Mustang Trekking

Mustang is a remote, semi-independent Tibetan kingdom within the territory of Nepal (just north of the Annapurna Region on the Tibetan border), and one of the last bastions of undisturbed Tibetan culture in the world. Buddhist monasteries and nunneries are built into forbidding cliffs and mountain ledges, and the starkly beautiful, windy, arid Tibetan plateau is unbroken for many hours of trekking or riding on, horseback. The trek enters upper Mustang at Kagbeni, a quaint medieval town nestled in apple orchards and encircled by snow mountains. It eventually reaches the ancient capitol of Lo Manthang, a walled city built of whitewashed mud bricks and teeming with Buddhist prayer wheels and stupas, seeming to arise from the earth itself. There are very few guesthouses and restaurants in the region; so camping is required and most necessities must be carried in. Entirely closed to visitors until the early 1990s, upper Mustang treks are still restricted by a set of rules for cultural conservation and require a minimum $700 permit fee for a ten-day trek. (Treks are typically ten days but can be longer.) The high winds, altitude and cold add to the challenge of this trek. It is not recommended to do in the winter months and can be strenuous for some people even in the warmer months.