Upper Mustang Trek With Luri Gompa

Our airport representative meets our arriving guests at Tribhuvan International Airport and transfers them to the hotel in Kathmandu. We conduct a pre-trek briefing during a group dinner to review logistics and check required equipment.

We take a short morning flight or drive to Pokhara, spending the afternoon organizing gear and resting by the shore of Phewa Lake before our mountain transit.

Our morning flight takes us through the Kali Gandaki gorge to Jomsom at 2,700 m. From the airstrip, our team begins the steady trek alongside the riverbed northward to the medieval fortified village of Kagbeni.

We leave the main valley floor and make a sustained ascent to cross the Gyu La pass at 4,077 m. The trail then descends gradually into Tetang, an ancient cluster village tucked between two hills.

Our route drops across the Tangbe Khola and climbs onto a high plateau before descending into the isolated settlement of Yara. The surrounding landscape features striking erosion patterns and clay cliffs.

We make a day trip from Yara to the 14th-century cliff monastery of Luri Gompa. We examine its inner chamber, ancient frescoes, and chortens before returning to Yara for the night.

We retrace portions of the plateau and cross dry ridges, navigating steep descents and wind-swept tracks back toward the upper Kali Gandaki valley system to reach Tsele.

We climb past ridge lines and mountain passes, including the Taklam La, enjoying expansive views of Mustang's desert terrain before settling in Syangbochen.

Our trail crosses the Lo La pass before opening into the great plains of Lo. We enter the walled capital of Lo Manthang, our base for exploring the northern reaches of the kingdom.

We spend the day touring the historical gompas inside the walled city, including Jampa Lhakhang and Thubchen Gompa, and observing local domestic architecture.

We take a day excursion north of Lo Manthang to visit the vertical cave settlements and cliff monasteries of Chhoser and Garphu, returning to Lo Manthang in the afternoon.

We take an alternate return route past ancient meditation caves and the red rock cliffs of Drakmar, descending past the longest prayer wall in Upper Mustang.

Our descent continues through barren valleys and small settlements, passing through Ghiling while keeping watch on the towering peaks of Nilgiri and Annapurna to the south.

We complete our final day of walking on the trail, following the familiar winds of the Kali Gandaki valley back to Jomsom for our final night with our support crew.

We take an early morning flight from Jomsom to Pokhara, connecting onward to Kathmandu. Our team transfers our guests to the hotel for a final evening.