Magnificent Mustang: Nepal's Forbidden Kingdom, Lo Manthang, Muktinath and How to Visit

• WhereMustang district, Gandaki Province, north of the Annapurna and Dhaulagiri ranges
• Lo Manthang3,840 m, walled capital of Lo, founded 1380 by Ame Pal
• Opened to foreigners1992 (Upper Mustang), still a restricted area
• Upper Mustang permitUSD 50 per person per day beyond Kagbeni, licensed guide required
• Key heightsJomsom 2,720 m, Kagbeni about 2,810 m, Muktinath about 3,710 m
• Best timeMarch to November, including the monsoon months
• Swotah trips10-day and 16-day Upper Mustang, Jomsom Muktinath, Tiji and biking trips

The recent trip, which I had a month ago was really awesome. The trip was in the heaven of Nepal: Mustang. Yes, I can say that because the place was so beautiful that I didn’t want to return from there. We planned our tour in the monsoon. Normally, the monsoon is not the right time to travel but we did anyway. There were a series of things which made our trip exciting and adventurous.

The first obstacles that got in our path were the landslides in different places which made us wait for a long time. That was the only boring part of the trip. Being stuck in a place, on the other hand, gave us an opportunity to explore new destinations. It was really serene to sit on the bank of the river and observe villages and their life. These are the moments that are going to be the highlights of the Mustang memory.

Photo: On the way to Muktinath

Mustang: Nepal's Forbidden Kingdom

Mustang occupies a unique place in Himalayan history. For most of the 20th century it was a sealed kingdom, the ancient Kingdom of Lo, closed entirely to foreign visitors until 1992. Even today, Upper Mustang (the area north of Kagbeni up to Lo-Manthang) remains a Restricted Area requiring a special permit. This isolation has preserved the region almost intact: its medieval Tibetan culture, its cliff-carved monasteries, its ancient walled cities, and its extraordinary high-desert landscape have changed little in centuries.

Lo kept its own king long after the rest of the district joined Nepal. Ame Pal founded Lo Manthang in 1380, and his line ruled as kings of Lo under the Nepali crown until 2008, when Nepal became a republic and the title was abolished. The last king, Jigme Dorje Palbar Bista, died in December 2016. A dirt road now runs up the valley to Lo Manthang and on to the Korala border with Tibet, so jeeps reach places that took a week of walking a generation ago. Most trekkers still walk the older trails on the far side of the river, away from the dust.

Geographically, Mustang lies north of the main Himalayan range in a rain-shadow zone, which means that while the rest of Nepal is drenched by monsoon rains from June to September, Mustang stays mostly dry. It is one of the few places in the Himalayas where trekking is actually better during the monsoon months, blue skies, full rivers, and very few other trekkers. At the heart of the district is Lo-Manthang, the ancient walled capital at 3,840 metres, a living relic of 14th-century Tibetan-influenced architecture.

The rainfall gap is huge. Pokhara gets around 940 mm of rain in a normal July. Jomsom recorded 92 mm in July 2024 and just 29 mm in July 2025, and Lo Manthang gets less than 160 mm in a whole year. Rain is still possible, though, and the bigger monsoon problem is the road below Jomsom, where landslides can close the way for hours, as they did on our trip.

Wind, Desert and Apples

Mustang is often called a kingdom beyond the mountains, it is also called the desert of Nepal because one simply cannot point out a single green hill although the apple from this region is very famous. The wind is the region's signature: it funnels up the Kali Gandaki valley nearly every day, picking up strength from late morning, carrying sand and dust with it. A windproof jacket is essential gear for Mustang, and early starts beat the worst of the gusts.

I also suggest that you should choose a road trip or hike to reach Jomsom. While on the path, you can experience the most beautiful experience of your life. You can experience the pristine views of rivers, waterfalls, giant walls, the jungles, the village, mountains and the most important thing you can see the variation in the color of hills. From Beni to Mustang is a long journey where you can see the change in every single crossing hill.

Photo: Streets of Jomsom

Key Highlights

Mustang is not only famous for its natural beauty but also an important Hindu Shrine. The Muktinath temple, one of the most famous temples of Nepal, the temple lies in a little hill as most of the temples in Nepal do. We pass through Kagbeni, another very important religious site, before we reach the Muktinath. The interesting fact about Muktinath is that the temple is of the Hindu god "Lord Vishnu", yet worship inside is led by Buddhist nuns, and Buddhists honour the same image as Avalokiteshvara. That signifies the religious harmony among the people of Mustang. Locals believe Mustang was also an abode of Guru Rinpoche (Padmasambhava), who is revered as the Second Buddha and is credited with helping to bring Buddhism to Tibet, and there are many monasteries dedicated to him throughout the region. Behind the temple, 108 bull-headed spouts pour ice-cold water, it is believed that the water can wash away all the sins and attain purity. The reason itself is enough for the thousands of pilgrims visiting Muktinath.

