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Day 1: Kagbeni to Chele – 9.5 miles, 6 to 7 hours, and 10,006 ft.The Itinerary: Distances and Timings Below Are Approximate (Photo/Jason Spafford) Find your souvenirs on the river beds - black-colored ammonite fossils.Hit the trails by 7:30 am to finish mid- to late afternoon when the wind picks up.

The itinerary has been customized to keep you on a more remote trail circuit.

10-Day Trek Itinerary (Photo/Jason Spafford) Good to Know The footslogs (especially the 17-miler) are worth every step due to striking landscapes set high against a Himalayan backdrop - all of which hit you with a uniquely commanding view. Take extra care to negotiate scree-covered terrain where the path can narrow with vertiginous drops.

Overall, the trails are in good condition, and no technical skills are needed more than putting one leg in front of t’other.Įxpect 6- to 8-hour days of steep ascents and descents mixed with “Nepali flat” (undulating gradients). The hike is moderate to strenuous, where you will be climbing from 9,200 to 14,107 feet.

Ten-day trek duration: 100 miles, averaging 10 miles per day.ĭifficulty of the Hike (Photo/Jason Spafford).

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Transportation to Kagbeni: Tourist bus or a private jeep from Kathmandu/Pokhara, or a flight to Jomsom plus a half-hour taxi ride.Minimum group size: Two (including a certified guide).Trekking in the Upper Mustang (Photo/Jason Spafford) Quick Facts About the Nepal Upper Mustang Trek Needless to say, the rewards from your investment and hefty footslog will come at you tenfold. Gloriously, this is precisely what makes it one of the most geologically and culturally preserved places on Earth, by the respective isolation of the area from the external world. As a formerly restricted kingdom and demilitarized area - due to the presence of CIA-trained guerillas - it was opened up to the world in 1992. Yup, it’s a little pricey to enter this region of Nepal. Adding in the traditionally clad people tending their cattle, horses, and mules, it was like nowhere else. The further we ventured, the more we craved the ancient monasteries, centuries-old sky caves, and Tibetan-style villages from a bygone era home to whitewashed dwellings with firewood stacked upon the roofs. During our hike in September 2022, life in Upper Mustang revolved around animal husbandry, tourism, and trade.

The province encompasses three rural municipalities of Lo-Manthang, Dalome, and Baragung Mukichhetra. Upper Mustang, formerly the Kingdom of Lo, is the northern part of the Mustang District of Gandaki Province. Although come winter, when conditions become even harsher, the locals tend to migrate to areas lower down. Other ethnic groups, such as the Kami/Damai, Magar, and Thakuri, also comprise Mustang District’s populace. The weather-beaten residents are mostly Gurung and Thakali, inhabiting dwellings close to the Kali Gandaki River, 12,800 feet above sea level. With stellar vistas of Himalayan peaks on the trails and semi-arid moonscape terrain, getting your Himalayan trekon is a Mustang-do. In a rain-shadow region of the Annapurna and Dhaulagiri mountain ranges lies one of Nepal’s last Tibetan utopias, unknown by the masses as the Upper Mustang.

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