Biking Upper Mustang: Nepal’s Wild West

Arrive Kathmandu. You will be met on arrival at the Tribhuwan International Airport. Transfer to Hotel. Day Free. Enjoy welcome dinner. Briefing during dinner.

Overnight Hotel Tibet. (Dinner)

Board a thirty-minute afternoon flight to Pokhara. Day is free in Pokhara. You may opt to take a boat ride on the Phewa Lake and/or hike a short distance (30 minutes) to the Peace Stupa. You may also visit the International Mountain Museum where there is an amazing display of information on the world’s mountains and mountain communities.

Overnight Big Pillow Inn. (Breakfast)

Board an early flight to Jomsom. The plane navigates up the Kali Gandaki gorge between Annapurna (26,538 feet) and Dhaulagiri (26,788 feet) to the Jomosom airstrip. Here you will meet your trekking staff, who will have brought all your gear up by road, and who will be responsible for setting up camps and preparing your meals. Your gear will be carried by mules.

After arrival in Jomsom, hop on your bikes and ride up the Kali Gandaki River. You have the option to explore Thini Village (opposite Jomsom) before riding towards Kagbeni. Most of today’s ride is on the newly-built Jomsom to Muktinath road. Numerous jeeps ferrying Indian and Nepali pilgrims to Muktinath will pass you. After lunch, you have the option to cross the Kali-Gandaki river and explore the village opposite Kagbeni.

Overnight Lodge. (All meals)

FULLY RIDEABLE
16 Kilometers or 10 miles
800 feet ascent and 600 feet descent
2 hours approximately

Heading north along the river, snowy Nilgiri (22,431 feet) will dominate the skyline in sharp contrast to the river canyon below. The trail is pretty level until you reach a fork – one trail is the river bed trail to Chele; we stay on the jeep track and ride uphill to the plateau. Soon (10 Kilometers or 6.25 miles later we reach Tange Village, a labyrinth of narrow alleys among whitewashed houses with fields of buckwheat, barley, wheat, and apple trees. Then continue toward Chhuksang along a trail lined with chortens (Buddhist wayside shrines) painted the traditional colors of red, black, and white — colors made from local rocks and minerals. Eventually cross the Kali Gandaki River on a steel footbridge, then climb up to the village of Chele, perched on a ridge above the gorge.

Overnight Lodge. (All meals)

FULLY RIDEABLE
14 Kilometers or 8 miles
Ascent: 1,800 feet
Descent: 1,200 feet
4 hours approximately

Today will begin with an unrelenting climb. Part of the trail is hewn out of the canyon wall and will require substantial pushing/carrying until we reach Taklam La pass. Past Samar is another unrelenting climb requiring more pushing and carrying up till Bhena La pass (12,600 ft.). We stop at Bhena for lunch. In the afternoon, navigate over Beg La (12,600 ft.) to Syangbochen, a small cliff-side settlement with a panoramic view of the Annapurnas. The ride from the pass to Syangbochen is all down-hill and will provide the first speed thrill. Past Syangbochen is another short climb to the ridge. It is all down hill to our camp at Giling which has a spectacular monastery.

Overnight Lodge. (All meals)

PARTLY RIDEABLE – INVOLVES PUSHING and CARRYING in ATLEAST THREE SECTIONS
18 Kilometers or 11 miles
5 to 6 hours approximately
Ascent: 3,000 feet
Descent: 1,400 feet

Visit the monastery in Giling. From Giling it is all uphill, meaning pushing your bikes, to the first pass (Nyi La – 13,200 ft.). Ride down hill to the next pass Ghami La (12,400 ft.). From this pass, you’ll have incredible views of the Annapurnas and Nilgiris as well as sweeping views of Mustang. Ghami Village, built on the edge of a steep cliff, appears in the distance. Visit the 13th century gompa here. Past Ghami, drop to the river and push your bikes to the top of the road. Soon the red cliffs of Drakmar appear. In the evening, visit the red cliffs and explore ancient caves. These cliffs are home to the endangered Blue Sheep flocks.

Overnight Lodge. (All meals)

PARTLY RIDEABLE – INVOLVES ONE LONG SECTION AND ONE SHORT SECTION OF PUSHING
17 Kilometers or 10.6 miles
4 to 5 hours approximately
Ascent: 2,750 feet
Descent: 2,700 feet

Past Drakmar, begin another unrelenting push to the Muila pass (13,700 ft). Ride downhill to Ghar Gompa. Lo Gekhar contains one of the oldest gompas in Nepal (built in the eighth century — even older than Samye in Tibet), a great red-and-white structure surrounded by trees. After lunch is another grueling push to the Marang La (13,900 ft.). From the pass, the downhill through yak pastures with the Tibetan plateau visible in the horizon is simply SPECTACULAR.

