Mustang – the Lost Kingdom as it is called, is a dream destination for everyone who knows about it. As time was short and whole Mustang is quite large, we decided to visit its southern part called 'Lower Mustang'. The plan was made months earlier but it had to pass through very high uncertainties. Initially, Jeevan, Roshan and I were to visit but at last minute Roshan fell ill and was replaced by Santosh. Jeevan and I took early leave from office and headed for Pokhara. We stayed in Pokhara (our hometown) for one night. Next day, our flight was scheduled at 6:45 am but was delayed to 8:00 am. At airport, things were pretty complex. Flight to Jomsom was cancelled for previous two days due to heavy wind. We were at last day of normal flight as it would be halted during Tihar festival. Wind was still blowing heavily in Jomsom making more delays to the flight. We were disappointed and even talked for refund but the Nepal Airline Corporation (NAC) officer advised to wait till 9:00 when there was hope for wind getting slower. Other passengers to Jomsom seem to lose hope of tour. But suddenly, things began to get better. The flight to Manang was good and also wind had slowed down at Jomsom making possible first flight to Jomsom in two days. Finally, we got into the second flight at 10:15am. The plane was not so good but the whole flight itself was amazing. We could see the Maachha-puchhre Mountain and Annapurna range being passing by as flied through floating clouds. After some time we saw the white Dhaulagiri range. When we flew past it, our plane made a swift turn and suddenly the clouds disappeared. There were barren hills everywhere below us and the sky got blue with no signs of clouds or moisture.
At Jomsom
After 25 minutes of short flight, we landed on the Jomsom airport (2700m) at 10:45 am. After getting out of plane, we were amazed by the surrounding view of Jomsom. The first things I noticed on landing were; cold wind blowing heavily, complete blue sky with no sign of clouds, barren hills with only cacti as vegetation and the most beautiful of all – Mt Nilgiri (6940m) standing just in front of us. We could also see valley made by Kali Gandaki River through which our plane flew. We stayed at airport for about 10 minutes just viewing the beauty over all directions until the officer came to inform us to leave. It was just a small part of Mustang. It had no similarities with any other places of Nepal. I could see myself at the Tibetan plateau that I had watched so many times in pictures and videos. Mustang is similar to it at many levels. Jomsom is a small town having only few hotels and small shops in a row. We bought some apple brandy made from local apples. We also entered into tourist information centre for getting some information and map. We had our lunch at 11:30 am in a hotel where the food wasn't as costly as we thought it would be and it was delicious too. After the food and some rest, we headed for kagbeni.
Kagbeni on Kag Tihar
It was already midday when we began our walk. The path was along the banks of Kali Gandaki River. The river made a deep valley which is famous for having one of the deepest gorge in world. The sun was high but cold winds from Mt. Nilgiri made the weather so chilly that we had to wear our jackets and sweaters. The surrounding hills and area were barren with only round thorny vegetation and looked completely like a desert. The brown/yellow hills looked reddish when sunrays fell on them. Soon, heavy winds began blowing past us which were strong enough to displace us. Winds blew sands along with it so we had to cover our nostrils to avoid inhaling them. We met many tourists along the way saying 'Namaste' which they understood as the protocol. All along the way I was looking out for any signs of cloud but found nothing but blue sky. There were no settlements along the way. After 7.5 km of walk, we reached Ekalibhatti where the route for Mukitnath and Kagbeni separated. It was small town with few hotels unlike Jomsom. It was 2:00 where we reached there. Then, we moved leftwards for Kagbeni. Santosh walked in a faster pace and was very ahead of us. Jeevan and I walked slowly, taking snapshots along the way. The scenery struck my senses so much that I didn't hesitate using my 2MP mobile camera to take snaps. I really wished that I had a DSLR. On the way, we found vegetation which was like Oasis amidst desert. Finally, after one hour walk we reached small settlement which was Kagbeni. Santosh was there long before us and was resting when we met him. We selected a hotel for staying that night. After some rest, we had tea and then we went for a walk around the village. It was Apple season and on the way we caught view of Apple Orchard full of ripe red apples. The fragrance in the air was amazing. Seeing apples in the tree itself and tasting it by picking it directly from its trees was my childhood dream. So, we decided on stealing some for tasting. Santosh was good at it and we managed to get 4 apples which we shared. The taste of fresh red apples directly from the trees was just amazing. At night, the most beautiful thing was the view of stars. For the first time, I could see the Milky Way in such clarity. The sky was almost white with stars. Even the dimmest of stars was visible.
