Muktinath Trek [pilgrims trail]

Your mountain guide picks you up at your hotel early morning. Together, you take the bus from Kathmandu to Pokhara. This takes about 6 hours.

breakfast – bus – hotel

From Pokhara, we drive with a private vehicle to Nayapul in about one hour. Nayapul is the place where your pilgrimage trek begins. After a short 15-minute walk along the banks of the Modi Khola we reach Birethanti (1010m), a large village with many shops and teahouses. From there, our trail continues through the village and follows the north bank of the Bhurungdi Khola. Then the trail climbs steadily up the side of the valley to Hille (1490m) and after a short climb we reach Tikhedhunga (1565m). Today’s walk is relatively short and easy, a prelude to our trekking experience in the Annapurna region.

breakfast – private vehicle – lunch & dinner – mountain lodge

Today you start with a steep climb to Ulleri, a large Magar village (2070m). After the village the trail ascends more gently, through fine forests of oak and rhododendrons towards Banthanti (2250m). Then you trek towards Nangethanti (2460m). After one more hour of walking you arrive at Ghorepani (2870m) where you spend the night.

breakfast, lunch & dinner – mountain lodge

Early morning, around 5am we begin our hike to Poon Hill (3210m). It takes an hour to climb from Ghorepani to Poon Hill, one of the best Himalayan viewpoints in Nepal. Here we can have a spectacular view over the Himalayan ranges with an amazing sunrise.

After beholding the views, we return to Ghorepani for a good breakfast and set off. Off to Tatopani (1202m).

First the trail makes a steep descent to Chitre (2390m). As the trail drops down through Sikha, the hills are extensively terraced. Sikha (1980m) is a large village with shops and lodges. From there the trail descends gently to Ghara (1705m). A further steep descent of 500 meters takes us to the Ghar Khola river, which we cross via a suspension bridge. We then climb up above the Kaligandaki River before crossing that one too.

Then we turn north to Tatopani (1202m). Tato means ‘hot’ and pani is ‘water’, a name earned by the delightful natural hot springs by the river.

breakfast, lunch & dinner – mountain lodge

Today the trail climbs up the Kali Gandaki gorge, considered to be the deepest in the world which is situated between the two over 8000 meters high peaks of Annapurna and Dhaulagiri. The trail rises gently up to Dana (1405m) and onto Rupse Chhahara (1550m) where we can see a stunning waterfall. As the trail crosses to the eastern bank of the river, we reach Kopchepani which crosses back to the western side on a suspension bridge (1945m). Then there’s only a short climb left to Ghasa (2008m).

breakfast, lunch & dinner – mountain lodge

We start the day by crossing the eastern side of the river which we cross back again further up the trail before entering Larjung (2562m). The trail continues on a short distance to the interesting village of Khobang with its narrow alleyways. Then we spend the night at the ancient Thakali village Tukuche (2580m).

breakfast, lunch & dinner – mountain lodge

From Tukuche we climb along the side of the valley to Jomsom (2700m). Jomsom is a large, bustling settlement and is the administrative center of the region that contains an airport, an army camp, hotels, shops, banks and government offices.

We cross the river to the eastern bank and walk towards Eklai Bhatti (2730m). From here we take a direct route to Muktinath that ascends the hill behind the village. However we follow the trail along the river to Kagbeni (2800m) which is situated at the junction of the Jhong Khola & the Kali Gandaki which is the most northern village that can be visited without a permit to continue on to Mustang. This village is fascinating with its rich Tibetan cultures and their unique hospitality.

breakfast, lunch & dinner – mountain lodge

We make a steep climb up the Jhong Khola valley leaving Kagbeni and join the direct trail to Muktinath just below Khingar (3200m). From here our trail continues high above the Jhong Khola to the imposing village of Jharkot (3500m) which is well worth exploring. We take a break here for lunch before we continue to Muktinath.

As we leave Jharkot the trail climbs up to our ultimate destination of Muktinath (3800m). We initially visit Ranipauwa with its many teahouses and shops and overnight here. A 10 minutes’ walks further uphill rewards us with the actual religious site of Muktinath. This area is kept free of hotels and camping sites.

Muktinath is a pilgrimage destination for both Buddhists and Hindus. There we can see Tibetan traders as well as sadhus from the far south of India who came here on foot. There are shrines in a grove of trees including a Buddhists Gompa and the Vishnu temple of Jwalamai. An old temple nearby shelters a spring and natural gas jets that provide Muktinath’s famous eternal flame. It’s the earth-water-fire combination that accounts for Muktinath’s great religious significance.

breakfast, lunch & dinner – mountain lodge

Today we follow the same trail nearby Kagbeni, follow a new trail down to the Eklebhatti and then again follow the same trail to Jomsom (2700m).

breakfast, lunch & dinner – mountain lodge

Today, we wake up early for the short but scenic mountain flight back to Pokhara. In Pokhara, a car takes us back to our hotel.

breakfast – domestic flight – hotel

Today, we take the bus back to Kathmandu. And there, we will bring you to your hotel.

In the evening, we offer you and your guide a farewell dinner together in a traditional Nepalese restaurant.

breakfast – bus – farewell dinner – hotel

If it’s the final day of your holiday in Nepal, we will bring you back to the international airport. Goodbye friends! We hope that we will meet each other again in the future.

breakfast – airport transfer