 |
| Morning departure from Pokkhara |
Most travelers to this remote area fly into Kathmandu, regroup after the exhausting flight from USA or Europe, and then fly to the lakeside town of Pokkhara. Then, early morning, they fly via turboprop to Jomsom, which is the southern gateway to Mustang. From Jomsom they hike north to the town of Lo Manthang, the capital of the Kingdom of Lo.
First of all, you can't just walk to Mustang; you need permits, and they cost a lot! The purpose is to control the number of tourists who enter the fragile ecosystem. This is a high-altitude desert, and water, fuel, and food are scarce. Possibly more important, the Government of Nepal is trying to preserve the unique and ancient Buddhist culture from the ravages of mass tourism. It is best to let an experienced travel outfitter in Kathmandu take care of permits and other logistics.
You also need a permit for the Annapurna Conservation Area. Here, too, the government is trying to monitor tourists who are traveling through the mountains and is funding conservation and preservation efforts.In the table below, coordinates are in decimal degrees in geodetic datum WGS-84, data collected with a Garmin Geko 201 hand-held GPS receiver. Horizontal accuracy was typically 7-15 m. Elevations are in meters; accuracy unknown. The first waypoint is the Kathmandu Guesthouse (hotel), and the next two are from the town of Pokkhara. The remainder cover the trekking route. They start just north of Tatopani, in the Kali Gandaki River valley, and proceed north. The ancient walled city of Lo Manthang (location of the Mystique Guest House) is the capital of Mustang and the usual northernmost destination for most tourists. A road now goes from Lo Manthang to the Chinese border, which will likely cause profound cultural changes in the years to come. Already, many trade goods and supplies come from China via this road.
NAME
|
LAT_WGS84
|
LONG_WGS84
|
ELEV_M
|
KATH_GUESTOUSE
|
27.71623
|
85.3087
| xxxx |
POK_AIRPORT
|
28.19948
|
83.97775
|
804
|
POK_LAKE
|
28.21242
|
83.9552
|
758
|
AN-S-R
|
28.51027
|
83.65739
|
1493
|
DANA
|
28.54471
|
83.64541
|
1461
|
WATERFALL
|
28.55553
|
83.63644
|
1589
|
LEKALI_TEA_HOUSE
|
28.55568
|
83.63841
|
1587
|
ROAD
|
28.55763
|
83.63548
|
1611
|
BRIDGE05
|
28.56071
|
83.63741
|
1635
|
KOPCHE_PANI
|
28.56831
|
83.63966
|
1735
|
CANYON
|
28.56931
|
83.64186
|
1809
|
BRIDGE04
|
28.59011
|
83.64758
|
1996
|
EAGLE_NEST
|
28.59468
|
83.64328
|
1952
|
GHASA
|
28.60762
|
83.64402
|
2097
|
KAIKU
|
28.61494
|
83.63955
|
2168
|
GHUMAU
|
28.61999
|
83.63192
|
2237
|
IETEKH
|
28.62879
|
83.61691
|
2394
|
KALOPANI
|
28.64125
|
83.59901
|
2531
|
BRIDGE03
|
28.64663
|
83.59444
|
2506
|
DHAMPU
|
28.66067
|
83.59409
|
2538
|
BRIDGE02
|
28.67192
|
83.59757
|
2545
|
RIVER_CROSS
|
28.678
|
83.60389
|
2537
|
KHOBANG
|
28.68963
|
83.61669
|
2551
|
KHANTI
|
28.69392
|
83.62081
|
2560
|
TUKUCHE
|
28.71159
|
83.64914
|
2603
|
APPLE_FARM
|
28.74066
|
83.68058
|
