Upper Mustang Trek to Lo Mantang

 Mustang - Into the rain shadow 

Flights from Pokhara to Jomsom are tricky, especially during monsoon.

We waited at the airport - but the flight was canceled. The next day we were about to head out for a 10-hour drive when they announced the plane would depart. Our luggage went on and we knew the flight was going.

The pilot maneuvered between the Annapurna Himal and Dhaulagiri Himal - a fantastic 17-minute flight. The plane emerged on the dry side of these mountains heading toward the Tibetan Plateau. 

After landing at Jomsom we go northeast to Kagbeni then head north to enter Mustang. To make up for the lost time we take a jeep to Kagbeni. It is a bumpy ride and at one point the road dissolves into muddy chaos mixed with large boulders.

This is where the bulldozer conveniently rolls up, and for a fee, will take you and all your belongings to the other side of the torrent to where another jeep is waiting. A profitable job, but it is such a unique experience that what can one do but enjoy the ride.

This is where the bulldozer conveniently rolls up, and for a fee, will take you and all your belongings to the other side of the torrent to where another jeep is waiting. A profitable job, but it is such a unique experience that what can one do but enjoy the ride.

The Kali Gandhi River,  running quite high this time of year, allows for irrigation waters to channel off into green fields and fruit tree orchards. 

At Kagbeni we must register our $500 permits that allow us to travel into Upper Mustang for 10 days.

While our guide (also mandatory for travel in Mustang) takes care of the paperwork we head to "Yac Donalds" for lunch. It is a more modern Kagbeni than what we remember. 

Day 1 

We walked around to try and find an old lodge that we stayed in 24 years ago. We finally found it looking pretty much the same as we remember. 

A protective guard greets us at the entry of the central gompa. 



The old gompa at Kagbeni shows some earthquake damage. We go inside for a fee but can only visit the lower floors since the upper area is fragile. It was founded around 1477 C.E..

The colors of the fields, orchards and flowers make a lovely contrast with with the muddled grey colored hills.

A pretty young girl sorts garlic on the rooftop and spreads it to dry.

Moving north from Kagbeni we enter Mustang. A previous flood makes an alluvial fan toward the river. The old road can be seen behind.
Erosion over thousands of years makes interesting formations along the road.

Walking next to the Kali Gandaki River more weathered landscapes appear. While approaching villages a few chortens appear as an entry sign.

Chortens have different shapes, sizes, and colors, but all have Buddhist significance.

As she collects water a young girl in Chele gives us a shy smile. This is where we will spend the night. 

Dried mud on the way leaves human-sized cracks. 

Flowing water and mud here resembles a chocolate milkshake. Round black stones with ammonite and shaligram fossils are found in the river bed - Hindus believe they invoke the god Shiva and sometimes Vishnu. 

Rocky cliffs tower overhead extending to a lovely blue sky. 

Some hold caves that can only be reached with climbing gear.

A young fearless jeep driver shows a softer side with his flute.
The view from our lodge toward the north promises more exceptional scenery as we rest on the first night in Mustang.

Day 2

Early the next morning we see Nigiri peak over the dark hills. Then the valley opens and clouds lift. A good day for walking.

Looking back one more time we see the sky clearing. Our path ahead looks like a long climb. Just above the village, we find Chele's irrigation system and water supply. 
High cliffs above us as we head to the Syangmochen pass. Winding up gently through a canyon we reached 3500 meters. 
Irrigated plateaus high above the river.

Our porters take a break sitting on the chortens at Samar where we stop for tea. 

Entering Syangmochen there is a long mani wall made of carved stones and prayer wheels. Even though we were tired we decided to continue on to Gheling for the night. 

We had to go down a steep path to a river where we met yaks, naks and calves - all going to market in a distant village. They are also tired and don't like the hot weather and low elevation. One yak is about $1000.

We take a break at the top of another pass at 3870 meters.

Going down hill we meet our next sleeping spot at Geling. We have walked 19km to reach Gheling at 3520 meters. The white hill in the background is one we will cross the next morning. 

We visit the monastery early morning. From the hill-top where the gompa sits, we can look down on the rooftops of houses in Geling. Many houses in this village were damaged by the earthquake.

Day 3
The gompa at Geling is about 500 years old. The lama told us stories about the paintings and the fine restoration work. The Earthquake had cracked part of the building. An older castle was in ruins next to the old gompa.

Leaving Geling we have to climb up again. The top of the pass, 3950 meters, is decorated with prayer flags and a clear view of Nilgiri.

After our climb, we descend toward Ghami. Lunch at Ghami tasted great. We ate a big pile of buckwheat dhedo - dhedo is a glob of cooked starch resembling polenta. It is eaten with some gravy type food either veg or meat.