Overnight Lodge. (All meals)

MOSTLY RIDEABLE – INVOLVES TWO LONG SECTIONS AND ONE SHORT SECTION OF PUSHING
17 Kilometers or 10.6 miles
5 hours approximately
Ascent: 2,550 feet
Descent: 2,220 feet

Optional ride to the Choser Caves at Jhong which is North of Lo Manthang. You may opt to hire a horse for today’s excursion. Cost is approximately US$20 for the day. These caves were used by ascetics to meditate and also as homes by locals. Another cave with ancient 14th century murals is east of Jhong and involves hiking for 1.5 hours. Note, access to this second cave is on exposed trail. If you are scared of heights, you shouldn’t go.

In the evening, explore the maze of narrow streets winding through approximately 150 houses, and three important gompas built in the early 15th century. These temples (along with those in Tsarang and Lo Gekhar) have been rescued from the ravages of time by the efforts and heart of local people (Lo Gyalpo Jigme Foundation in collaboration with the American Himalayan Foundation) — with stunning results. If you are very fortunate we may get an audience with the king or queen at the four-story palace. The king, Raja Jigme Parbal Bista, although his duties are mostly ceremonial, is well loved and respected throughout the region.

Overnight Lodge. (All meals)

Our route south is unusual; most groups return the same way they came, but we will make a loop following remote trails on the east side of the Kali Gandaki. Back over the Lo La, head southeast to the Tholung Valley, with terrific views of Nilgiri as we climb higher. Tsarang will come into view across the way, and finally descend steeply into the bowels of the canyon to the village of Dri, one of the most prosperous villages in Mustang. From Dri, we head up the Puyung Khola to Yaragaon.

Overnight Lodge. (All meals)

FULLY RIDEABLE
17 Kilometers
5 hours approximately

It is a day trip to Luri Gompa and back via Yara and Ghara villages. The landscape here contains strange, fluted pinnacles eroded by wind. At 13,500 feet, Luri sits like an eagle’s nest in the cliffs. This mysterious cave monastery dates from the 13th century. The central chamber is carved directly into the rock. The domed ceiling is covered with murals, and in the center of the chamber there is a large and finely crafted chorten. Luri is a true jewel in a most unbelievable setting — the artwork here is considered to be some the finest and most unusual in the Himalayas.
From Yara, we retrace our trail a little past Dri and head southwards to Tsarang.

Overnight Lodge. (All meals)

Retrace route to Syangbochen.

Overnight Lodge. (All meals)

FULLY RIDEABLE
23 Kilometers or 14.1 miles
5 hours approximately
Ascent: 3,800 feet
Descent: 3,300 feet

Retrace trail to Chusang and ride a little further east to Tetang. You could also check out the caves near Giling enroute.

Overnight Lodge. (All meals)

FULLY RIDEABLE
19 Kilometers or 12 miles approximately
5 hours approximately
Ascent: 1,600 feet
Descent: 3,500 feet

Retrace trail to Jomsom.

Overnight Lodge. (All meals)

FULLY RIDEABLE
26 Kilometers or 17 miles approximately
5 hours approximately
Ascent: 1,600 feet
Descent: 2,800 feet

Overnight Hotel Tibet. (Breakfast)

After breakfast, drive to Pashupatinath, Nepal’s most sacred Hindu temple dedicated to Shiva, with its two-tiered golden roof and silver door. Shiva, meaning “The Auspicious One”, also known as Mahadeva (“Great God”), is a popular Hindu deity and is considered to be the Supreme God within Shaivism, one of the three most influential denominations in Hinduism. Here, you’ll probably witness a Hindu cremation along the banks of the Bagmati River and many ascetics and Sadhus.

Then on to Bhaktapur, which is located about 20 km east of Kathmandu in the Kathmandu Valley, Bhaktapur is known as the ‘City of Devotees’, the ‘City of Culture’, the ‘Living Heritage’, and ‘Nepal’s Cultural Gem’. It is one of the 3 royal cities in the Kathmandu Valley. The others are Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal, and Patan. Bhaktapur is filled with monuments, most terra-cotta with carved wood columns, palaces and temples with elaborate carvings, gilded roofs and open courtyards. As a World Heritage site listed by the UNESCO, Bhaktapur has been heavily restored since a 1934 earthquake severely damaged the city. Overnight Hotel Tibet. (All meals)

Transfer to airport for final departure. (Breakfast)