Upper Mustang Tiji Festival Trek

Your first day of Upper Mustang Tiji Festival trekking starts with your arrival at the Kathmandu International Airport. As you head out of the airport, the concerned person will receive you and take you to your respective hotels.

You can see the first glimpse of beautiful Kathmandu while on your way. We will also help you check in at the hotel and let you settle in and have some rest.

You can discuss your trek with your guide in the evening and meet your trekking crew. You will stay overnight at the Kathmandu hotel.

The second day of the trek is mainly reserved for sightseeing around Kathmandu valley. After breakfast, you will head towards some monumental places in Kathmandu valley. You can visit culturally inspiring places such as Kathmandu Durbar Square, Patan Durbar Square, and Bhaktapur Durbar Square.

Furthermore, you can also visit some iconic temples of Kathmandu, such as Pashupatinath, Boudhanath, Buddhanilkantha, and Swyambhu Temple. You can also visit the local zoo in Jawalakhel or the National Museum. The sightseeing possibilities are endless. After the sightseeing, you will head back to your hotel and then plan for your trek starting tomorrow.

Overnight stay in the Kathmandu Hotel.

The third day of the Upper Mustang Tilje trek begins with a drive from Kathmandu to Pokhara. You will drive through one of the serene paths from where you can see natural beauty such as waterfalls, streams, forests, rivers, etc. We can confirm you will be energized as the beginning phase of the adventure will feel you with thrill and excitement.

It will take up to 6 hours of drive to reach Pokhara. After you get there, you can check in at the hotel and have a breather. After some time, you can stroll around the lakeside and enjoy the fantastic atmosphere. You will have your dinner in the hotel and stay overnight.

Today’s trekking day will lead you to beautiful Jomsom. After having an early morning breakfast in the hotel, you will head out early towards Pokhara airport. You will board the flight to Jomsom, which is at 2743m, and it will take 20 -30 minutes to land in Jomsom.

During this flight, you will probably see the best mountain and Himalayan ranges you have ever witnessed. After landing in Jomsom, you will rest and begin your trek toward Kagbeni. While trekking from Jomsom to Kagbeni, you will pass the beautiful Kali Gandaki river.

You will pass through several small villages and towns to reach Kagbeni, but what will attract you the most will be houses made from wood, bamboo, bricks, and stones. In the evening, you will reach the beautiful Kagbeni, where you will stay overnight.

On the fifth day of the Upper Mustang Tiji Trek circuit, you will travel from Kagbeni to the small village of Chele. The distance between Kagbeni and Chele is over 9.5 miles or over 15 kilometers. Since you are trekking on foot, reaching the planned destination will take up to 6-7 hours.

You will continue to pass through the bank of Kali Gandaki river, which still looks mesmerizing as it looked before.

You will pass through some exciting places such as Tangbe villages, Sky caves, Rock tunnels, and Kalobhir, from which you can get the peak of beautiful mountain ranges and human settlements.

After 6 hours of trekking, you will reach a beautiful Chele village where you can rest or walk around the local areas.

Another day of trekking will continue to be excellent as today you will walk towards beautiful Geling from Chele. It will take up to five hours to reach Geling, which is over 3500m. From this path onward, you will have to climb the steep snowy hills, which are pretty complex and make you tired quite fast. You will pass through Samar. The village, Bhena, and then the breathtaking vista Yamda La Pass, which is over 3800m.

You will also get a first glance at Muktinath temple and mount Dhaulagiri. After climbing hills for several hours, you will reach the beautiful Chele, where you will stay overnight.

Another day of the Upper Mustang Tiji Festival trek will lead you from Geling to Charang. This will be a short trek as you will reach Charang in four hours. You will be climbing a height of 3560m, so be wary of altitude sickness.

During this trek, you will come across some strange but monumental places, such as the Mani wall of Mustang, and the beautiful view of the red hills and mountains will keep you on your toes. You will reach Charang and can rest for a bit before traveling towards the local monastery and teashops.

The day ends with the overnight stay at the campfire at Charing.

The next day of the trekking will probably take you to the most beautiful place in this trek, Lo-Manthang. You will also stay some days in the area to celebrate the festival.

After waking early in the morning, you will have a lovely breakfast in Charang and walk forward for four hours. You have to reach a 3700m, so you may have to get familiar with the size and climate.

You will also get a fantastic view of the Chosar and Thinkar above 4000m. After arriving in Lo-Mangthan, you will check in at the hotel or prepare the camp for the evening. Tomorrow is a beautiful day for you, so you may want to sleep early.

