What is the best season for trekking in Nepal?

Well, Nepal have four good seasons in a year namely Spring (Mid Feb to May), Summer and Monsoon (rainy wet months) from mid June last till mid September, with Autumn / Falls from mid September till November months, and Winter months from December till mid February. Trekking can be of few days to more than a month too. So, if you are looking for trekking in Nepal then choice is yours when to start your trek. If you are planning for short trekking and especially a moderate trekking for few days to a week then you can do it nearly all months of the year. But you should avoid monsoon that means months of July to August. For adventurous and longer trekking which lasts from a week to months and involves high passes, you need to be little aware. These long trekking need more fitness and awareness because they can be little tricky and difficult. So, picking these trek-kings and picking best time of the year to do these trekking matter most for safety trekking. So, March to May and September till December is the best time for doing adventurous trekking in Nepal.

How cold will be trekking and will it be sunny or not?

It depends on which trekking region and which destination you are picking. Well, most of the days in trekking seasons are sunny with bright sunlight till afternoon time. But be aware, Himalayan weather sometimes can be unpredictable and can get overcast with snow and rains with hailstorms on higher areas of Himalaya. However, during March to May most of the days will be sunny. As your reach higher area it can get cloudy in the afternoon bringing chill and cold wind. Morning and night time will be much cooler around march to may at above 2,000 m. While in moths of September to early December day will be clear with sunshine. But days will be short during these months. Morning and night time will be cold as these are the cold months in Nepal. Even in the shades you will feel cold.

How safe is trekking in Nepal?

As long, you join with reputed, local or abroad travel / adventure agents it will be a safe holiday. Because you will be well looked from arrival to departure. We provide expert guides who knows the area of trekking very well with enough knowledge to care of clients throughout the journey. We also provide strong porter who even knows better than guide in some situations.So, you will be well accompanied during your trekking. Thus trekking in Nepal is safe if everything goes well. But sometimes it can be little harsh. The unpredictable weather, lack of well sleep, change of foods and natural calamities can make it really worse. Altitude sickness is one of the major factor of letting you down during trekking in high regions. We used to send first aid kits with our guide, if in case yon need first-aid treatments. In some scenarios first aid treatments wont be enough. If you need medical emergency then we are always ready to provide that with helicopter rescues.

What age groups do you accept for booking?

Again this depends on the trekking destinations you are picking. If it is not the altitude trekking(more than 3000) then we even allow adult of age less tha 15. People who wants to travel and do treks in Nepal then they need to be medically fit. They also need to have travel insurance. If it is easy and moderate trek then people who are medically advised by doctor to travel will be accepted as client.In this scenario age group will be flexible too. But people who wants adventurous trips and trips in high Himalaya, they might be caught by AMS.(Altitude mountain sickness.)So age group will be vital with sound health condition. For these type of treks we accept booking from age group 16-70. So, if you are travelling to Nepal then before booking with any company ask them whether they will accept you or not. Do not lie about your health issue and travel insurance.

What happens when someone is sick/ get health problem on treks?

All will be taken with well care as per the situations. For normal mild sickness, one can stay in the same place for few days and take time to recover. Do not worry, you will be looked after by our guides/staffs. After feeling better, you can continue or return back to Kathmandu city. As you may know that we used to send first aid kit with our guide/staff.For normal injury and issues the medicines inside kit will be sufficient. For severe illness like AMS (Acute Mountain Sickness), if the symptoms does not improve and gets worse, where our guides/staffs and office in Kathmandu will organize immediate emergency evacuation by any means of transport or with quick helicopter services. The top priority remains in saving life. We will put our all effort to take to nearest medical facilities or back in Kathmandu for proper care.

What to expect on treks around Nepal Himalayas?

