Mustang lies in the north west part of nepal. Annapurna and nilgiri mountain range is extended across the northern part . This beautiful land is differentiated into two parts ie. Upper mustang and lower mustang. Uppermustang is mostly popular for adventurous trekking and lower mustang is famous for natural scenery.The wind-eroded on hillsides of Mustang have a similarity of the Grand Canyon and yet idiosyncratic landscape of the region is shrouded in the religious and traditional ambiance.
Day 1 : Kathmandu to Beni
we left kathmandu at 8 am in the morning towards pokhara. After 6 hours of long drie we finally reached pokhara and took rest for about half an hour . After that we headed straight towards beni. At dusk we reached beni and stayed a night there. Beni is a Municipality and the district HQ of Myagdi District in Dhaulagiri Zone, Nepal.
Day 2: Beni to jomsom- muktinath
We decided not to stay long at beni and head straight towards muktinath. so early morning we picked up our bags and start our four wheel off road ride to muktinath ,jomsom . After few hours from beni we reached to ghasa . After short distance from ghasa we had a road blockade due to construction works going. Usually construction works is rapid during this season (winter ) , so we had to stay there for about 2 hours .During the time we enjoyed hot water spring near the place and also the spectacular view of the hills . We stayed at the bank of kaligandaki river and enjoyed the view.
Road was opened and we started our journey towards jomsom. Jomsom is about 72 km from Beni and Muktinath is around 21 km from which make it a total of about 94km of trip from Beni to Muktinath, which usually takes all day long because of the road state.
After few hours towards jomsom we reached to lete .Lete is a small village before jomsom, we stayed there for an hour had so lunch and we were off to jomsom again .
Enjoy some of these spectacular views towards jomsom form lete .
Finally we reached jomsom, a great place with diverse landscapes and cultures.This part is inhabited by Gurungs and Magars in the lower regions of the Kali Gandaki, Thakalis around Jomsom and people with Tibetan roots, the Lopa, around Muktinath and upto mustang. Jomsom is known for its airport that offers a quick entry or exit to the valley from pokhara.
Our final destination for the day was muktinath , so without any delay we moved towards the muktinath and decided to stay night there. Jomsom is the starting point for the 3-4 hour trek to Kagbeni in the north, which is the gateway to exotic Mustang.we were on vehicle so it didnt took so long for us to reach there. we reached bus station near muktinath around 6 in the evening . Before muktinath we passed through the kagbeni village.
From kagbeni we could see the amazing view of nilgiri at the south east side. i cant even describe the view in words.As it was rainy season , the farms were green and we could see lots of clouds.Mountains were less visible, we waited for so long to see the vivid nilgiri mountains.we stayed night at one of the best hotels in muktinath area from where we could see the amazing view of the mountains.The climate was too cold so we started a fire and sat around with some drinks that could make us warm inside.
Day 3 : muktinath Temple visit and places around kagbeni
Early morning we woke up at 5 in the morning had breakfast and headed towards the temple.The temple was 15-20 minutes walking distance from our hotel. we saw some horses on the way and decided to go to the temple in horses. I never had horse riding experience , it was my first time.we got to know that usually horses are for the old peoples who cant walk to the temples and the horse owners also added that it wont be available for coming back because they had to carry the old person visiting the temple back to the hotels.
We had some photo shoots of breathtaking view from the temple. Around the temple there is 108 taps where we need to bath and is believed god will forgive all our sins and bad deeds if we take bath there. Though it was freezing cold we all went there to take a quick bath at the temple.There were other lots of other visitors form India as well as different parts of Nepal as muktinath is a popular scared temple for both Hindus and Buddhists.
After doing our religious things at temple we returnet back to the hotel had breakfast and immediately went for the other places to visit . We started looking for other famous places around. As per locals of mustang we came to know that there is a leopard cave and dhumba lake.we we headed towards the leopard cave. The leopard cave was preety amazing , we could see amazing vie from the entrance of the cave.
Next , we planned to go to the dhumba lake . Dhumba lake is famous for its green and clear water. No one can miss this amazing place.But due to the road construction going on we could not drive to the dhumba lake so we had to walk for about 1.5hr approx. Other friends werent ready to walk that long so we four went walking down the steep hills from the trekking route to dhumba lake .
We took the trekking route to dhumba lake which was preety amazing. These words will be very less to describe the beauty of the dhumba lake.Here are some pictures of the short trek to dhumba lake.
For around 2-3 hours of walk we came back back with the spectacular view of dhumba lake in our memory and our photographs. Other friends were pretty much jealous seeing the pictures we took there.
At the end of the day around 4 pm , we headed back to lete where we had reserved hotel.As we were planning to stay day 3 at lete and day 4 at pokhara and fifth day we had to return back to kathmandu. Nobody was happy to leave the heavenly place mustang back.I felt like to stay there forever.We reached lete at around 7 pm in the evening , so tired and with the amazing memories we collected from the muktinath trip.
Day 4 : Lete to pokhara
Lete to pokhara is a whole day journey . It took around 8-9 hrs for us to reach there. We reached pokhara at 8 pm.All were preety tired.We didnt wanted to miss the night life in pokhara so we went for the live music in one of the clubs at the lakeside. We roamed at the lakeside till 2 am in the morning and went to hotel.
Day 4 : Back To Kathmandu
With all the amazing memories of mustang and the amazing trip we went back to kathmandu.
This was one of the best trip i ever had in my life .With views of mountain peaks on the trekking trails, traditional ethnic villages and beautiful land terrain mustang is the heaven on earth, the must visit place if you are in Nepal .
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