Jomsom to Muktinath Trek

Upon arrival at the international airport, our waiting support team will meet and greet you at the airport, assist you, and transfer you to the hotel.

Trekking preparation and permit organization day. Please check your insurance details and have a copy of your travel medical insurance policy with you.

Our trekking guide will come to the hotel in the morning at six o’clock to pick you up with private transport. We’ll drive to Pokhara (200 km), which will take us about 6 to 7 hours on a very scenic route. Along the journey, you will witness some stunning scenery of snow-capped mountains, green hills, rivers in rafting, and villages. Pokhara is a beautiful valley with panoramic views of Annapurna, Machapuchare (shape of fish tail), Dhaulagiri, Lamjung Himal, and Manaslu. The town of Pokhara is set on the banks of Phewa Lake. It is smaller and much less hectic than Kathmandu, providing the perfect starting point for our trek. Stay overnight at a hotel.

Early in the morning we will fly to Jomsom. The flight is 25 minutes on a scenic flight view of Spectaculars Mountains. We start the first day trekking from Jomsom (2713m) to Kagbeni (2897m) after breakfast. The trail follows the wide valley of the Kali Gandaki. Here the wind generally picks up after about midday but will at least be blowing at our backs as you head up to ancient village Kagbeni in the morning time. The rest of the day we will explore around the village, people, and culture.

After breakfast, the trail ascends for a couple hundred meters. Gradually walking, you can enjoy the beautiful deserted landscape—caves, old Tibetan-style villages, apple gardens, yak herds, sheep herds, and so on. Far ahead of us, we can look at the Thorong La valley straight up to Muktinath. We can visit Jharkot, the ancient Tibetan style village, and its fort and monastery built in the 15th century. Now you head upwards, following a steep path for half an hour towards Muktinath (3800 m). This is an important pilgrimage site for both Hindus and Buddhists. Muktnath is indeed a place of nirvana and home to Hindu temples as well as several Buddhist monasteries. The temples are dedicated to Lord Vishnu and have 108 waterspouts around them from which holy water springs out. There is also the Jwala Mai Temple, which has an eternal flame fed by natural underground gas.

After breakfast we walk down to the ancient Jharkot village and then continue to the Khinga village, whose culture and livelihoods are similar to those of Tibetan people. We are still in a high alpine area with desert rocky hills and a wide windy Kaligandaki valley. Here we can find “Saligram” fossil, incarnation of God Vishnu. After a 3 to 4-hour walk down, we will get to the village of Kagbeni, whose inhabitants are a mix of Tibetans and Gurungs. This gets us to the rusticated upper Mustang Trekking.

Today is an easy day. The trail goes along the Valley of Kaligandaki River. It is much better to leave early in the morning to avoid the strong wind after 10/11 am. The trail leads us continuously through the Kali Gandaki Valley to Jomsom, the headquarters of the Mustang district, whose inhabitants are the traditional salt traders, the Thakali people. You can visit the Marpha Thakali village, an hour and forty-five minutes walk away. Marpha is home to many apple orchards as well as all the various food products made from the fruit. Apple Brandy is a local specialty that you may be lucky enough to taste en route.

Early in the morning, fly to Pokhara by small aircraft and watch the majestic mountains above the world’s deepest gorge zoom by. Relax for the whole day at the Pokhara hotel. Alternatively, wander around the lakeside with its fascinating mountain panorama view and charming nature.

We should be ready by 6:00 in the morning in the hotel lobby in order to have breakfast or seek advice from your trekking guide. We will drive back to Kathmandu on the main road, passing terraces, streams, rivers, local settlements, and high hills. It takes about 7 hours (conditional) to reach your hotel in Kathmandu. If you are interested in flying from Pokhara to Kathmandu (bear in mind the extra cost of the plane tickets), please request Nepal Mother House Trekking to book your flight ticket in advance. It takes about 30 minutes of flying time with spectacular views of the Himalayas, high hills, terraces, local settlements, and forests. This can indeed make it worth flying.

In this pleasant day you may have full day at leisure either relax at hotel or explore the around Thamel. Today is day of ending your journey, so we would like offer you farewell program and hand over you Trip Certificate, Trekking Permit and TIMS Card for memory of Nepal trip. Today is free or last minute shopping for souvenirs or gift to your family, friends or relatives for you until departure flight/drive. Our assist will be transfer to the International Airport for your departure flight to your onwards destination, taking with you the memory of a life time.