Upper Mustang Tiji Festival Tour – 12 Days, 2026

HIGHEST ALT. 1,324 m.

The Kathmandu Valley holds seven UNESCO World Heritage Sites. We cover four of the most significant in a single guided day: Kathmandu Durbar Square (the Malla-era royal complex with the Kumari living-goddess house), Patan Durbar Square across the Bagmati (the most architecturally intact of the three Durbar Squares), Pashupatinath (the largest Hindu temple in Nepal, on the Bagmati River, where open-air cremations happen on the ghats throughout the day), and Bouddhanath. Pashupatinath is a working pilgrimage site, not a museum; non-Hindus cannot enter the inner sanctum but watch the rituals from the eastern bank.

Late afternoon transfer to Bouddhanath — one of the largest stupas in the world and the spiritual heart of Tibetan Buddhism in Nepal. The kora (clockwise circumambulation) around the stupa at sunset, with monks chanting and butter lamps being lit, is the best preparation possible for the rituals you will witness in Lo Manthang. Return to Thamel for dinner and pack an overnight bag for the long jeep drive ahead.

FLIGHT 25 min.

HIGHEST ALT. 2,530 m

Day start with a fine breakfast and a 25-minute flight to Pokhara, the tourism capital of Nepal. Afterwards, a drive to Kalopani in the Lower Mustang region of Nepal. Jeeps climb north up the Kali Gandaki gorge via Beni and Tatopani.

The road is paved most of the way to Beni and becomes rougher as the canyon narrows. Expect steady jeep travel through terraced rice paddies, then Pine and Rhododendron forest, then the tight Kali Gandaki canyon walls.

Kalopani sits at 2,530 m on a forested shelf opposite the Dhaulagiri massif. The village is small — three or four guest houses, a single street, and apple orchards on the slopes above. On a clear evening, Dhaulagiri I (8,167 m) and Annapurna I (8,091 m) are both visible from the lodge garden, less than 35 km apart across the world's deepest canyon. Cold nights this high — pack a fleece for dinner. Local distilled apple brandy is the regional pour.

HIGHEST ALT. 2,804 m.

Short morning drive from Kalopani through Tukuche to Marpha (2,670 m) — the apple capital of Nepal and the most architecturally preserved Thakali village in the country. Whitewashed stone houses, slate roofs, narrow flagstone alleys, and the 17th-century Marpha Gompa above the village. Walk the main lane, sample apple brandy and dried apricots at the community-owned Marpha Distillery, and visit the gompa before lunch.

Early afternoon drive to Jomsom (2,720 m, 30 min) and stop at Dhumba Lake (Dhumpa Tal) — a small turquoise lake at 2,830 m below the south face of Nilgiri (7,061 m), considered sacred by both the Bon and Tibetan Buddhist communities. From Dhumba, a short driving detour leads to Thini gau, the oldest of the Panch Gau — the Five Villages of Lower Mustang, made up of Thini, Syang, Marpha, Chimang, and Tukuche.

Did you know? Thini was historically the most powerful of the five and is the only one that once held its own local king. The 17th-century Thini Gompa sits above the village; the prayer wheels in the main lane still turn on the original water-driven mechanism.

After this, our Tiji Festival itinerary takes you to Muktinath, a sacred temple revered by both the Hindu & Buddhist faiths, with 108 spring spouts.

Continue 12 km north to Kagbeni (2,804 m) — the gateway to Upper Mustang and the first checkpoint where your RAP is inspected. The village sits at the confluence of the Jhong Khola and the Kali Gandaki and is dominated by the 15th-century Kag Chode Thupten Samphel Ling, locally known as the Red Monastery. Walk the village before dinner to see the whitewashed mud-brick houses, the famous "Yak Donald's" signpost, and the police check-post.

HIGHEST ALT. 3,840 m.

Morning permit check at the Kagbeni police post, then enter the restricted area. The road climbs through Chele, Samar, and Syangboche, crosses the Yamda La (3,985 m) and the Nyi La (4,010 m) — the two highest points on the route — then descends past the Ghami mani wall to a lunch stop. Ghami's mani wall is the longest in Nepal at roughly 305 m, carved from end to end with Tibetan prayer stones. Final leg is via Tsarang and the Lo La pass into Lo Manthang. The first sight of the white-walled city across the dusty plateau is the scenic high point of the entire trip.

Lo Manthang sits at 3,840 m, surrounded by a 6 m mud-brick wall built around 1380 by King Ame Pal. Inside the wall are roughly 180 households, four major monasteries, and the five-storey Royal Palace where the Tiji dances will be performed. The town is a tentative UNESCO World Heritage site under the name "Medieval Earthen Walled City of Lo Manthang." Light dinner at the lodge, early bed — altitude requires conservative behaviour on arrival night. Drink water, skip alcohol, and tell your guide if you develop a headache.

