Trans-Himalaya · Nepal
The short version
Upper Mustang occupies the upper Kali Gandaki north of Kagbeni, a high desert plateau geologically and culturally part of the Tibetan plateau rather than the Himalaya. Its capital, Lo Manthang at 3,840 m, is a walled town of roughly 150 houses founded in 1380 by Ame Pal, still laid out around the royal palace and three fifteenth-century monasteries. The district was closed to outsiders until 1992 and remains restricted: entry costs USD 500 per person for ten days, plus USD 50 for each extra day, and requires a licensed guide and a minimum of two trekkers, on top of an ACAP permit. The landscape is eroded red and ochre cliffs, sky caves cut into vertical rock at Chhoser, and almost no trees. Critically, the Annapurna and Dhaulagiri wall strips the monsoon of its rain before it arrives, so June to August is dry, warm and green by local standards — the one part of Nepal worth trekking in summer.
Twelve months, rated honestly. We would rather lose a booking than sell you a month that does not work.
A restricted-area walk into the walled capital of the old kingdom of Lo
From, per person
$2,450
$205/day
Yes, and it is one of the few places in Nepal where summer trekking makes sense. The Annapurna and Dhaulagiri massifs block the monsoon, so Upper Mustang receives very little rain between June and August. The main caveat is the approach: Pokhara–Jomsom flights and the road below Jomsom can be disrupted by weather further south.
USD 500 per person for ten days, then USD 50 per person for each additional day, paid to the Department of Immigration through a registered agency. An ACAP permit at NPR 3,000, about USD 23, is required as well. A minimum of two trekkers and a licensed guide are mandatory; solo permits are not issued.
Yes. A rough road runs from Jomsom through Kagbeni, Tsarang and up to Lo Manthang, and a jeep covers it in one long day each way. That turns a 12-day trek into a six or seven day trip. The road is unsurfaced and dusty, and the same USD 500 permit still applies.
Tiji is a three-day masked dance festival at Lo Manthang re-enacting the defeat of a demon by Dorje Jono, performed by the monks of Chodey monastery. It falls on the Tibetan lunar calendar, usually in May. Accommodation in Lo Manthang sells out months ahead, so book by December for a May departure.
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