Nepal is well known and renowned for warm hospitality wherever you trek within Nepal Himalayas. Which literally means villager are friendly who used to respect and welcome tourists into their villages. In lower altitude trekking destinations, your will find different culture and people with mix race. Most importantly you will see the perfect blend of both Hindu and Buddhist religions people. The higher areas will be fully dominated by Buddhism religions with interesting culture and custom. So, you will see simple farm life and cattle herding of people Walking into rural farm villages enriched with old traditions and colorful culture depends on the areas of trek. In Buddhism villages, you will encounter long prayer walls and monuments visiting its impressive old monasteries. Most of the walks includes visit of local villages with friendly people in shade of high Himalayan peaks. Similarly, you will certainly be walking into cool alpine forest of tall rhododendron-magnolia-pines and fir tree lines.

Do all trekking areas have good connection to cell or land line phones?

At present most of the villages and towns even in higher remote areas do have phone communication.Sometimes the network might not work due to Himalayan bad weather or being in deep gorge and valley blocked by hills and mountains. But most of the time it does work. If you have your problem with your cell-phone you can use our staff’s phones or local phones. Some higher areas will have STD and ISTD even Sat Phones. But if you require then they will charge as per minute in using local communication services?

How is electricity on route of trekking?

At present most of the popular trekking areas around Annapurna and Everest do have good power supply to run electricity within villages and town on route. Higher up in some villages, they have their own small hydro project.Furthermore, every lodge have power from Solar too.

Upper Mustang Trek

Name: Upper Mustang Trek
Brand: Eco Holidays Nepal
Price: 1965.00 USD
Availability: InStock
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Upper Mustang Trek

Formally restricted and popularly known as the Kingdom of Lo, Upper Mustang is an ethereal destination. The place lies on Nepal's northwestern Tibetan border and is a popular trekking destination.

We bring you an amazingly curated package of an adventurous trip to the Upper Mustang Trek. The Upper Mustang trek will be a fortnight's worth trek that takes you beyond the Himalayan ranges of Dhaulagiri and Annapurna. The trek takes you to a unique, enchanting dry land plateau within the Tibetan borders.

Upper Mustang trek houses ancient trails of old trans-Himalayan salt caravan routes between Nepal and Tibet. Our itinerary even extends to places like Karo-La Pass, showing existing trade routes between Nepal and Tibet. A trek to such a historic, picturesque, and significant destination in Nepal’s Himalayas is quite a journey.

Significant historical and cultural monuments of Upper Mustang also include ancient cave civilizations’ remnants, monasteries, and Himalayan sky burials. The hidden valley of thousands of years of Mustang has a culture, lifestyle, and heritage rarely explored. It houses many unexplored natural and cultural treasures. Places like Jhong gufa, Cora la borders, snow-capped Himalayas, and grand rock formations are major attraction points of Upper Mustang.

The people and lifestyle of Upper Mustang are also equally fascinating. Most of the Upper Mustang is populated by Thakalis, Magars, Gurungs, or Tibetans. Along with Hinduism, Tibetan Buddhism is widely practiced. People celebrate Tiji, Yartung, and horse racing festivals, which attract many tourists. The delicacies of Upper Mustang are also dear to tourists. Local wine, Tibetan bread, Khapse, dried food, beers, and Marpha are popular here. The local Thakali and Tibetan cuisines are also very popular.

Visiting a place that offers many unique experiences and observations must be on your bucket list. If you’re in Nepal Upper Mustang trek should be on your to-do list. We at Eco Holidays Nepal are here to help you fulfill that list. We have an excellent 14-day long trip to Upper Mustang curated for you.

Our Upper Mustang trek will begin from Pokhara and end back in Pokhara. You will first arrive in Kathmandu and be transferred to a hotel. We will take off from Kathmandu the next day via a flight or drive to Pokhara.

We will take a short flight from Pokhara to Jomsom, the Mustang’s district headquarters. It houses a lot of Thakali people and offers excellent Thakali cuisine. We will start our hike from Jomsom, aiming toward the Kaligandaki River to enter Upper Mustang valley.

On our hike, the trail takes us to the beautiful place of Kagbeni. The place shows vistas of mountains like Nilgiri and Dhaulagiri. Kagbeni becomes our fulcrum point to enter the hidden kingdom of Lo.

