Jomsom Muktinath Trek

Your arrival in Kathmandu is the first day of the trip. We will welcome you at the arrival gate of Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu and transfer you to the trip hotel. You will have free time mostly on your own today. We will surely offer you necessary guidance on wandering around on your arrival time. We will also brief you about the entire adventure trip and answer your questions if you have any. Feel at comfort; relax and try to acclimate in the Nepalese atmosphere. Things may look and feel completely strange to you but that’s the beauty of a new place so find yourself at easy and slowly soak into the local ambience.

Kathmandu has a history of more than 2,000 years. We will take you for a tour of the historical, cultural and spiritual places in Kathmandu that are enlisted in the cultural heritage list. A guided visit to Swoyambhunath, Patan Durbar Square, Pashupatinath and Boudhanath will give you an understanding of the history, culture, spiritual practice and lifestyle of Kathmandu valley. It will be a good starter of the trip. An insightful day of exploring the cultural and historical wonders of Kathmandu will come to end after returning back to the hotel around late afternoon.

We will drive 200 kilometers west of Kathmandu to Pokhara today. The drive starts early morning after breakfast. You will be able to experience the rural surroundings of Nepal as you drive along the highway towards the destination today. Pokhara is the main gateway city to start the trekking adventure in the Annapurna region. We will be in Pokhara after around 6 hours of starting in Kathmandu. Wandering around the peaceful and beautiful atmosphere of Lakeside on the bank of Lake Fewa will be helpful in chasing off the tiredness of the long drive. It’s an easy and free time to roam around the streets.

The actual walking adventure starts today and takes us to Tikhedhunga for the overnight stay. We will drive to Nayapul from Pokhara for about one and half hour and start the trek for the day. It is an easy day of walk on the wide off-road. Although the surrounding along the walking route is beautiful, unfortunately we do not get to walk on proper walking trail today. We have to bear with the dusty off-road for the walk today to Tikhedhunga.

We go on an easy pace today. The walk starts with a steep uphill walk to Ulleri for about 2 hours. Ulleri provides the first glimpse of snow-capped mountain peaks for the day. The trail ascends gradually towards Banthanti where we can enjoy spectacular view of Mt. Fishtail. The trail then enters schima and hazelnut forest on a gradual ascent to come out at Nangethanti for lunch break. After the lunch we start on our further trekking journey which takes us through beautiful rhododendron forest to Ghorepani village for overnight stay. As soon as we reach upper Ghorepani, spectacular mountain views greet and welcome us to this beautiful settlement.

We are on an early and long day of this adventure trip. We get up early and get ready to hike to Poonhill for a beautiful sunrise view over the Himalayas. The hiking to this famous view point takes us about an hour through rhododendron forest on an uphill trail. The top that lies at 3,210 meters above sea level brings panoramic views of the mountain peaks in Annapurna and Dhaulagiri mountain range. The charm of Himalayan panorama becomes even more fascinating when the sunrise pours magical colors upon the mighty peaks. This sunrise hike is one of the most awaited highlights of the trip. We hike back to our teahouse for breakfast and to start the trek to Tatopani. The trek to Tatopani descends straight all the way to Gharkhola via Sikha, Chitre and Ghara. These villages we walk past have such beautiful cultural wonders that make us forget the strain of downhill effort on the trail. We cross a suspension bridge over Gharkhola and start ascending towards Tatopani – the place with natural hot spring.

We trek to Ghasa village today. The very beginning of the trip is an uphill striving right above of the Kali Gandaki River on its gorge. We walk past beautiful Dana village and a beautiful waterfall – Rupse Chhahara. The waterfall is one of the beautiful waterfalls that can easily lure anyone to stay there but we have to move forward towards our destination for the day. The trail goes past Kopchepani and eventually ascends to Ghasa. Ghasa casts a beautiful spell upon us with alluring wonders of the village and surrounding.

Our trek to Tukuche village today has many thrilling wonders along the trail. The trail traverses past Larjung and Khobang villages before finally making it to Tukuche village. A rich cultural hub of ethnic Thakali tribe, Tukuche village is an exemplary of warm hospitality and mouthwatering local cuisine. We can explore wonders of the village once we reach there. The exploration will reveal what this famous ethnic tribe has to offer in terms of hospitality and culinary skills.