The trouble with a big heavy lunch is trying to climb another pass afterwards. A narrow alley in Ghami with prayer wheels.

 A small stupa inside Ghami.
A 400-meter long mani wall leads us out of Ghami. Legends say the wall was made from the intestines of a demon that was cast out by a lama. To the left side of the mani wall is the trail to Dhakmar surrounded by red cliffs, stained by the demon's blood.

We move in a more direct line toward our next stop of Tsarang.

Even on the plateau, we have to go up and down. 

We finally arrive in Tsarang after an 18km walk. 

Fields of buckwheat line the path into Tsarang. It is late in the day and the colors are vivid.

The gompa is very active in the morning. They are in the middle of a 45 day puja. Many of the monks are very young and tease each other as they file into the gompa.

Sitting inside we listen to the rhythmic chants.

Beautifully painted stories are found just inside the doorway.
Another long day of hiking but finally LoManthang shows up in the distance. It looked fairly close but we still had quite a long walk.

Arriving in LoManthang (3730m) we set out to discover ancient gompas and their treasures.

An old woman takes care of her grandson, while her son runs a trinket shop. We were constantly assailed to come into shops so we decided to explore the surrounding fields.









The fields were full of wheat, barley and buckwheat. 

On top of the old defense wall in LoManthang, we can see the King's earthquake-damaged palace in white, the 700 yr old red-walled gompa and a chorten all strung together with prayer flags. 

Day 5

Along our walk we see many vultures and Golden Eagles.

A young man was collecting dung for fire wood. With very few trees around everyone collects dried dung.

Above LoManthang we see more ancient ruins that sit on the hill tops.

Black, white, and red chortens greet us in Chhosar and we see many caves in the distance.

We visit one cave monastery and gompa where monks actively live and keep their prayer books stored in the cave walls.

Leaving the monastery we follow the river to the next set of caves. We explore a web of caves with 60 inter-connecting black tar stained rooms.

On our way out we visit a childcare center where all the toddlers were having a nap. The best time to visit a day care center. 

The chorten that marks the entry to LoManthang from the north.

 

Another interesting day and an nice easy flat walk. We return to LoManthang in time for a stroll through the old village and have dinner with new friends.

Day 6

Leaving LoManthang we have a long upward climb but not too steep. The rock pile represents the pass 3900m.

Low heavy clouds hang over us as we walk. We enjoy the cool weather and clouds even though they shroud the mountains. 

For lunch, we reach Lo Ghekar Gompa or Ghar Gompa - one of the oldest (mid 8th century) in Nepal and Tibet. Many of the paintings inside were stained with smoke from butter lamps.

Recently cleaned Bhodhistava paintings contrast with the dark interiors. 

Lines of prayer wheels surround the outer walls of Ghar Gompa. The entry way was covered by yak wool blankets.

Leaving Ghar Gompa we have stunning views of the valley below and snowy peaks in front of us. 

We also meet herds of goats and yaks.

Arriving at another pass we have a glimpse through a window of the next valley where the village of Dhakmar sits surrounded by red cliffs.

We wanted to spend the night in Dhakmar after another 20km of walking.

The red cliffs were lovely but the lodge was full. We looked at a few houses to stay at for the night but finally decided to walk to Ghami another one hour. 

Hey is anyone feeling a bit tired?

After an extra hour of walking, we see Ghami in the distance.

Day 7

A beautiful clear day head of us as we head for Syangmochen for lunch.
Then we follow a narrow path into a canyon to find a cave monastery.

A small trickle of water appears and we follow it deeper into the canyon and climb up several flights of stone steps to reach the Chungsi Ranchung Gompa.

Inside we find images the Buddha - past, present and future. Centered in the cave is a large greasy black stalactite with carvings along the inside cave wall. Legends say that Guru Rinpoche came and meditated here for  3 years, 3 months and 3 days.

A wall has been filled with clay and hundreds of images of Buddha stamped into it. Small white stupas contain ashes of past lives that have been left in the care of the temple.

We called to the lama but couldn't find him, so we left our Khada cloth behind and some money for the care of relics here.

We have a large canyon ahead of us and we descend back to the stream and head out the other side.

 It is a long and tiring climb. We leave the monastery at 3pm and reach the upper edge of the canyon at 5pm.

Before we leave the canyon a beautifully painted Chukor Pheasant appeared on top of a stump.

At the top of the canyon we reach another pass where stones have been deposited. From the top we can see where we have to go. It is both down and up to reach Samar where we will sleep.

Day 8 

Mountains greet us on our last day of walking. It is a perfect day. We meet lots of people going up and realize the flights must have come in.

Above the world on a bridge. The span of our trip has been fantastic.

We happily tie one more Khada cloth to the last pass -  Om Mane Padme Hum