Upper Mustang Tiji Festival Trek !

We start our trek to Chele along the east bank of Kaligandaki river. Seclude and unique landscapes along this sandy trial are mind blowing. We continue uphill and downhill to Tangbe village. The view of Nilgiri peak from this village is amazing. We pass white washed houses, crop fields and apple orchards and continue to Chhusang village. We cross the river and continue our climb up to a huge red lump of agglomerate which falls from the cliff above. We leave Kali Gandaki valley and climb a steep rocky canyon to Chele; O/N at Guesthouse

We continue our climb along steep, treeless terrain along the side of a steep canyon to a pass and a cairn of rock at (3540m). We make a long gradual descend to Samar village and climb up above Samar village to a ridge. We further descend into a large gorge and continue to a valley field. We cross a stream and climb up a ridge at (3800m). We continue our climb up and cross yet another pass. We follow the ridge and descend to Shyangmochen. We further climb to a pass at (3770m) and descend to Geling Village; O/N at Guesthouse

Our trail climbs gently up to a pass called NYI La and descends below to a valley. We cross a steel bridge over the Tangmar Chu (river) and follow the way to the longest Mani wall in Mustang. We climb a pass at 3,600m and make a long gentle descend to Charang village. We visit a huge five-storey white Dzong and red Gompa which are the major attractions of the village; O/N at Guesthouse

Our trail climbs up steadily to Lo-Gekar Gompa, one of the oldest Gompa of Nepal. We continue our trek with a sight of the walled city of Lo all along the trial. We make a short descent, cross a stream and climb up into the plateau of Lo-Manthang; O/N at Guesthouse

Today is the first day of Tiji Festival. We spend our day observing the dances and celebrations. Horse racing and a giant tug-of-war are the major attractions. Tibetan women in their traditional clothing with colorful jewelry, monks in their robes and dancers in elaborate costumes make the entire environment vivid and vibrant; O/N at Guesthouse

We can enjoy a colorful ceremony accompanied by an unusual dance of Tibetan lamas. It is done to chase away all the hungry and evil spirits from the village. We can see many people across the region participating in this ritual of purification and renewal. After the observation, we can explore the intimate alleyways and courtyards of the city or simply rent a horse and visit some of the other villages in the area; O/n at Guesthouse

Today, our trail climbs up steadily. We climb a ridge at 4070m and continue to the Chogo La at 4210m, the highest point of our trek. Then we make a short and steep descent and cross the Charang River. We climb up to Lo Gekar and continue to Ghar Gompa, a small monastery. We climb up a ridge, cross a valley along some alpine meadows and drop down a steep eroded path to Drakmar; O/N at Guesthouse

Our trail descends as we pass the stone walls and fields of Drakmar and then climbs up to a ridge. We descend to the lower part of Ghami and then to Jaite (3820m). We further descend to Chhung-Kah and follow the trial to Tama Gaon (3710m). We continue our descend until we reach Shyangmochen; O/N at Guesthouse

We follow a stream all the way down to Chhusang. We can also take an alternative route to Samar by visiting Ranchung Cave which is 30-minutes longer than the usual route; O/N at Guesthouse

We start our trek early in the morning and continue to Kagbeni. After completing the upper Mustang trails, we join the normal route and head on to Jomsom for an overnight halt; O/N at Guesthouse