — the same high, dry plateau, the same crimson-robed monks and fluttering prayer flags, the same barley terraces clinging to a river that has cut a mile down through the rock. You'll fly into Jomsom, walk to Kagbeni and cross the invisible line into the restricted zone, then climb north through Chele, Syangboche, Ghami and Tsarang to Lo Manthang, exploring its palace, its monasteries and the astonishing painted caves of Jhong before turning back down the red cliffs of Drakmar to Jomsom.
Why Upper Mustang
A living Tibetan Buddhist kingdom — walled Lo Manthang, its royal palace and the 15th-century Thubchen and Jampa monasteries.
The Sky Caves of Mustang — thousands of man-made caves cut into sheer cliffs, some with 600-year-old murals.
A true rain-shadow desert behind the world's highest mountains — trekkable even through the summer monsoon.
Small groups and a licensed Nepali guide who reads the wind, the permits and the passes so the days always land right.
Upper Mustang sits behind the Himalaya, so it stays dry when the rest of Nepal floods — the trekking season runs March to November. The restricted-area permit costs US$500 per person and is arranged for you as part of the trip; it must be issued through a registered agency with a licensed guide, which is exactly how we run every departure.
Dates & prices
Checking which dates are still open…
Day-by-day itinerarys
Day 1Day 1 — Fly Pokhara → Jomsom, trek to Kagbeni (2,810 m)
We take the early 20-minute flight from Pokhara to Jomsom (2,720 m), one of the most spectacular short hops in the Himalaya — the little plane threads the Kali Gandaki gorge between the 8,000-metre walls of Annapurna and Dhaulagiri. Morning departures beat the fierce midday valley wind that Jomsom is famous for.
From the airstrip we begin walking north up the wide, stony riverbed, leaving the apple orchards of Marpha behind and entering an increasingly bare, wind-scoured landscape. In three or four gentle hours we reach Kagbeni, a green oasis of a village at the mouth of the restricted zone — a warren of mud-brick alleys, an ochre 15th-century monastery, and a police checkpoint marked simply 'Upper Mustang'.
Elevation / area: Kagbeni, 2,810 m
Accommodation: Teahouse lodge, Kagbeni
Meals: Lunch, dinner
Day 1 copyDay 1 — Fly Pokhara → Jomsom, trek to Kagbeni (2,810 m)
We take the early 20-minute flight from Pokhara to Jomsom (2,720 m), one of the most spectacular short hops in the Himalaya — the little plane threads the Kali Gandaki gorge between the 8,000-metre walls of Annapurna and Dhaulagiri. Morning departures beat the fierce midday valley wind that Jomsom is famous for.
From the airstrip we begin walking north up the wide, stony riverbed, leaving the apple orchards of Marpha behind and entering an increasingly bare, wind-scoured landscape. In three or four gentle hours we reach Kagbeni, a green oasis of a village at the mouth of the restricted zone — a warren of mud-brick alleys, an ochre 15th-century monastery, and a police checkpoint marked simply 'Upper Mustang'.
Elevation / area: Kagbeni, 2,810 m
Accommodation: Teahouse lodge, Kagbeni
Meals: Lunch, dinner
Day 1 copy 2Day 1 — Fly Pokhara → Jomsom, trek to Kagbeni (2,810 m)
We take the early 20-minute flight from Pokhara to Jomsom (2,720 m), one of the most spectacular short hops in the Himalaya — the little plane threads the Kali Gandaki gorge between the 8,000-metre walls of Annapurna and Dhaulagiri. Morning departures beat the fierce midday valley wind that Jomsom is famous for.
From the airstrip we begin walking north up the wide, stony riverbed, leaving the apple orchards of Marpha behind and entering an increasingly bare, wind-scoured landscape. In three or four gentle hours we reach Kagbeni, a green oasis of a village at the mouth of the restricted zone — a warren of mud-brick alleys, an ochre 15th-century monastery, and a police checkpoint marked simply 'Upper Mustang'.
Elevation / area: Kagbeni, 2,810 m
Accommodation: Teahouse lodge, Kagbeni
Meals: Lunch, dinner
Day 1 copy 3Day 1 — Fly Pokhara → Jomsom, trek to Kagbeni (2,810 m)
We take the early 20-minute flight from Pokhara to Jomsom (2,720 m), one of the most spectacular short hops in the Himalaya — the little plane threads the Kali Gandaki gorge between the 8,000-metre walls of Annapurna and Dhaulagiri. Morning departures beat the fierce midday valley wind that Jomsom is famous for.
From the airstrip we begin walking north up the wide, stony riverbed, leaving the apple orchards of Marpha behind and entering an increasingly bare, wind-scoured landscape. In three or four gentle hours we reach Kagbeni, a green oasis of a village at the mouth of the restricted zone — a warren of mud-brick alleys, an ochre 15th-century monastery, and a police checkpoint marked simply 'Upper Mustang'.
Elevation / area: Kagbeni, 2,810 m
Accommodation: Teahouse lodge, Kagbeni
Meals: Lunch, dinner
Day 1 copy 4Day 1 — Fly Pokhara → Jomsom, trek to Kagbeni (2,810 m)
We take the early 20-minute flight from Pokhara to Jomsom (2,720 m), one of the most spectacular short hops in the Himalaya — the little plane threads the Kali Gandaki gorge between the 8,000-metre walls of Annapurna and Dhaulagiri. Morning departures beat the fierce midday valley wind that Jomsom is famous for.
From the airstrip we begin walking north up the wide, stony riverbed, leaving the apple orchards of Marpha behind and entering an increasingly bare, wind-scoured landscape. In three or four gentle hours we reach Kagbeni, a green oasis of a village at the mouth of the restricted zone — a warren of mud-brick alleys, an ochre 15th-century monastery, and a police checkpoint marked simply 'Upper Mustang'.