HIGHEST ALT. 3,840 m

Day 1 of Tiji 2026 falls on Thursday 14 May. Festival timing is set by the lamas of Choede Gompa and announced by long horn (dungchen) blasts from the palace roof, usually around 9:30–10:00 AM. A giant thangka of Padmasambhava and the protector deity Dorje Jono is unfurled on the palace's south wall. Monks in brocaded silk robes and carved wooden masks perform the slow opening dances — the Tro-wa Chham, or Harassing of the Demon — which summon protective deities and purify the courtyard for the rituals to come.

Spectators sit cross-legged on the dust around the courtyard or watch from the rooftops opposite. The dances run in slow cycles with breaks for tea — total viewing time is around 5–6 hours but you can come and go. Stay seated when the masked dancers move, do not stand directly in front of the thangka, and photography is permitted but flash is not.

Late afternoon free time to walk the city wall (a 30-minute circuit), visit Jampa Lhakhang to see the 108 gold-and-gemstone mandalas painted on its walls, or rest at the lodge. Most guest houses serve communal Tibetan dinner during festival week.

HIGHEST ALT. 3,840 m.

Day 2 (Friday 15 May 2026) is the most theatrical of the three. The Cham dances depict the birth of Dorje Jono and his fierce confrontation with the demon Ma Tam Ru Ta, who is said to have caused drought, famine, and strange livestock diseases until subdued. Masked dancers represent guardian deities, lions, tigers, and wrathful protectors. Movements are faster and more dramatic than Day 1.

Mid-afternoon, the senior monks lead a procession of chanting clergy in a circumambulation of the entire Lo Manthang city wall — a purification rite in which the demonic energy is symbolically driven out of the settlement. Spectators are welcome to follow at the back of the procession.

If you have energy after the dances, an optional 1-hour walk leads to Thubchen Gompa just inside the western wall, built in the late 15th century and home to a large gold-and-copper statue of Sakyamuni Buddha. Choprang Gompa, where the Tiji masks are stored between festivals, is also walkable in 30 minutes.

HIGHEST ALT. 3,840 m.

Day 3 (Saturday 16 May 2026) is the climactic day of Tiji. The lead dancer — the Tsowo, who has completed three months of solitary tantric retreat to spiritually embody Dorje Jono — receives the torma effigy of the demon. The torma is a ritual figure built from tsampa (roasted barley flour) collected from every household in Lo Manthang, dyed red with butter and dough.

Mid-afternoon, the Tsowo and the masked attendants carry the torma in procession out of the eastern gate of the city, into the open ground below the wall. There the effigy is dismembered, scattered, and burned — the ritual destruction of the demon's negative energy. Monks throw blessed tsampa into the air, and spectators receive small portions of the consecrated grain and red protective threads tied around the wrist.

After the ceremony ends, return to the lodge for a farewell dinner with your guide and the lodge family. This is the last night in Lo Manthang. Pack early — the southbound drive starts after breakfast.

HIGHEST ALT. 3,840 m.

As the sacred Tiji festival ends, we drive to Pokhara. The drive retraces the route through Tsarang, Ghami, Syangboche, and Chele to Kagbeni, then continues along the Kali Gandaki to Jomsom, Marpha, Tatopani, and Beni, and finally to Pokhara. The Kagbeni exit checkpoint inspects your RAP one final time.

Total descent of just over 3,000 m in a single day — drink water, the air thickens noticeably below Tatopani.

Pokhara at 822 m feels tropical after Mustang. Check in at a lakeside hotel near Phewa Tal in the late afternoon or evening. A long hot shower, laundry service, and a sit-down dinner at one of the lakeside restaurants — the temperature swing alone makes Pokhara feel like a different country from where you woke up.

HIGHEST ALT. 822 m.

This day is all about exploring the beautiful city of Pokhara. Walk around the Fewa Lake. Visit Tal Barahi temple in the middle of the lake by boating, a short walk to the Peace Pagoda or Pumdikot for a mountain view, or simply rest with a drink and a paperback. The day is yours.

FLIGHT 25 min.

HIGHEST ALT. 1,324 m.

Morning 25-minute Pokhara–Kathmandu flight. On a clear day, the right-hand window gives unbroken views of the Annapurna and Manaslu ranges. Transfer to your Thamel hotel by private vehicle.

The afternoon is yours. Most clients use it for last-minute souvenir shopping in Thamel — singing bowls, Tibetan thangkas, and Pashmina shawls. Other options include a short visit to Swayambhunath (the Monkey Temple) for valley views, a relaxing massage at one of the spas in Lazimpat, or a coffee at one of the old courtyard cafés.

HIGHEST ALT. 1,324 m.

Private vehicle transfer to Tribhuvan International Airport. Our team handles checkout from the hotel and drops you at the international departures gate. Trip ends.

If you want to extend your stay – Chitwan jungle safari (3 days), Bandipur cultural side-trip (2 days), or helicopter tour to Everest Base Camp (around 4 hrs both ways from Kathmandu) — we can add it as a custom extension. Just ask before you book.