Today is the first day of the Tiji festival so you will stay another day in Lo-Manthang. The festival starts at 3 PM, so you have plenty of time to visit some local places. You can visit local monasteries and temples and get familiar with the locals as they are amiable.

You will gather around the stupa in the afternoon, and the local monk will start the festival. Tiji festival has a very significant meaning for the people of Lo-Manthang. The festival was first started in the 17th century by King Samdup Rabten. The monks start the celebration by reciting the Vajrakila prayers and lighting lamps around the temple or monastery.

As the sun sets, the atmosphere becomes even more fun as the locals around the place start to sing and dance. You will hear the sound of a horn and a copper horn named Dhungchen considered a god or goddess in the festival.

The biggest highlight of the festival’s first day is the dance performance of the energetic masked dancers, which is sure to take your breath away. The festival’s first day lasts almost two hours, and when the monk asks for blessings called Tsowo, the day is complete.

You will stay the night in Lo-Manthang.

Just like the first day, the second day of the Tiji festival also begins with prayers and singing from the local monk. On the second day, a dance competition will entertain the local public and please the gods and goddesses. The atmosphere is entirely electric and excellent, and you may have never seen anything like it.

The dance competition is held between the warriors and demons as the dancers wear the masks of their allocated tribe. The second days end when the warriors kill the monsters with the flaming dagger.

After the ceremony, you can hang out with the locals and enjoy a lovely local meal before staying the night in Lo-Mangthan for another day.

Today is the final day of the Tiji festival during your Upper Mustang Tiji festival trekking. You will begin the day with a lovely breakfast. On the last day, Monks also join the dancers and dance in masks to worship the gods and goddesses. The local people of the Mustang district also pray for their life, well-being, and protection from all-natural disasters.

In the last ceremony, local musicians will join the monks to play large instruments and horns to please the gods. At the end of the festival, everyone hugs each other and smiles as they wait for the festival till next year.

You will have plenty of time for sightseeing as you visit Namgyal Gompa and Tinkar valley, where you can click pretty photos. After the sightseeing, you will return to Lo-Mangthan for the final day of your overnight stay.

Another day of the trek awaits you as you leave Lo-Mangthan for the final day and travel toward Drakmar. You will walk along the trail of snowy patches and narrow, steep hills as you pass through Marang la, Muila, and Ghar Gumba, which have their cultural importance.

As you trek towards Drakmar, you have officially approached the upper part of Mustang as you climb above 4230m. It will take from 6-7 hours to travel to Drakmar.

After reaching Drakmar, you can stay in the lovely guesthouse or set up your camp. In the evening, you can take a quick view of the fantastic hills and the green pastures where the yak grazes.

Today is the thirteen day of trekking of the Upper Mustang Tiji festival, where you will travel from Drakmar to Shyangmochen. You will climb an altitude of over 3500m.

You will trek through the glacial part for about 7 hours till you reach the lovely Shyangmochen. During the trek, you will pass through small Ghime village and Nyi La Pass and begin to descend from there.

After a few hours’ treks from the Nyi Pass, you will reach the Tibetian settlement in Syangmochen.

On the following day of the trekking, you will travel from Syangmochen to Chhusang as you descend at 2980m. Your trekking will again take up to 7 hours as you pass several bridges, hills, glacial passages, and Mustang Khola too.

After reaching Chhusang, you can get to some of the old monasteries over 100 years old. You will stay in the Chuusnag guest house at night.

Another day of Upper Mustang Tiji festival trekking, where you will return to Jomsom from Chhusang. The trek will take approximately 7 hours as you descend the bank of Kali Gandaki river, just like you moved forward.

You can quickly stop for lunch, click pictures in Kagbeni, and descend further downward towards Jomsom. This time you will visit Marpha village and sightsee the local area till the evening.

You will stay overnight in Jomsom.

You will have breakfast in Jomsom on the second last day of trekking at the Upper Mustang Tiji festival. You will now be taken to Jomsom airport and board a flight to Pokhara.

Like before, this flight will showcase a glimpse of mount Nilgiri and Annapurna. You will land in Pokhara and check in at the hotel. In the evening either, you can rest or take a short tour of the lakeside and enjoy the evening “Diyo Puja,” where you can see dances of highly talented dancers asking for the blessing of the gods.

Today is the second last day of trekking. You will travel to Kathmandu from Pokhara, which will take up to 8 hours. After reaching Kathmandu, you can go shopping or rest in your hotel if you have time.

Today is the final day of the Upper Mustang Tiji festival trekking. You will have your breakfast in the hotel and then check out of the hotel to reach the airport. We hope this trekking was filled with adventure and you enjoyed your stay in Nepal. We can’t wait to see you again.