From Kagbeni, we head to Tshele or Chele within the Kali Gandaki River valley.

The roads show you long, towering canyons and hill cliffs that have eroded. They have a unique beauty and shine bright in various colors when sun rays hit them.

From Tshele, we head towards Syangbochen with a day-long hike. You will see hamlets with myriad Buddhist praying monuments. A clear reflection of the Buddhist lifestyle is visible through these pilgrimages. The next destination of Ghami also shows a reflection of such a lifestyle evidently.

From Ghami, we move towards a Lo-Manthang after spending a day in Charang. Lo- Manthang welcomes you with ancient walled structures housing a large village. Hints of timeless culture and tradition of Buddhism and old Bonpo, pre-Buddhism are evident. Along with exploring such Tibetan culture, we also visit the palace of the former Mustang King.

After spending two full days in Lo-Manthang, we move to Dhakmar, ending the first half of the trek. We will then retract our steps back to Syangbochen to reach Jomsom through the route of Chusang. We will take a flight back to Pokhara from Jomsom, officially ending our trip.

Let us delve deep into our package and our offers for this trip.

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Why should you do the Upper Mustang Trek?

Unexplored, rare trekking destination

The Upper Mustang region, known as the Kingdom of Lo by the natives, was restricted as of 1992. This was mainly due to it being near the vicinity of Tibet. However, after its demilitarization, Upper Mustang was open for visitors in 1992. So, the Upper Mustang area is unique and unexplored by foreigners.

Doing the Upper Mustang trek allows you to explore the unique Tibetan culture of the Lo kingdom. Various sects of Buddhism followed as per Tibetan Buddhism are evident here. It is quite unique to see such traditions practiced in Nepal, which also houses Lumbini, the birthplace of Gautam Buddha.

Experience trekking trails without risks of rainfall

The unique geographical location of the Upper Mustang in the Tibetan plateau keeps it in rain shadows. The place never received rainfall and is dry most of the time. It provides you with a unique perspective on the Nepali trekking journey. Tourists avoid most Nepali trekking trails during monsoons due to the weather. But planning and preventing treks during monsoon isn’t necessary for the Upper Mustang treks.

Unique and historical natural structures

The rare and ancient valley of Upper Mustang has many towering canyons. It houses eerie-looking red cliffs that occur due to years of erosion. Upper Mustang shows its history through its fort-like structured white-colored houses. You can find sky-high mountain caves that are centuries old. People used these caves for burials, and human remnants have also been found there.

Such fascinating natural structures and their use by people centuries ago make you question the civilization here. It also gives evidence of how old the place and the kingdom of Lo were

The difficulty level of the Upper Mustang trek

The Upper Mustang trek has a moderate type of trekking route. You have well-separated walking routes, so the hikes will be pretty convenient.

Even the highest altitude of the trek isn’t too unbearable. In our itinerary-based Upper Mustang trek, you only have to reach as high as 4230 meters at Marang La. However, many other routes that go through Teri La pass, Upper Dolpo, Damodar Kundra, etc., are more strenuous. Our route makes the Upper Mustang trek difficulty a lot less severe.

Our trek is also short, with 14 days, including flights and road trips. You do not need extensive physical training or preparation to venture on this trek. You can easily battle Upper Mustang trek difficulty with little effort, even as an amateur.

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Guides and porters

The Upper Mustang trek gets better if you have a professional guide to show you around this unique destination. The place has a unique blend of culture, and its history is quite fascinating. A local professional guide teaching you about the place as you explore will be a great experience.

Moreover, the Upper Mustang trek cannot be done solo; the entry point needs you to get inside in a group. So, traveling the area alone is not an option. If you plan this trip alone, having guides with you would be a great idea.

You can also be accompanied by porters who carry your luggage and simplify your trek. A porter usually carries around 20 to 25 kg of luggage for you.

