oldhippie2015
20 Dec 2025
We booked a 7 day, 6 night Upper Mustang private jeep trip, starting from Pokhara, with Pema as our guide. He is from Lo Manthang, which meant that he was really knowledgeable about the area, knew absolutely everyone and provided insights and snippets of information that went beyond the standard guiding experience. We couldn't have asked for a better or more helpful guide. Our driver, Monkol, was excellent and we never felt scared, even on some of the post- landslide tracks around the mountain edges!
The Upper Mustang is one of the most extraordinary places we have ever visited and we are widely travelled. It is best described as the back of beyond meets the top of the world. The landscapes are harsh, timeless and absolutely sensational and the villages seem mostly unchanged for centuries. Highlights were the Chhoser caves, the Tsarang summer palace, Lo Manthang. Marpha and Muktinath were also interesting.
There are, of course, downsides. We stayed in the best available places. However, there were few tourists at the beginning of November, so the lodges were fairly empty (apart from Lo Manthang), open to the elements and the communal area fires/ heaters were not lit. Living in a tropical country, we found the cold seeped into our bones. Although some places had hot(ish) water, we gave up showering as it was too cold when we got out! Most places did provide electric blankets, so sleeping was no problem. It was just the time between lodge arrival and bed. On the return toward Pokhara we continued further than intended, to Tatopani. The proposed lodge was full, so we upgraded to the big, glitzy hotel, which was warm, had hot water and more choice of food. Not the sort of place we would normally choose, but greatly appreciated on this occasion.
We went "dry" until the last night, drank loads of water and had no altitude problems (we are 70 and 66). It is not the most luxurious or comfortable trip, but absolutely worth doing if you have an adventurous spirit.
My wife and I just spent the most amazing two weeks on our trip to Upper Mustang with Global Holiday Adventures. From my very first inquiry, Samsher, the boss, was very fast and thorough in answering my questions.
The trip to Mustang was exceptional. Our guide was Pema Tenzin, who was born and raised in the capital of Lo Monthang. Being a local and a Tibetan Buddhist himself made all the difference in the world as far as learning about the culture, history, and landscape of Mustang. We were able to meet and mix with locals, visit monasteries and meet monks, visit old houses and see how the locals live, as other tours who don’t use local guides would never be able to do.
Since I had trekked there in 2014, I knew many things to see. We took several days traveling to Lo from Jomson and stayed in Ghami and Tsarang on the way. We took an extra day to visit the cave monastery of Luri Gompa, a very important pilgrimage site. Because of Pema’s contacts, we were joined by Dawa Lama, an art restorer of many important monasteries, especially Thubchen in Lo Monthang. Although not a guide, he was able to show us important details in the monastery art in Luri Gompa.
Our jeep driver was Prakash Kadel, a very experienced man who took us on some rather precarious roads off the beaten track. We never were scared or worried. Well, hardly ever.
I can’t recommend Global Holiday Adventures enough for a jeep trek to Upper Mustang. It will be a trip of your life!