Upper Mustang Tiji Festival Trek

Arrive at Kathmandu and meet your Mantra Adventure guide. This special itinerary is timed to coincide with the Tiji Festival in Lo Manthang — a three-day masked dance ceremony performed by monks of the Sakya sect that re-enacts the triumph of good over evil, performed exclusively within the walls of the ancient Mustang capital. Welcome dinner. Overnight: Kathmandu. Meals: Dinner.

Morning flight to Pokhara and connecting flight through the Kali Gandaki gorge to Jomsom. Afternoon acclimatisation walk in Jomsom and briefing on the Tiji Festival programme. Overnight: Jomsom hotel. Meals: All included.

Walk through the Kali Gandaki gorge to medieval Kagbeni — the gateway to the Mustang restricted zone. Present permits at the checkpoint and enter the ancient kingdom. Walking time: 3–4 hours. Meals: All included.

Enter the rain-shadow desert of Upper Mustang. Eroded red and ochre cliffs, ancient cave dwellings, Tibetan Buddhist chortens and the vast silence of the plateau. Walking time: 4–5 hours. Meals: All included.

Cross the plateau on ancient salt trading trails. The northern face of the Annapurna and Nilgiri ranges dominates the southern horizon. Walking time: 5–6 hours. Meals: All included.

Trek to walled Tsarang and its monastery of extraordinary 14th-century Thangka paintings. The route crosses the characteristic eroded Mustang badlands. Walking time: 5–6 hours. Meals: All included.

Arrive in Lo Manthang in time for the first day of the Tiji Festival. Masked monks perform the Chham dance in the main courtyard of the palace — colourful, hypnotic and ancient. The entire population of Lo Manthang gathers in traditional dress. Walking time: 3–4 hours + festival attendance. Meals: All included.

The second and most dramatic day of the Tiji Festival. The performance reaches its climax as the protective deity Dorje Jono defeats the demon threatening the kingdom. Photographs are permitted; the experience is extraordinary. Afternoon free to explore Lo Manthang's monasteries and palace. Meals: All included.

The final day of the Tiji Festival concludes the ceremony with prayers and blessings. Afternoon exploration of the cave complexes north of Lo Manthang and the Namgyal and Rongchen Monasteries. Meals: All included.

Begin the return journey south. The Ghami chorten — vast and beautifully decorated — is a highlight of the descent. Walking time: 5–6 hours. Meals: All included.

Visit the sacred Muktinath temple before descending to Kagbeni. Both Hindu and Buddhist pilgrims come here to bathe in the 108 sacred water spouts. Walking time: 5–6 hours. Meals: All included.

Walk back to Jomsom and take the afternoon flight to Pokhara. Dinner beside Phewa Lake. Overnight: Pokhara hotel. Meals: All included.

Morning flight to Kathmandu. Afternoon free. Celebration farewell dinner with your guide. Overnight: Kathmandu hotel. Meals: Breakfast, dinner.

Airport transfer for your international flight home. You have witnessed the Tiji Festival — one of the rarest and most extraordinary cultural spectacles in the Himalayan world. Meals: Breakfast.