Muktinath sits at about 3,710 m, high enough for altitude to matter if you drive up from Jomsom (2,720 m) in one go. Many people walk or drive up from Kagbeni (about 2,810 m) and spend the night lower down.

Lo-Manthang: The Walled City

The true prize of Upper Mustang is Lo-Manthang, the ancient walled capital enclosed by mud-brick walls that have stood for over 600 years. The city has a single gate, the old royal palace, four main gompas including Jampa and Thubchen, and a community of Loba people whose way of life has changed little for centuries. The 15th-century wall paintings inside Jampa and Thubchen were cleaned of five centuries of butter-lamp soot by a restoration project that began in the late 1990s, and they are some of the finest in the Himalaya, painted in a style that links Tibetan and Nepali artistic traditions. In the cliffs around Lo, you will also see the famous sky caves. The often-quoted figure is about 10,000 of them, and some were used for burials 2,500 to 3,000 years ago, while others were lived in from about the 10th century.

The Tiji Festival

Held every spring at Lo-Manthang, usually in May or early June, the Tiji Festival takes its name from Tenpa Chirim, "prayer for world peace". It is a three-day ritual performed by the monks of Chode Monastery. Costumed monks perform intricate dance sequences that dramatise the myth of the deity Dorje Jono defeating a demon that threatened the kingdom with drought and disaster. It is one of the most visually extraordinary cultural events in the Himalayas. Timing an Upper Mustang trip to coincide with Tiji is one of the best decisions a visitor to Nepal can make.

The festival follows the Tibetan calendar, and exact 2027 dates have not been confirmed yet. Swotah’s Upper Mustang Tiji Festival trek departs on 5 May 2027 and runs for 18 days. Lodges in Lo Manthang fill up for Tiji, so book early. Our festival treks guide covers Tiji and Mani Rimdu in more detail.

Photo: Roads of Mustang

Opportunity to Explore

Mustang is also a central point from where you can plan other trips too. Mustang can also be the gateway to the Dhaulagiri Circuit trek, the Tilicho trek, Manang via the Thorong La pass (5,416 m) and Lo-Manthang in Upper Mustang. Mustang and particularly Marpha Village is known for ‘Marpha’, the local apple brandy, along with apple cider, dried apples and apple pie. You can also see the apple farms over there.

Another thing which you can see during your trip is the Kali Gandaki Gorge, often called one of the world's deepest gorges. And on the opposite side, you can see the cascading waterfall from the gorge, it appears as if it is falling from the sky. Yeah, it looks as if the water is falling from the sky because it falls from the height that you cannot identify the source of it. And make you wonder if there’s a big lake behind that waterfall. I really want to explore that place too. But we will always have next time. The Dhumba Lake, yet another hidden gem of the Mustang, the green-colored lake is so eye-catching and sitting near the bank watching the fishes of the lake was quite peaceful.

I loved everything about the trip but the most important and the adventurous thing was the road. This narrow road and the hills looked like as if they will come to hug us every time we cross them. And I must admit the drivers who drive in such places are very daring. Hats off to them. My experience of Mustang was Magnificent hence I called this trip ‘Magnificent Mustang.’

Planning Your Mustang Trip

Lower Mustang (Jomsom, Muktinath, Kagbeni) requires only standard trekking permits, a TIMS card and ACAP permit. Jeep roads now connect Pokhara to Jomsom, making the lower region accessible without any trekking at all if you prefer. There are also short morning flights from Pokhara to Jomsom. A licensed guide has been required on most trekking routes, including the Annapurna Conservation Area, since 1 April 2023.

Upper Mustang (Kagbeni to Lo-Manthang) requires a Restricted Area Permit. Since a cabinet decision on 18 November 2025 it costs USD 50 per person for each day inside the zone, replacing the old flat USD 500 for the first 10 days, so confirm the current figure with your agency when you book. The permit must be arranged through a registered Nepali trekking company, and a licensed guide is required throughout. Since 22 March 2026 a single trekker can get the permit, as long as the guide comes too. Our Upper Mustang permit guide has the full rules. The best seasons are May (Tiji Festival), June to September (mostly dry while the rest of Nepal is wet), and October to November. Winter is bitterly cold up in Lo, and many lodges close from December to February.

For more on Nepal’s most dramatic landscapes, read our guide to the best lakes of Nepal.

Lower Mustang vs Upper Mustang

The two halves of the district feel like different trips. Kagbeni is the dividing line, and the permit cost changes the moment you walk north of it.

How High Is Mustang?

You climb about 3,000 m between Pokhara and Lo Manthang, most of it over a few days. Altitude sickness can start once you sleep above about 2,500 m, so build in a rest day and go up slowly.

Mustang Trips with Swotah

Swotah runs Mustang as group departures and can arrange any of these as a private trip on your own dates. Groups are never more than eight people. Every Swotah guide is licensed, trained and first-aid certified, and if you’d like a guide of a particular age, gender or language, ask when you book and we will try to match you.

Prices are the cheapest upcoming group departure per person, checked October 2026. Permit fees and dates change, so check the trip page before you book.

FAQs: Visiting Mustang