Upper Mustang Tiji Festival Trek – 19 Days 

Namaste and Heartily welcome to Nepal. Our company representatives welcome you warmly at the international airport of Kathmandu and transfer you to the hotel. You take your rest and enjoy your meal in the evening. Also, the trekking guide would do a briefing or explain to you about the trek. Overnight at the hotel. 

Early in the morning, we drive to Pokhara, viewing beautiful scenarios of Kathmandu and Pokhara on the way, such as rivers, forests, hills and many more. We take lunch on the way to Pokhara during the daytime, then start our journey to Pokhara. After reaching Pokhara, if we have time, then we may look around a bit of Pokhara’s views. Overnight at a hotel.

Continuing our trip, we fly to Jomsom and from Jomsom, the trail leads to the Kali Gandaki plains. In the rainy season, the road diverts to the right bank of the river plain. The walk is pleasant with few ups and downs most of the way to the place of Ekali Bhatti (lonely inn), where there are three or four tea-houses present. From here, the path splits into two ways: the higher ups lead to Muktinath, while the other one leads to Upper Mustang and Tibet via Kagbeni. The walking gets much easier on the gradually winding route as you walk further on the river bed towards the wind-swept village of Kagbeni overnight. 

After leaving the Kagbeni village, the walk is uphill for half an hour, leaving the Kali-Gandaki river behind for a while. The path leads to harsh, barren countryside all the way, with occasional stops passing through a few small villages as the walk progresses to the village of Tangbe. Another hour of a good walk brings you to the overnight stop at Chussang, lined up with a few trees amidst the red earth surrounding. Chussang lies at the confluence of the Narsang stream and the Kali Gandaki river. 

The walk leads first to Chele village after crossing the stream through the broken canyons and ruined castle walls on the surrounding cliffs. Across the river from Chussang are some spectacular red eroded cliffs above the mouths of inaccessible caves. After crossing the small bridge, an uphill walk for 45 minutes brings you to Chele village. 

From Chele village, the walk gets steeper for an hour up to the ridge at 3,130m. From here, you can get a good view of Gyagar across a huge canyon. From here, a gradual descent leads you to Samar for the overnight stop.

The journey continues after a short climb above Samr village to a ridge, then treks into another valley with juniper trees. After crossing the stream, the walk follows an uphill path to a ridge at 3,800m. The trail climbs over to another pass, from here the route descends to Syangboche, a small settlement with few tea shops at 3,800m. After a good break, the trek continues to a gentle climb to a pass at 3,770m, entering a huge valley, from here taking the right downhill path towards our overnight stop at Geling with its large fields of barley on the outskirts of the village. 

The track descends below the blue, grey, and red cliffs across the valley to a steel bridge across the Tangmar Chu. Then climb to the plateau and pass the longest and most spectacular mani walls in Nepal. From the end of the wall, the trail heads east to the village of Tsarang with a maze of fields, willow trees, and houses separated by stone walls at the top of the Tsarang Chu canyon. At the eastern end of the village are a huge Dzong (fortress) and a red gompa which houses an excellent collection of statues and Thankas as well as many large paintings of seated Buddha. After reaching Tsarang, stay overnight at Tsarang.

Tiji Festival, a three-day ritual known as “The chasing of demons”, is centered in Tiji Myth. 

1st Day: The monks perform a dance called ‘Tsa Chaam’. This tells the story of the birth of “Dorje Sonam or ‘Dorje Jono’- a reincarnated Buddha to a demon. This demon harassed the kingdom of Mustang and brought havoc to the country. You can witness the monks enacting the harassment of the said demon on the people of Mustang. 

2nd Day: The monks perform ‘Ngachama’. During this performance, Dorje Sonam tries to return the demon to the Buddha realm.

3rd and Final Day: The ‘Rha Chham’ dance takes place. In this ceremony, Dorje Sonam triumphs over the evil demon and banishes him from Mustang. 

The monk who plays the role of Dorje Sonam does this by throwing an effigy. This effigy made from Tsampa (Barley) represents the demon ‘Ma Tam Ru Ta’. 

This defeat brings peace and prosperity to the land of Mustang. Every year, the Tiji festival takes place in the hope of spreading peace throughout the world. 

The walk is more of a descent with a few short climbs all the way to Ghami. Once outside the walled Lo-Manthang village, the path leads to a steady climb to the pass, offering a glimpse of Lo-Manthang. The walk from here on is more or less gradual on the downhill slopes most of the way to Ghami village. Ghami is another important village in this region. Hence, overnight at Ghami village.

The trek today follows the straight route to the Nyi-La, with a climb to the ridge and then contouring upwards and encountering the road from Tsarang. From the top of the ridge, a steep descent awaits you all the way to Geling Valley. The trail continues by passing Geling to a lone teahouse and then a gentle downhill to a small settlement of Gurung. A steep switchback trail leads to a stream; the trail climbs to a large painted chorten. From here, it is a straightforward route to the overnight at Samar.

Our route from Samar diverts to a less-known area by the westerners, and then we reach Chele village after 2-3 hours. After continuing the trek, we reach Mustang Khola, from here our walk leads uphill for another two hours towards the remote village of Chhomang at 2,940m. Passing through this village, the walk is more or less on a gradual uphill trail, then coming to our overnight stay near the pass at Yak Kharka.

After being in the less frequented upper part of Mustang, you’ll be seeing more of fellow trekkers coming from other regions of northern Annapurna via Thorong-La and from Kagbeni onwards. The walk from the camp leads to a slow climb for less than an hour towards the pass at 3,970m. 

After passing the trek is on the downhill slope most of the way to Muktinath on a much wider trail overlooking superb views of the Mt.Nilgiri and Tukuche peak in the far eastern and the plain of Kali Gandaki Valley. Coming closer to Muktinath after 2-3 hours of walking, crossing the stream in the gorge, then its uphill walk for an hour or so till we reach the village of Dzong.

From here, the path is almost gradual all the way to Muktinath, and the walking gets much easier to the holy place of Muktinath for the overnight, with ample time to visit the holy premises of Muktinath and its 108 ancient water spouts, believed to be the very source of the Kali-Gandaki river. 

We will drive to Jomsom via Kagbeni. After having lunch in Muktinath, we started our journey. We will traverse along the Traditional Thakali village and dense forests of pine and fir to reach Jomsom. Jomsom is famous for strong mid-day winds and has plenty of modern luxuries such as the internet and restaurants. Overnight at Jomsom.

The flight time to Pokhara is normally scheduled in the morning because of the wind in the afternoon; flight time can be delayed due to bad weather and other reasons beyond our control. Depending upon the flight time, make way to the terminal for the security check. This scenic flight from Jomsom takes about 25 minutes to reach Pokhara, and a panoramic view of the snow-capped peaks can be seen from the plane. After arriving in Pokhara, stay overnight at a hotel.

Early in the morning, we drive back to Kathmandu, viewing beautiful scenarios of Pokhara and Kathmandu on the way, such as rivers, forests, hills and many more. We take lunch on the way during the daytime, then start our journey to Kathmandu. After reaching Kathmandu, stay overnight at a hotel.

Your adventure in Nepal comes to an end today! We will take you to the airport, approximately 3 hours before your scheduled flight. On your way home, you will have plenty of time to plan your next adventure in the wonderful country of Nepal.