Mark Bennetts - Trekking in Nepal: Upper Mustang

Trekking In Nepal: a Seriesof Trekking Guides

Upper Mustang

Mark Bennetts

Introduction to the Series

This document is one of a series of downloadablegiveaways from Kathmandu& Beyond . The series deals with trekking in Nepaland is based on the authors own trekking experiences and coversthe following routes:

Annapurna Conservation Area:

AnnapurnaFoothills

Annapurna BaseCamp

AroundAnnapurna

UpperMustang

Sagarmatha National Park (Everest Region)

Everest BaseCamp

GokyoLake

The series also includes a generalintroduction to trekking in Nepal, dealing with topicssuch as when best to trek, staying in teahouses, use of guides andporters, how to avoid Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS) and what to doif AMS strikes, and many other tips and advice including a verycomprehensive check list for what to take/not take.

If you are new to trekking in Nepal, it isrecommended you read the generalintroduction before you download and study theindividual trek descriptions.

Chele in Upper Mustang

Copyright

Copyright Mark Bennetts,2016

Published by Kathmandu &Beyond Publications at Smashwords

This eBook is licensed for yourpersonal enjoyment. The eBook may not be re-sold or given away toother people. If you would like to share this book with anotherperson, please buy an extra copy for each recipient. If yourereading this book and did not buy it, or it was not bought for youruse only, then please return to Smashwords.com and buy your owncopy. Thank you for respecting my hard work.

ISBN : 9781311562104

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Upper Mustang

Once you have trekked in Upper Mustang it iseasy to see why it is hailed as The last forbidden Kingdom. Thescenery along the entire route is simply stunning and the high costof the permit ensures that very few trekkers visit the region,meaning that for much of the time you have the place to yourself.The trek was tougher than I expected and you cross no less thaneight passes en route to and from Lo-Manthang, the regionsancient, walled capital. You also have to battle with the elements;the wind and the dust can be relentless. This is especially truewhen walking south as you are heading into the wind andfurthermore, the trails are not as well defined as on othertrekking routes. However, ultimately this all adds to the adventureand a trek in Upper Mustang is a once in a lifetimeopportunity.

Trekking in Upper Mustang is not cheap. Thepermit for the region cost US$500 for 10 days (and US$50 per personper day thereafter) plus, as a minimum requirement, it iscompulsory to hire the services of a Sherpa/guide, which is anadditional cost. But the good news is that the common misconceptionthat you need to arrange a full support trek (see below) in orderto visit Upper Mustang is, in fact, not correct. There areteahouses along the route and using them instead of camping willkeep the overall cost of your trek to a minimum.

Most of the teahouses only have three or fourrooms, but this shouldnt be too much of an issue as the regionsees very few visitors.

(A full support trek is normally based onstaying in tents and includes a much larger crew of porters (tocarry all the camping equipment) as well as a cook and thecompulsory Sherpa/guide. This style of trek is great for groups of8+ but works out to be quite a bit more expensive for any groupsize smaller than that. Based on current regulations, the minimumgroup size for trekking in Upper Mustang is two people, i.e. nosolo trekkers.)

Contents

Pokhara to Jomsom and onto Kagbeni (20minute flight and 3 hours walking/10km)

Kagbeni to Chele (5hrs walking)

Chele to Syangboche (6/7hrs walking)

Syangboche to Charang (Tsarang) (6/7hrswalking)

Charang to Lo-Manthang (4hrswalking)

Rest day in Lo-Manthang

Lo-Manthang to Ghemi (7hrs walking)

Ghemi to Samar (6hrs walking)

Samar to Kagbeni (6/7hrs walking)

Kagbeni to Jomsom (2.5hrs walking)

Jomsom to Pokhara (20min flight)

Overview Map

Day 1Pokhara to Jomsom and onto Kagbeni (3hrs)

As the flight from Pokhara to Jomsom cannot beguaranteed to take off (the schedule is dependent on the weather),the first night on this particular trek should always be spent inKagbeni. The trekking permit for Upper Mustang is date specific.You can enter on or after the date specified on your permit but notbefore. Kagbeni itself is an entrancing, medieval-style village soit wont be time wasted. Plus sleeping in Kagbeni (2800m) on thefirst night allows for some acclimatisation time before headinghigher once you start the trek.

It is possible to drive from Pokhara to Jomsomand sometimes even as far as Kagbeni. Bank on at least seven hoursto get as far as Jomsom, and depending on the state of the road atthe time, be prepared for a bumpy ride for at least 50% of thejourney.

Accommodation in Kagbeni

Lodges/teahouses

There are at least three decent teahouses tochoose from in Kagbeni. I stayed at the excellent Mustang GatewayHotel where rooms are spacious and clean and have privatebathrooms. Other good lodges include the Asian Trekkers Home whichis located close to the village entrance, the Shangri La Hotel andthe New Annapurna Lodge. The interestingly named Yac Donaldsrestaurant serves very good organic food.

Camping

There are three campsites within the village.The best is opposite the Mustang Gateway Hotel.

En route from Kagbeni to Chele

Day2 Kagbeni to Chele (6hrs)

Today starts with a short walk through thevillage to the official check point, where it takes about 30minutes to complete formalities. Thereafter you are allowed toenter Upper Mustang and its quite uncanny, but literally crossingthe border takes you into another world; the scenery instantlychanges and the Kali Gandaki Gorge opens up before you. If theriver bed is navigable (i.e. dry) then it is possible to walkstraight along it for the first 30 minutes or so and avoid the longhaul up and over the ridge to the east. If not, the first hour ofthe trek will be spent tackling this ridge. After passing the smallvillage of Tiri Gaon to your west, it is necessary to pick up thehigh path anyway and follow it all the way to Tangbe. This is thefirst major settlement along the route. From here the path climbsand hugs the mountainside until finally reaching Chhusang, which isa good place to stop for lunch. This whole section takes around 4to 4.5 hours. From Chhusang its a straightforward walk of aroundan hour along the riverbed (or the high route, depending on theseason) to the foot of Chele. This is followed by a tough 20 minuteclimb to the village itself.

Accommodation in Chele

Lodges/teahouses

At the time of my trek, there were only twoteahouses in this very tiny village, the Deuralee/Mena Guesthouseand the Bisha Guesthouse. Both are basic and only have a handful ofrooms but are acceptable for an overnight stop.

Camping

There are three campsites in Chele, one in thecourtyard of the Bisha Guesthouse, one just below it and anotherjust above it. Out of the three, the one just below the BishaGuesthouse is the best, in my opinion.