2666
|
MARPHA
|
28.75391
|
83.6871
|
2689
|
DUMBAR
|
28.76214
|
83.69566
|
2681
|
JOMSON_SOUTH
|
28.7813
|
83.72185
|
2749
|
OMS_HOTEL
|
28.78296
|
83.72502
|
2744
|
EKLE_BHATTI
|
28.81849
|
83.77387
|
2807
|
KAGBENI
|
28.83631
|
83.78319
|
2861
|
RIVER_VIEW02
|
28.85507
|
83.79071
|
2896
|
KALI_GANDAKI02
|
28.8602
|
83.79223
|
2855
|
KALI_GANDAKI03
|
28.86385
|
83.79271
|
2858
|
RIVER01
|
28.86923
|
83.80091
|
2077
|
ORGANIC_FARM
|
28.88273
|
83.80907
|
3105
|
VIKKAG
|
28.8889
|
83.8047
|
3447
|
TANGBE
|
28.88918
|
83.80639
|
3045
|
RIVER_VIEW
|
28.89874
|
83.8087
|
3059
|
CHHUSANG
|
28.91457
|
83.81966
|
2956
|
BRIDGE
|
28.92759
|
83.82907
|
2958
|
CHELE
|
28.93102
|
83.82679
|
3060
|
CANYON01
|
28.94239
|
83.80762
|
3466
|
PASS
|
28.95305
|
83.80225
|
3601
|
SAMAR02
|
28.96171
|
83.80115
|
3643
|
SAMAR
|
28.9618
|
83.80108
|
3624
|
SAMAR04
|
28.96211
|
83.80223
|
3612
|
CHORTEN03
|
28.96535
|
83.80413
|
3595
|
SAMAR03
|
28.9683
|
83.80305
|
3653
|
BHENA_LA
|
28.97347
|
83.80934
|
3849
|
BHENA
|
28.97348
|
83.8093
|
3835
|
SYAN-LA
|
28.98425
|
83.82592
|
3995
|
YAMDA_LA
|
28.98447
|
83.82561
|
3982
|
PASS18
|
28.98757
|
83.83095
|
3889
|
SYANGBOCHE_LA
|
28.99048
|
83.84126
|
3839
|
SYANGBOCHE
|
28.99112
|
83.83821
|
3774
|
PASS03
|
29.00476
|
83.84767
|
3675
|
TAMAGAON
|
29.00781
|
83.84731
|
3712
|
CHHUNGGAR
|
29.01865
|
83.84861
|
3794
|
ZHAITE
|
29.0275
|
83.84851
|
3817
|
NYI_LA
|
29.03294
|
83.85304
|
3984
|
NYI_LA02
|
29.03309
|
83.85314
|
4006
|
NYI_LA03
|
29.03313
|
83.85314
|
4025
|
CLIFF
|
29.04717
|
83.86834
|
3790
|
GHAMI_LA
|
29.05202
|
83.87067
|
3768
|
GHAMI02
|
29.06112
|
83.87101
|
3586
|
MANI_WALL
|
29.06227
|
83.87894
|
3575
|
ROYAL_MUSTANG
|
29.06343
|
83.8731
|
3574
|
STREAM
|
29.06599
|
83.87244
|
3596
|
PASS15
|
29.06669
|
83.89672
|
3878
|
PASS05
|
29.0681
|
83.87924
|
3716
|
PASS14
|
29.07907
|
83.92224
|
3656
|
DHAKMAR
|
29.08325
|
83.8809
|
3724
|
CHORTEN02
|
29.08786
|
83.92759
|
3575
|
TSARANG_S
|
29.09208
|
83.93296
|
3559
|
TSARANG
|
29.09544
|
83.93064
|
3589
|
PASS06
|
29.09864
|
83.88245
|
4054
|
PASS13
|
29.10398
|
83.93903
|
3651
|
PASS7
|
29.10798
|
83.88426
|
4150
|
LO-GHY
|
29.12464
|
83.88847
|
3937
|
SUNGDA_CHORTEN
|
29.12988
|
83.94695
|
3742
|
STREAM02
|
29.13408
|
83.89233
|
3991
|
CAVES02
|
29.14637
|
83.94495
|
3818
|
PASS08
|
29.14761
|
83.89861
|
4259
|
PASS09
|
29.14873
|
83.89885
|
4265
|
STREAM03
|
29.15221
|
83.89888
|
4268
|
CHOGO_LA
|
29.15661
|
83.90231
|
4316
|
PASS10
|
29.16189
|
83.91043
|
4190
|
PASS11
|
29.16436
|
83.92784
|
4078
|
PASS12
|
29.16799
|
83.95274
|
3963
|
PAS-11
|
29.17082
|
83.95087
|
3904
|
MYSTIQUE
|
29.18159
|
83.95689
|
3887
|
SCHOOL
|
29.1839
|
83.95725
|
3820
|
FORT
|
29.1868
|
83.96332
|
3811
|
CHOSER
|
29.21776
|
83.97433
|
3852
|
NYIPHU
|
29.23467
|
83.97817
|
3928
|
CAVE
|
29.23624
|
83.98257
|
3952
|
I will post more descriptions and photographs of this fascinating area in the future. I plotted the points in ESRI ArcMap software.