Elevation / area: Kagbeni, 2,810 m
Accommodation: Teahouse lodge, Kagbeni
Meals: Lunch, dinner
Day 1 copy 5Day 1 — Fly Pokhara → Jomsom, trek to Kagbeni (2,810 m)
We take the early 20-minute flight from Pokhara to Jomsom (2,720 m), one of the most spectacular short hops in the Himalaya — the little plane threads the Kali Gandaki gorge between the 8,000-metre walls of Annapurna and Dhaulagiri. Morning departures beat the fierce midday valley wind that Jomsom is famous for.
From the airstrip we begin walking north up the wide, stony riverbed, leaving the apple orchards of Marpha behind and entering an increasingly bare, wind-scoured landscape. In three or four gentle hours we reach Kagbeni, a green oasis of a village at the mouth of the restricted zone — a warren of mud-brick alleys, an ochre 15th-century monastery, and a police checkpoint marked simply 'Upper Mustang'.
Elevation / area: Kagbeni, 2,810 m
Accommodation: Teahouse lodge, Kagbeni
Meals: Lunch, dinner
Day 1 copy 6Day 1 — Fly Pokhara → Jomsom, trek to Kagbeni (2,810 m)
We take the early 20-minute flight from Pokhara to Jomsom (2,720 m), one of the most spectacular short hops in the Himalaya — the little plane threads the Kali Gandaki gorge between the 8,000-metre walls of Annapurna and Dhaulagiri. Morning departures beat the fierce midday valley wind that Jomsom is famous for.
From the airstrip we begin walking north up the wide, stony riverbed, leaving the apple orchards of Marpha behind and entering an increasingly bare, wind-scoured landscape. In three or four gentle hours we reach Kagbeni, a green oasis of a village at the mouth of the restricted zone — a warren of mud-brick alleys, an ochre 15th-century monastery, and a police checkpoint marked simply 'Upper Mustang'.
Elevation / area: Kagbeni, 2,810 m
Accommodation: Teahouse lodge, Kagbeni
Meals: Lunch, dinner
Day 1 copy 7Day 1 — Fly Pokhara → Jomsom, trek to Kagbeni (2,810 m)
We take the early 20-minute flight from Pokhara to Jomsom (2,720 m), one of the most spectacular short hops in the Himalaya — the little plane threads the Kali Gandaki gorge between the 8,000-metre walls of Annapurna and Dhaulagiri. Morning departures beat the fierce midday valley wind that Jomsom is famous for.
From the airstrip we begin walking north up the wide, stony riverbed, leaving the apple orchards of Marpha behind and entering an increasingly bare, wind-scoured landscape. In three or four gentle hours we reach Kagbeni, a green oasis of a village at the mouth of the restricted zone — a warren of mud-brick alleys, an ochre 15th-century monastery, and a police checkpoint marked simply 'Upper Mustang'.
Elevation / area: Kagbeni, 2,810 m
Accommodation: Teahouse lodge, Kagbeni
Meals: Lunch, dinner
Day 1 copy 8Day 1 — Fly Pokhara → Jomsom, trek to Kagbeni (2,810 m)
We take the early 20-minute flight from Pokhara to Jomsom (2,720 m), one of the most spectacular short hops in the Himalaya — the little plane threads the Kali Gandaki gorge between the 8,000-metre walls of Annapurna and Dhaulagiri. Morning departures beat the fierce midday valley wind that Jomsom is famous for.
From the airstrip we begin walking north up the wide, stony riverbed, leaving the apple orchards of Marpha behind and entering an increasingly bare, wind-scoured landscape. In three or four gentle hours we reach Kagbeni, a green oasis of a village at the mouth of the restricted zone — a warren of mud-brick alleys, an ochre 15th-century monastery, and a police checkpoint marked simply 'Upper Mustang'.
Elevation / area: Kagbeni, 2,810 m
Accommodation: Teahouse lodge, Kagbeni
Meals: Lunch, dinner
Day 1 copy 9Day 1 — Fly Pokhara → Jomsom, trek to Kagbeni (2,810 m)
We take the early 20-minute flight from Pokhara to Jomsom (2,720 m), one of the most spectacular short hops in the Himalaya — the little plane threads the Kali Gandaki gorge between the 8,000-metre walls of Annapurna and Dhaulagiri. Morning departures beat the fierce midday valley wind that Jomsom is famous for.
From the airstrip we begin walking north up the wide, stony riverbed, leaving the apple orchards of Marpha behind and entering an increasingly bare, wind-scoured landscape. In three or four gentle hours we reach Kagbeni, a green oasis of a village at the mouth of the restricted zone — a warren of mud-brick alleys, an ochre 15th-century monastery, and a police checkpoint marked simply 'Upper Mustang'.
Elevation / area: Kagbeni, 2,810 m
Accommodation: Teahouse lodge, Kagbeni
Meals: Lunch, dinner
What's included & excluded
- Upper Mustang restricted-area special permit (US$500 per person) arranged
- Upper Mustang restricted-area special permit (US$500 per person) arranged
- Upper Mustang restricted-area special permit (US$500 per person) arranged
- Upper Mustang restricted-area special permit (US$500 per person) arranged
- International flights and Nepal visa fees
- International flights and Nepal visa fees
- International flights and Nepal visa fees
- International flights and Nepal visa fees
- International flights and Nepal visa fees
- International flights and Nepal visa fees
Before you go
Three things that stop a booking going wrong.
What to pack
Bring broken-in boots, a 30 to 40 litre daypack, thermal base layers, a waterproof shell, sun protection at altitude, a headtorch, and a power bank. A full printable list is emailed with your confirmation.
