Lower Mustang and Poonhill Trekking - 10 days

Early morning, after breakfast, board a bus and drive to Pokhara. It’s a drive of about 6 hours through lush green forest, meandering road through the hills and gracefully flowing riversides. You will also come across lively markets and clusters of villages on the way. Lunch will be taken in one of the road side restaurants. Upon reaching in Pokhara, you will be received and driven to the hotel. Check into hotel.

There is flight of about 25 minutes from Pokhara to Jomsom. During flight you can view gorge of the two huge mountains, Annapurna and Dhaulagiri. From Tukche, we climb along the side of the valley to Jomsom at 2,713m. Jomsom is a large, bustling settlement and it’s the administrative centre to the region that contains the airport, army camp, hotels, shops, banks and government offices. We cross the river to the eastern bank; then walk towards Eklai Bhatti at 2,730m. From here we take a direct route to Muktinath that ascends the hill behind the village, however we follow the trail along the river to Kagbeni at 2,810meters which is situated at the junction of the Jhong Khola & the Kali Gandaki which is the northern most village that can be visited without a permit to continue on to Mustang. This village is fascinating with its rich Tibetan cultures and their unique hospitality which influences us greatly. Overnight stay at a hotel.

We make a steep climb up the Jhong Khola valley leaving Kagbeni, we then join the direct trail to Muktinath just below Khingar at 3,200m. From here trail continues high above the Jhong Khola to the imposing village of Jharkot at 3,500m. well worth exploring. As we leave Jharkot, the trail climbs up to our ultimate destination of Muktinath at 3,802m. We initially visit Ranipauwa, there are many teahouses and shops. Further 10 minutes walks up the hill, we will be rewarded with the actual religious site of Muktinath. Muktinath is a pilgrimage center for Buddhists and Hindus. Holy water flows from the 108 carved spouts surrounding the Vishnu temple in a grove of poplars. There are shrines in a grove of trees including a Buddhists Gompa & the Vishnu temple of Jwalamai. An old temple nearby shelters a spring and natural gas jets that provides Muktinath’s famous eternal flame. Its the earth-water- fire combination that accounts for Muktinath’s great religious significance. Overnight stay at a hotel.

With a beautiful morning , having breakfast then we follows the river through a narrow gorge, and descends to cross a bridge near a spectacular waterfall, before winding through the valley to Tatopani. The hot water springs that give the village its name provide the perfect opportunity for a good scrub.

Crossing the Kali Gandaki River we slowly climb steeply up the village of Sikha, which is inhabited by Magars. Overnight stay at a hotel.

We start walking in the morning after breakfast from Sikha along the path that leads to the Rhodendrons forest and you can see the Annapurna South, hidden by a ridge smiling at you. We will walk past the villages of Banthanti and Nangathanti through the forest to reach Ghorepani. Ghorepani is a settlement of Poon Magars.

Early in the morning you hike up 45 minutes to Poon Hill for sunrise (Poon Hill is one of the best place to view Sunrise in Nepal) from there we can see Marvelous view can be seen which are Annapurna ranges, Dhaulagiri ranges, Nilgiri ,Fishtail after taking good time in Poon Hill trek back down to the Ghorepani then trek to Tadapani 4/5 hours through Nice jungle walk. Stay overnight at hotel.

Trek to Ghandruk 3 hours walking through jungle and downhill. During the trail you will enjoy birds watching. Ghandruk is one of bigest Gurung Village. They have own language, dress, typical foods, house. There is nice view of Annapurna South and Fishtail. Overnight stay at hotel.

Trek Back to Pokhara 5 hours walking downhill to Nayapul then drive back to Pokhara one hour by Private car/van. Overnight stay at a hotel.

It takes about 4 – 5 hours to drive back to Kathmandu crossing over some mountain passes and rivers along the way. In the evening we enjoy a farewell dinner and reflect on a great adventure.