Jomsom – Muktinath Pilgrimage Yatra

Arrival in Kathmandu. Airport reception and transfer to Hotel in Thamel. Room check-in and free time later. Check the trekking equipment arrangement, check whether all the necessary permits, air/bus tickets, hotel reservation/service vouchers are ready. Your dinner will be in one of the most relic Nepali restaurants. Then good night….

Morning breakfast around 6:30am. At 6:35 you will be picked up by your guide and walk for 10 minutes to the tourist bus station where all the tourist buses leave for Pokhara or to Chitwan everyday. Kathmandu to Pokhara the road condition is very nice and is very scenic. The buses are very nice with professional service. It is about 5 to 6 hrs drive. In Pokhara, you will be escorted to Hotel (3 star very nice hotel). Room check-in and later free time on which you may take a tour to with your guide to Phewa Lake and near by area. If there remains much spare time and if interested to include some more activities, just please form a group of minimum 2 people and let know your Guide, some attractive side trips (an example visit to the Davis Fall, the Gupteshwor Cave and the Tibetan Refugee Center) are readily available at US $ 5 per person. Fully guided and both way taxi transfer.
For dinner you may choose one of the restaurants by the lake or by your hotel.

Morning breakfast around 7am, and then drive to Beni (3 hrs). As stretching your legs let's go for strolling around. Even here have some light lunch. Fresh fruits as season are sold here bringing from the different part of the villagers nearby. Buying a little means helping the local farmers. Beni is a booming town of the region, so is mostly busy.

After lunch we board into Jeep that takes us (3hrs) to Tatopani.

Tatopani is a hot spring site, located on the bank of Kaligandaki River. It is good to dip into the hot water pool for a while; even though the condition of the pool and other facilities are just the basic. The pool opens until 7pm, but chances are if we make a request through the Lodge owner it may be opened until 8 or 8:30pm. If this could happen it will be a kind of private booking! Let this arrange to your Guide! So, it is suggested to include a pair of swimsuit.

The road from Beni to Tatopani runs on the bank of Kaligandaki River and still it has beautiful sceneries to see. It is possible to have the peeping view of Annapurna South from various places while driving. There are in many places the deep cut gorges or the immensely huge boulders or the sky piercing canyon soared from the Kaligandaki water. These all things can be the pieces of contentious interests.

Breakfast around 8am. If interested, again there is sometime to dip into the hot water pool. Later, jeep drive (about an hour) to Titar. There is an attractive waterfall, named ‘Rupse’. We may take photo of it and walk for a while and arrive to ‘Kavre’, the vary point has been the deepest gorge in the world.

You may spend 20-30min here for making photos and seeing the extreme nature before drive continue. Ghasa village is 30min away by drive and on the way we pass an Army area, a a village school and the ACAP check post.

From here Kalopani is another 40 hour drive.

Kalopani is a beautiful settlement with closest possible view of Annapurna I (8091m). It also used to be one of the busiest stopover places on this Kaligandaki corridor trek route once upon a time or before the road invaded all the golden era of glorious trekkers. So, it’s a amazing remnant of the amazing time!

Upon arrival check-in to hotel and if you're interested, it is possible to take a rambling walk around including visiting the village school nearby.

Take breakfast around 8am. Then the members may be divided into two groups. All the interested to walk to Titi lake, should follow the trail that directs towards the Annapurna I which begins somewhat a descending for 20 minutes where we cross the Kaligandaki river and go to Chhayo village. There are two trails in the village – the right fork leads to the base camp of Annapurna I (8091m.). We take the left one and walk for a while on the pail trail and then through the sloppy ridge for an hour to arrive to Taklung village. Titi Lake is 45 minute away to walk from Taklung. The lake itself is not that particularly impressive but all of here; such as the villages, people, and the special view of Dhaulagiri Icefall and other Himalayan peaks will make your visit wonderfully rewarded.

The other group which wants to take the direct course to Larjung will have an easy walk following the Kaligandaki river bank. This will also be an interesting walk viewing the Annapurna I and Dhaulagiri. And at the sandy river of Kaligandaki, we may see people looking for the fossils or the ammonites; which in Nepal is called “Saligram” a religious object.

Meet the groups at Kokhethanti and have lunch. Then drive to Tukuche and further to Marpha. Visit monastery and do village walk later.

Trek for about 2hrs (or drive) to Jomsom after breakfast. Hang on here until lunch time gives you a lot of opportunities to capture wonderful sceneries.

You may visit the Jomsom Eco Museum; it will be an interesting site that collects a lot of information about the local culture, tradition and present issues about environment and changing eco systems. You may spend 30-40min here.

After lunch, we take a drive to Kagbeni where we will be visiting an interesting monastery and unique structure of old villages walking alleyways.

Drive to Muktinath (2hrs and half). Starting around 8am from Jomsom we arrive to Muktinath around 10:30. It's the final destination of the trip. Several interesting things to see and visit to and take photos and enjoy every bit of it. Above the lodge area, there is the famous temple area which is walled by all direction. Inside here are located different temples of different importance.

Then we start drive back to Jomsom via Kagbeni (1hr) stop. Lodge similar.

morning breakfast and then walk to airport to fly to Pokhara. It is an exciting trans-Himalayan flight of 25 minutes. You can have superb views of Mt. Dhaulagiri and Mt. Annapurna (1); these both are 8000 meter peaks.

At Pokhara, we check in to the same hotel. Full day free. If you would like to go on a guided tour, such are available for minimum 2 people at US $ 10 per person per destination.

The road and the vehicle conditions of this drive are pretty good. The area is scenic, especially with the people of middle-hilly region of Nepal. And a part of the road runs on the bank of Trishuli River. This river is one of the most suitable rivers for white water rafting in Nepal. You may get to experience this exciting activity if interested, with additional price US $ 30 per person (minimum 2 people required and the confirmation is to be made at least on the following day, 3pm).

If there is spare time in Kathmandu and would like to do some guided sightseeing tours, your desired is available anytime with US $ 14 per person per destination (minimum 2 people, guide and drive/car included. The entry fee is excluded).