Tukuche to Kagbeni section of the trail today has Jomsom, the headquarters of Mustang, in between. An uphill stretch takes us to the town of Jomsom that looks a pretty affluent town amidst the rugged mountains. The stretch from Jomsom to Kagbeni is a gentle trail along the Kali Gandaki River. The sandy trail goes along the river bank and gets windy in the afternoon. Despite the windy condition on the trail, the stretch is scenic that we enjoy walking on it. Kagbeni is a small and beautiful oasis village on the bank of Kali Gandaki River. It’s also a popular stopover place because of its beauty and strategic location in the region.

We are trekking to the final destination of the trip – Muktinath – today. We gain about 1,000 meters of elevation on our walk of the day to the destination. The trail mostly advances uphill and goes past beautiful Jharkot village where we will have our lunch break. We eventually reach Muktinath after about 5 hours. Muktinath is a spiritual place for the believers of spirituality and pilgrimage site for the Hindu and Buddhist people. The temple there is a source of spiritual energy. People believe that the temple brings spiritual liberation to them. Thousands of religious and spiritual pilgrims trek to this sacred place to attain the Mukti – the spiritual liberation.

It’s the final day of walk today. We trek all the way down to Jomsom today and finish the walking part of Jomsom Muktinath Trekking trip. The trail descends on the same trail to Kagbeni and goes along the Kali Gandaki River to Jomsom. We celebrate the end of trekking part; express our hearty thanks to the crew members who made this trip possible by being with us throughout to help. We can wander the alleys of Jomsom and explore the town.

A short but overwhelming flight to Pokhara across the mountains is due this morning. We board the plane and fly southward from Jomsom passing through several gigantic snow-capped mountains. It’s in incredible mountain flight experience of about 20 minutes. Once in Pokhara, we have leisurely time on our own to go explore the town. We can find massage to relieve the tiredness of trekking or simply walk around the lakeside. There are options of going for some adventure activities like paragliding, zip flying, bungee jumping and ultra-light flight etc.

We will drive back to Kathmandu today. There is an option of flying back with the payment of an extra flight cost.

As the last day on this beautiful adventure trip, we will drive you to the airport for your departure flight as per your flight schedule. If this is not your departure day, the service for this trip ends here. If you have extra days to spend in Nepal and need any other assistance, please do let us know. We will certainly help you in whatever way we can.

The walking adventure to the Jomsom Muktinath goes through the trail that meanders up and down the mountains frequently. Although this is not an extremely difficult trip, you will certainly feel some challenges of walking in the high altitude during the trip. We would rate it as a moderate trip in difficulty level.

Walking hours vary from day to day on this trip. You walk from 4-7 hours every day depending on the distance you cover. You can expect the walking hours to be around 5 hours on average.

Since it is walking adventure trip, you do not need any climbing skills, experience or equipment. However, you will need a high level of determination to traverse the mountain trail in the wilderness for several days. This is just a trekking trip, not a climbing adventure.

The walking route to the Jomsom Muktinath is a well-trodden and popular trail. You will find enough teahouses along the trail where you normally spend the overnights. Teahouses along the route are basic lodges with accommodation and dining facilities where the trekkers spend overnight. These teahouses are comfortable but not super luxurious. The overnight places for each day are specified in the itinerary. However, your trip guide can change the overnight places on his/her sole discretion if s/he thinks it necessary for your comfort and better experience.

Dal Bhat is the staple food in the mountains. This combo of rice, lentil soup, vegetables, curry etc. is available everywhere you go. In addition to this Nepali food, you can enjoy momos, noodle soup (Thukpa), chowmein, pizza, sandwitch, Gurung bread, soup etc. along the trail. Options of vegetarian and non-vegetarian foods are also available. We highly recommend you to go for vegetarian food during the trek.

When you go for the walking adventure trip, you will pack two different bags – one big backpack that your porter will carry for you and the other, a small daypack for yourself to carry with necessary things that you need for the day. You can refer to our Things to Carry page for a complete guide on what you need to have when you are in the mountains.