Mustang Trek – A Chance to Witness the Ancient Tibetan Villages & Rare Medival Budhist Arts

The Upper Mustang trekking (popularly called the Mustang trek), is an exotic tour to unspoiled Tibetan villages on the other side of Nepalese Himalaya bordering with Tibet. The main highlights of Mustang trekking are ancient Tibetan villages, rare medieval Budhist arts, the exotic culture and the unique beauty of the Himalayan desert.

The medieval settlement of Upper Mustang and its capital Lo Manthang lie in the remote Himalayan desert behind the Annapurna and Dhaulagiri mountains .Foreigners were not allowed to enter Upper Mustang untill1992. Upper Mustang is not much in contact with rest of Nepal, and keeps an aura of a remote, mysterious and unusual land, which is one of the unique charms of the Mustang trekking.

Geographically the land is an extension of the Tibetan plateau, characterized by windy and arid valleys, eroded canyons and unique stratified rock formations .The people in Upper Mustang are of Tibetan origin, migrated from Tibet centuries ago, and belong to Bhotias and Loba communities. They practice Sakyapa school of Tibetan Buddhism. Upper Mustang is perhaps the only place to see Tibetan culture in completely undisturbed state. The houses and monasteries in here have medieval look and unique local architecture. Mostly they are built with stone and sun baked mud bricks. People mostly grow potatoes, barley and buck wheat .It is a land covering about 2600 sq km in area and 6000 people. All their festivals are religious in nature, the Tiji festival being the biggest. This small medieval kingdom in the vast desert is ruled by a local king .The capital called Lo Manthang , a walled complex with the houses of local nobilities and monasteries will be one of the major attraction of your Mustang trek.

Upper Mustang Trek is a chance to explore an isolated areas around north of Annapurna region. During your Upper Mustang Trekking, you will find many similarities between cultures, traditions and lifestyle of Tibetan people. Along with Tibetan Buddhism influenced culture and traditions, the topographical structure is also quite similar. This place is also called mini Tibet due to similar beautiful trans-Himalayan landscapes. Visiting the Lo-Manthang palaces, local monasteries while witnessing the best of culture and nature, enjoying a homestay in Nepal are the main highlights of this Upper Mustang Trek.

Upper Mustang Trek is accessible all year around as this region is a trans-Himalayan region where very less rainfall is received even during monsoon. Therefore, if you are physically fit and want to explore the less explored region of Nepal; then plan for Upper Mustang Trek now!

Annapurna & Everest Base Camp – Both Deserves Exploration

It is the choice each enthusiast Nepalese adventurers encounters eventually: Everest or Annapurna Base Camp. Majority trekkers end up hiking both eventually, because Nepal is one of those nations it is tough to visit only once.

On the one hand you’ve Mount Everest. It is world-famous, comes with ample trekking adventure, many of your buddies will possibly assume you are summiting the thing & digging a flag on the summit. On the other hand you have got Annapurna trekking: more diverse, less height, with superb rhododendron forests & lesser crowds. Whose background reigns supreme? It is tricky decision, isn’t it?

Hikers generally trek the Everest route to arrive at the waving prayers flags of Basecamp, where several travelers wait until their most important ascents in May. The trail is possibly the most classic Himalyan choice in Nepal. The elevation is higher and you are constantly enclosed by knife like summits. Gokyo Lakes & the fewer-trekked passes at Cho La are excellent detours from the typical route, and Island Peak will let you explore some of the finest vistas in the grand Himalayas.

If you are not so sure about your mountain climbing capabilities, Annapurna is a little less demanding circuit. There’re lesser steep treks & the typical average elevation is much lesser. Furthermore, in place of being channeled into the Khumbu Valley on Everest, you can select from a range of routes, some of which do not go beyond 2000 meters in terms of elevation. The descents are also a little gentler on Annapurna, which can assist you knees during climbing. And don’t eliminate the benefit of a circuit trail: hiking new terrain daily without ever repeating your steps.

If you are coming just for the mountains, for the biggest, wildest, most steep mountains you can find, Everest is the way to go. It’s a high altitude trek through some of the most stunning scenery in all of the Himalayas.

Annapurna is a totally different side of the Himalayas. You still get huge, snow-capped peaks, but they’re more of a constant backdrop. The Annapurna Circuit passes through a lot of rural settlements where small farming communities cling to the sides of valleys and life is pretty much as it was a hundred years ago.

In conclusion we can say a tour in Nepal won’t be complete without both Annapurna and Everest base camp trek. So, both of these trekking routes deserves exploration.