Mustang - April 2010

Mustang is an ancient kingdom of Nepal which was the main route to most caravans going to or coming back from Tibet. Today, it is an area of Nepal looking like no other one in this country. Arid, desolate, cultivation allowing inhabitants to survive do only exist because of irrigation. This irrigation is itself possible because of mountain torrents fed by snow smelting on surrounding summits. This means Mustang landscapes are quite different from the ones you can find in the rest of Nepal. Add to this a special tax for trekkers who want to go north of Kagbeni and reducing the number of such trekkers and you will understand this is a very attractive place for the seasoned traveller. Not convinced yet? I will then talk about the mythic capital city of Lo Manthang, unveiling itself only at the end of your journey, as the ultimate reward. The Mustang trek is always a round trip from Jomsom, so try to select a different trail to go back, it will make the whole trip even more enjoyable.

Photo galleries

You can see the photo gallery of the trek on distant trails (also works on iPhone and iPad).

You will need Adobe Flash Player to see this gallery (unless you use an iPhone or iPad). The lower right button of the gallery navigation bar will allow you to see the images full screen.

If you don't want to install Adobe Flash Player, you can see the trek photos on Flickr. You can also download there pictures in their original size.

Map

Thanks to Google Maps, you will see below the trek map.

Click on "View on a larger map" to see a full screen map and to be able to load it in Google Earth plug-in and see a 3D view. The trek trace you see is not coming from a GPS, so do not try to use the coordinates to perform some actual navigation.