Mustang Tiji Festival Trek- A Remarkable Cultural Experience 16 Days

Your trekking Group leader will be at Kathmandu international airport to receive and you then transfer you to the hotel. A pick-up facility is provided and it's certainly very exciting to drive along our lively highway which is chaotic but very interesting. In case if you arrive early prior to your trek schedule it will provide you with ample time to explore the lively town of Thamel and around Kathmandu.

Soon Trek briefing and equipment distribution event will be organized where your leader delivers a briefing over essential matters regarding your trek. After the briefing, you will be directed to the most authentic Royal Nepali Traditional Restaurant for the welcome dinner and it’s an appropriate moment to break the silence and get to know each other.

As we are taking a private vehicle, we can set the departure time as per our convenience. However it is better to start earlier as the traffic condition is better in the morning as well as the weather. The drive is approximately 6 Hrs in a private vehicle including the stops for tea and lunch. Pokhara the most beautiful city and Nepal's second-largest lake city is simply phenomenal. As we leave the capital city, our bus follows the winding road over the valley rim and descends onto the valley where the Trishuli River follows The journey is slow and steady as the road winds through villages passing terraces fields and we soon catch glimpses of the high eye-catching mountain ranges of Ganesh, Manaslu, and Annapurna. Normally, we arrive at Pokhara by mid-afternoon so you have time to explore this pretty lake city. You can even hire a boat to visit the Island of Barahi temple and get some great photos from the middle of Phewa Lake. We will stay at the hotel at Pokhara.

Since Jomsom flight takes off really early in the morning owing to the high winds in the deep valley of Kali-Gandaki. Since the wind in Jomsom picks up very early in the morning the flights start taking off when the aviation finds a better window for flying opportunity. Eventually, the 20 minutes spectacular flight gets us to Jomsom, the Windy Valley of Mustang, and the district headquarters. This short flight takes you through the world's deepest Kali Gandaki Gorge with the magnificent view of Annapurna and Dhaulagiri. The Nilgiri range dominates the entire valley. After a short break, we head out to Kagbeni. The walk to Kagbeni is 4 hours through the ancient salt trade route. You would be amazed to see the stretch of Kali-Gandaki riverbed where we occasionally walk. It’s an effortless first-day trek to the ancient town of Kagbeni, we will get there by lunch. After lunch, we will explore the ancient town that holds ample history and legends.  

Today we enter the restricted area of Upper Mustang. As we leave Kagbeni, to the end of the town we come to the Check Post where we are to complete our permit formalities with few necessary registrations. We take the roadway to the arid Tibet like region; many have related Upper Mustang to the Grand Canyon. Don’t miss to look back to observe Kagbeni that stands like the ancient medieval town aptly situated at the base of the glaring Nilgiri Mountain that dominates the entire valley. This delightful walk through the dry, sandy region with amazing scenes around leads us to the huge plateau of Apple Orchard. We walk the undulating trail to the old village of Tangbe for lunch. Do not expect too much as the Mustang started tea-house trekking just a few years back. After lunch, we walk further to the beautiful village of Chhusang. From Chhusang we walk the riverbed trail and cross Kali Gandaki and ascent short steep trail to Chele, a small ancient town where we stay overnight. It is remarkable to observe wind eroded hills and sky caves along the way.  

From Syanboche we climb gently to a small Syanboche pass of 3800m/12,467ft. We stop for a Kodak moment here as this tiny pass delivers a marvelous panoramic mountain view and the expansion of Mustang valleys. As we descend down the view of the prosperous village of Ghiling is on sight. The village in the dryland with Willow trees and vegetation of color contrast makes it more like a mirage. During May, June, or October any villages in the Upper Mustang region appear very dramatic with varied colors. It gives the idea of some very celebrated modern art painted in the hub of nature with passion. We descend further down and explore the most stunning and very cultured village of Ghiling. Visiting the Monastery at the high up ridge, which is very ancient and has legends, it is indeed very fascinating. Gradually we walk up Jhaite for Lunch. After lunch we ascend to the pass of Nyi-La – from the pass as you look back you see the south still being lighted up by soaring peaks of Nilgiri, Tilicho, and Annapurna. After the Pass, we further descend to another mirage of Ghami. Explore the village in the afternoon. 