Lord of Redemption
Muktinath was our next destination. But, the real challenge was the elevation of 3800m. The slope was steep. We had to climb around 1000m within few hours. As we were visiting a temple, we started the journey with empty stomach with eating nothing but tea. We decided to go through a short cut which included a steeper climb. The initial climb was along barren hills as usual. It was 8:00am when we started and it was cold but less windy, so it was easy to walk. But, the steep climb made us pant heavily. As we climbed, the view of Kagbeni was getting clearer and clearer. Soon, we were joined by another guy who happened to be a trek guide. My bag was heavy which made it hard for me to move rapidly. We were conscious about any signs of altitude sickness along the whole way. The climb required lot os energy so the glucose that we had carried was a great aid which periodically boosted us forward. Finally we reached the height where routes from Jomsom also met and we met many tourists who came from Jomsom directly. Also, the view of Muktinath was getting closer. After some time, we reached a settlement. We thought the temple was near but we were so wrong. We had just walked about half the distance only. Finally, we reached Jharkot at 10:30 am. The map showed that the temple was still far away and the tourists returning from the temple said it was 45 minutes away. The slope was steep again and as it was above 3500m, we started to feel weak now. We had to take frequent rests before we could manage to move further ahead. Glucose was very dear now. Finally, we reached on a slope where it was suddenly hard to climb. The problem I think was psychological, as we had walked long through the village with no signs of the temple, which made us hopeless. I still remember thinking that it would be impossible to take one more step ahead. But we had strong determination and we carried on slowly, step by step. Thus the 'dharma slope' was crossed where, according to local people, sinners have the hardest time. Finally, we reached Ranipauwa from where the temple compound was visible. We passed through few Buddhist monasteries. At the gates of Muktinath compound, we bought things for worship. Till then, I had thought Muktinath was the temple of Shiva but it was Vishnu. We climbed steps to reach the temple. I had reached to the altitude of 3800m for the first time in my life. I thanked God for helping me achieve this physical feat. After the height, came a more hard challenge – bathing in 108 taps having freezing water in such chilly temperature. Our guide friend even showed me big blocks of ice in bottom of taps formed from those tap waters. My heart chilled for a second. But, Santosh made the first attempt with the words 'Tomorrow never comes' and was successful. Jeevan was next to go. Finally, I listened to my heart, betrayed my mind and went for it. The trick is to run without stopping in any tap. If you stop, you will freeze or at least fall down with the chill. My legs helped me to keep running and finally I was out of the taps and into a freezing pond where you are supposed to get a coin. I got an Indian Rs. 5 coin and felt it was a blessing from God. It made me very happy and confident. After completing the worship we left for "jwala" where, due to natural gas, flame burns over water. Then we climbed down to Ranipauwa. After lots of searching through hotels, we finally managed to get rice which was half cooked due to altitude. It was 12:30pm then. Due to cold water bath, my head had started to ache. After having food, we began our downward descent towards Jomsom.
Return to Jomsom
We moved rapidly through villages down the slope. When we reached the barren hills, it was 2:00pm. It was the time when the wind started blowing heavily. We could find no one moving towards Muktinath as it was very risky period. We were walking at the altitude of 3500m through barren lands. Way to Jomsom was on higher altitude than Kagbeni as it circled the hill to reach Ekalibhatti above the route which took us to Kagbeni from Ekalibhatti. We could see huge rocks over our path which could be easily rolled over us by the strong winds that were blowing. The path was small and our steps were very slow now. We even had to rest at times for avoiding winds from blowing away from such height down into the Kali Gandaki River. The wind showed no sign of stopping so we had to continue. Slowly, we moved down the slope. Sun had already set but the wind was still blowing heavily. We reached Ekalibhatti at 4:30pm. We continued walking till 5:15pm when we encountered a tractor. We had to reach jomsom early to book hotel so we took a lift on it. The tractor would be the third but the biggest adventure of the day, even more than bathing in freezing water. I had never travelled on tractor before and this ride was along stony roads. The tractor was at its full speed tumbling all along the way. Within few minutes, it threw my purse and mobile out of pocket. We had to use the rope as safety guide or else we too would have been thrown out of the tractor for sure. The moment my legs touched the floor of the tractor, it would throw me inches up. Jeevan, who was seated above the tires, got a serious hurt on his back due to the tumble and quickly sat on the grain bag. And the swift turns it made, it was the worse roller coaster I had ever got on. Within 15 minutes, we reached Jomsom and we were relieved. It was an amazing adventure. As we had reached early, we were able to get a warm room which felt like heaven.
Day of Return
We got up early to catch the bus going directly to Beni. There were 4 buses that go directly to Beni from Jomsom but due to their scarcity, they get packed from the previous day itself. We missed them and had to take the bus for Ghasa instead. Our bus moved slowly through the barren hills along the Kali Gandaki River with Mt. Nilgiri at sight. It was an amazing trip. Roads were very narrow and stony but still had two lanes. As we moved south, we could now see hills with pine trees. Dhaulagiri and Annapurna ranges could also be seen now. Our bus halted for sometime at Lete where we could see Dhaulagiri Range at north, Mt. Nilgiri at east and Annapurna Range at south. We were surrounded by most amazing mountain ranges of the world. Roads from Lete got even worse. At Ghasa, we got on a jeep after which the territory of Mustang ended and territory of Myagdi started. Apple orchards were replaced by orange orchards, Thakali civilization was replaced by Gurung civilization, pine forests were replaced by tropical ones. We were back into the hilly region now. Roads were the worst very dangerous. We reached Beni at around 4 from where we took a bus to Pokhara.
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