We at Eco Holidays will manage guides and porters for you independently. You need not fret about hiring them or making extensive plans.

Best time for Upper Mustang trek

The Upper Mustang trek is possible any time of the year. But the trek is mainly performed from the beginning of spring, March, to the beginning of winter, late December. The regular Nepali trekking trails usually are best suited during spring and March. But the Upper Mustang trek has a unique take on this suitability.

The spring and autumn months are the best suitable for trekking trails in Nepal. The temperate weather and clear blue skies aid in its suitability. Naturally, the Upper Mustang trek is highly recommended during spring and autumn. However, the summer or monsoon are equally attractive times for the Upper Mustang trek.

The summer months are the best times to visit Mustang to see the vegetation of the Himalayas. The region stays dry throughout the year, so you do not have to worry about rainfall. The arid Himayalan vegetation in the Tibetan plateau will be a great observation.

Visiting Chhoser, monasteries, and caves during peak monsoon is popular. Horse riding in this season is also very popular.

The winter seasons are considered an off-season for the Upper Mustang trek. The second week of December marks the off-season, and the trails start getting empty. The temperature falls as low as -20 degrees celsius, and most tea houses close.

It is not recommended you do the Upper Mustang trek during winter. But it isn’t impossible to trek in the winter; you need a lot of caution and planning. The winter treks could be challenging but give you a unique experience. Snowfall in the area gives you a very enchanting environment. Views of the landscapes and mountains will be immaculate during winter.

Food and accommodation available during the trek

Local tea houses serve as the primary lodging option in the Upper Mustang trek. In such tea houses, you get twin bedrooms and shared bathrooms. Every tea house has communal dining areas where hikers can gather to eat and socialize.

"Daal bhaat tarkari" is the most popular dish on Nepalese hiking trails. It is a rice, lentils, vegetable curry, and pickles meal. You could also get mo: mo, a dumpling served with achaar(a spicy sauce), a specialty of Nepal. Another typical dish served in Nepalese hotels and tea houses is chowmein. You'll get incredibly hygienic cuisine that provides the energy you need for your hikes.

Permits needed for the Upper Mustang trek

Restricted Area Permits of Upper Mustang

You cannot enter the Upper Mustang area without this permit. The region above Kagbeni marks the Upper Mustang area. In the gateway across Kagbeni lies a checkpoint where trekkers must show their restricted area permit and passport for registration. You must be in a trekking team to pass the checkpoint; individual trekking isn’t allowed in the area.

The RAP costs around USD 500 per person for the first ten days. You must pay an additional USD 50 per day once you exceed the 10 days.

Annapurna Conservation Area Permits

The Annapurna Conservation area houses the Upper Mustang region among various trekking trails of Nepal. You ought to obtain this permit to enter the Annapurna conservation area. The Nepal tourism board issues an ACAP permit in Kathmandu or ACAP counter in Pokhara. It costs you just NPR 3000.

Trekker’s Information Management Systems Permits

This permit is not necessarily checked during our trip to Upper Mustang but needs to be kept as a caution. This permit is essential if you must drive to Pokhara from Jomsom.

Cost of Upper Mustang trek

Basic cost

The primary needs of your Upper Mustang trek cost comprise the essential cost. They include the cost of food, accommodation, transportation, guides, porters, permits, etc. These costs are covered within the 14 days Mustang trek package by us. You need not make extensive plans or research about such factors; relax. We at eco holidays Nepal already have a curated package that brings the Upper Mustang trek cost to a reasonable amount of USD 1765 for the 14 days trek.

Miscellaneous cost

The daily costs of our package will include guides, porters, and accommodations. However, they do request a small gratuity in exchange for their assistance. For your guides, porters, and service employees at lodges, you can tip about USD 10 per day. With limited resources, it is challenging to accommodate trekkers on remote Tibetan plateaus. Tipping the workers along the way would be a brilliant move.

Again, since we will be in remote locations, the electricity infrastructure there might not be the best. Therefore, you must get a power bank or solar battery charger. For a small fee, electricity is sometimes available at the tea houses we stay in.