 After breakfast, leaving Ghami we walk downhill to cross a bridge at Naktang Khola (river) and a short climb leads u to the Longest Mani (prayer) wall of Mustang. To your left is the high range of Red Cliff – both Mani wall and the Red Cliff gives you the mythical fight between the monster and Guru Padmasambhava (Guru Rinpoche) (750-810 AD), the founder of Tibetan Buddhism who created a fusion of Buddhism with the original Shamanistic religion of Tibet called Bon. We walk and effortless trail and eventually leads us to the most fascinating village of Tsarang (Charang), the land of Ancient Chorents - a Buddhist shrine, typically a saint's tomb or a monument to the Buddha. After lunch, we will explore the maze-like Tsarang its Monastery, their heritage, and the first-ever built palace of Tsarang that dates back to the 15th century.

The entrance fee may apply as per the organizer's rules and regulations.

Tiji Ceremony is usually in the late afternoon or evening time, depending on the time schedule provided by the Monastery. Accordingly, we hire a jeep for an exceptional excursion to the valley of Choser to visit the 2500 years old Jhong Sky Cave with 44 compartments and 14th Century Nyphu Cave monastery built into the canyon. Both the cave and the monastery have a beautiful legend that will be explained by your group leader. After lunch back at the hotel in Lo-Manthang, we will have a free afternoon. In addition, around evening time we will get back to the palace to witness the 2nd day of the Tiji Ceremony. 

Today your group leader will walk you inside the palace area to visit the 3 most spiritual and historical monasteries of Lo-Manthang. These are the heritage of the Lo that dates back to the same time as the Royal Palace (14th century) – due to snow and not proper roofing the paintings inside the monastery has been partly washed for which a lot of restoration is going one. In today’s excursion, we will visit Dragkar-Thegchen Ling Gompa, Chode Gompa, Jampa Monastery, and the Monastic Museum. These monasteries hold beautiful paintings that are valuable and gives you the history, culture, and craftsmanship. After lunch, we have a free afternoon and soon we will witness the closing ceremony of the Tiji Festival.

We wave goodbye to the most enchanting Lo-Manthang and take a different, less trodden valley of the Nomads. As the name suggests “The Valley of the Nomads” you will see ample tents, shades, and livestock of the nomads who migrated from Tibet during the China invasion of Tibet. This Nomad valley delivers you the phenomenal view and the walk is interestingly incredible. There is a short but steep ascent until the ridge before Ghar Gumba (monastery), the 8th Century monastery built by the Indian saint Guru Padmasambhava (Guru Rinpoche). This ridge delivers you the most stunning view. After the ridge, we descend steeply from Chogo-La Pass - 4280m to Ghar Gumba - 3950m, the first-ever built Oldest Tibetan Buddhism Monastery in the world. Your staff will organize a quick lunch in the monastery. By the time your lunch is organized, you can visit the oldest Tibetan Buddhism monastery. We continue with a different valley and climb over a pass and walk to the Red Cliffed Dhakmar descending from high above the canyons and eroded hills. we walk further to the village of Ghami – we will most probably stay at the same lodge.

We retrace our trail back via Syanboche and stay overnight in a different village of Samar. Samar is a hill high above Chele, our first overnight stay in the restricted area of Upper Mustang.

We start early today to catch our bus to Jomsom. Leaving Samar we steeply descend to Chele and further descend to Kali Gandaki river where we cross the bridge and walk to Chhusang. From Chhusang we will take the bus to Jomsom. This drive depends on the availability of transportation. Enjoy the ride and the views. 

Being it the last night its time to have fun followed by dancing, singing, and Tipping your Staff. 

An early wake-up call will be set - we will take the earliest flight from Jomsom to Pokhara. This 18 minutes flight cruises through the Kali Gandaki, the Deepest Gorge of the world that delivers you the most stunning view of Annapurna, Dhaulagiri, and the awesome valley. Being at Pokhara, The Lake City is another highlight of this trip. At Pokhara, you can do various activities like boat ride, paragliding, bungee jumping, ultralight aircraft, etc. Your Group Leader will assist you over organizing any of these activities. 

We will take the short but very scenic flight back to Kathmandu. We Normally book the flight around 10 AM so that we are back in Kathmandu for lunch. The remainder of the day is at leisure.

As per your flight schedule transportation will be provided and your Group leader will accompany you. The reporting time is 3 hours prior to your flight.