There's a chance that WiFi won't work on isolated routes. Even by chance, if you get wifi, the facilities won't be great, so you might need to purchase an internet data packet. Ncell and NTC are the two most often used options. You'll pay about USD 2 for a SIM card. You'll have to pay roughly USD 10 for a data package for the entire journey.

On the remote trails, there are no water heating facilities. If you need hot water or wish to take a warm bath, you can find a bucket of heated water in the firewood. Staff in local tea houses will accommodate such facilities. However, this will incur an additional expense of USD 2 to USD 3.

Additionally, you might wish to purchase presents and mementos for friends and family. You must take money out of your pocket to pay for such.

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Essentials for your trip

Clothing essentials

Warm, breathable jacket with hood
Waterproof jacket
Comfortable trekking pants that are windproof and waterproof
Comfortable trekking shorts that are windproof and waterproof
Warm thermal trousers
A full-sleeved cotton and woolen shirts
Head scarves
Underwear
Hand gloves,
Waterproof trekking boots
Cotton and woolen socks
Comfortable sandals or slippers

Miscellaneous personal items

UV protected sunglasses
Sunscreen
Duffel bags
Trekking poles
Sleeping bags
Headlamp
Personal first aid kit
Water purifying tablets
Earmuffs
Camera
Towel
Toothbrush/toothpaste
Waterbottle

Frequently Asked Questions about the Upper Mustang trek

How hard is the Upper Mustang trek?

The route for the Upper Mustang trip is considered to be moderate. The walks will be very convenient because of the well-spaced walking paths. Even at the trek's highest point is not too uncomfortable. Based on our itinerary, you need to ascend only up to Marang La's elevation of 4,230 meters during the Upper Mustang trek.

How long is the Upper Mustang trek?

The length of the Upper Mustang trek varies based on routes, itinerary, and modes of transportation. The plan we have curated will take 14 days to complete the Upper Mustang trek.

Why is Upper Mustang restricted?

Upper Mustang was restricted due to its proximity to Tibet and militarization. It was also forbidden due to ancient Tibetan practices of preservation of culture and tradition of the place.

How much does the Upper Mustang trekking Permit cost?

The restricted area permit for Upper Mustang costs around USD 500 for foreigners. The amount applies for the first ten days of trekking; an additional USD 50 is charged for additional days.

However, the Annapurna Conservation Area permit, which is also necessary for the Upper Mustang trek, only costs USD 30.

Where does the Upper Mustang trek start and end?

The trip officially starts and ends with a drive or flight from and off to Pokhara. But the hiking part of the journey begins at Jomsom and ends at Jomsom.

What is the highest altitude of the Upper Mustang trek?

At an elevation of 4,230 meters, Marang La will be the highest point of the Upper Mustang trek.

How much does the Upper Mustang trek cost?

The Upper Mustang trek cost will include accommodation, transport costs, guides, porters, permits, food, etc. Factoring all of these, the Upper Mustang trek cost will be around USD $

Can I do the Upper Mustang trek solo?

The restricted area of the Upper Mustang region does not allow solo travelers. So, to be precise, you cannot do the Upper Mustang trek solo. You need to trek this region in a group or accompanied by guides.

If you want to travel alone without friends, you can travel on a package. Trekking packages will, as per requirement, make the team and take you to remote trails of Upper Mustang with their guides.

Can a beginner do this trek?

Yes, a beginner can easily venture on this trek. Although our trekking hours might be lengthier, the less short trekking route and stable weather make this trek very easy.

Upper Mustang Trek

Destination

Nepal

Durations

14 days

Trip Difficulty

Moderate

Activities

Adventure Trek and Tours

Accommodation

Hotel

Meals

Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Vehicle

Private Transport

Max. People

6

Trip Mode

Hotels and local nice lodge basis.

Areas of Trek

Mustang

Mode of transport

Exciting drive and scenic flights.

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Highlights