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Muktinath Yatra
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Muktinath is one of the sacred places of worship for the
Hindus in the Himalayan ranges of Nepal. Known for both
Hindus and Bhuddists, this shrine attracts pilgrims
during the months of May-November. The famous temple of
Lord Muktinath lies in the district of Mustang and is
situated about 18 kms northeast of Jomsom at an altitude
of about 3800 meter. The main shrine is a pagoda shaped
temple dedicated to Lord Vishnu. This is one of the
106th sacred Muktichhetra (assured of salvation) of 108
sacred places of Vaishnavs, where Lord Vishnu got free
from the curse of Sati. Here is a largest Shaligram.
Here is also a Jwaladevi, a divine flame is continuously
burning since thousands of year.
Muktinath is the most sacred Hindu site in Nepal after
the temple of Pashupatinath in Kathmandu. Hindu pilgrims
come here to bathe in the 108 water spouts shaped as
cows’ heads and Buddhists come here to pay homage at a
shrine enclosing an eternal blue flame. Pilgrims take
bath in holy water spouts to purify their bodies before
visiting the main Temple for worship.
Visitors can enjoy magnificent views of the Himalayas,
fabulous and typical valley of Kaligandaki and diversity
of ethnic culture. The trail from Jomsom passes along
the Kali Gandaki River, the deepest gorge in the world
to Kagbeni, a fascinating old citadel. The trail then
divides into four directions of which the east route
leads to Muktinath. The trail down from Muktinath via
Eklya Bhatti (single teahouse) meets with the one coming
from Kagbeni and then you walk into the Kaligandaki
gorge visiting Marpha, which is well known for garden of
apples, apricots and peaches sold fresh, dry and as
distilled liquor brandy and its narrow lanes of cobbled
stones with houses painted in white on each side. This
trek begins from Pokhara and flies out from Jomsom.
Alternatively, the trek commences from Jomsom and trek
out to Pokhara. |
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Itinerary in Detail
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Day 01 : |
Drive from Kathmandu to Pokhara (914m.) which
takes about six hours.
You depart for the six hours drive to Pokhara
(915m,), 200 kilometers west of Kathmandu. As
you climb out of the Kathmandu valley, only to
quickly descend again to the Trisuli River, you
follow upstream to its junction with the
Marsyangdi River. You follow the Marsyandi
gently up through heavily terraced fields and
small hill towns to the Seti River that takes
you directly into Pokhara. Having pleasant
weather, Pokhara is tourist's paradise with full
of natural as well as cultural heritage sites
such as lakes, caves, temples of Buddhist and
Hindus along with mountains. You can observe
views to the north across the hills and Phewa
Tal (lake) to the white peaks of the Annapurna
and Dhaulagiri ranges. This drive will take most
of the morning, leaving much of the afternoon to
fall in love with its beauty. You can also fly
from Kathmandu to Pokhara which takes about 25
minutes. Stay overnight at hotel in Pokhara.
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Day 02 : |
Fly from Pokhara to Jomsom (2713 m.) and trek
from Jomsom to Kagbeni (2895 m.) for about three
hours. An early morning transfer to Airport, fly
to Jomsom. This is one of the world's exciting
flight to see Mountain closely through plane,
Annapurna One 8091 Meters, Dhaulagiri 8167
Meters, Fishtail 6997 Meter, and other numerous
peaks.You begin your trek to Kagbeni following
along the bank of Kali Gandaki river. En route,
you pass through arid part of Kali Gandaki
river.
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Day 03 : |
Trek from Kagbeni to Muktinath (3795 m.) which
takes about four hours.
The Trail steeply ascends for couple of hundred
Meters. While gradually walking you can enjoy
beautiful deserted landscape, Caves, old Tibetan
Style Villages, apple Garden, Yaks Herds, sheep
Herds and so on. You can look at Thorong La
valley straight up to the Muktinath. You can
enjoy delicious lunch at Jharkot and visit
Monastery believed to be built in 15 century.
Now you head towards Muktinath following steep
ascent path for half an hour. You stay overnight
at Muktinath village. From here you hike to Rani
Pauwa (3700m.), an important pilgrimage site for
both Hindus and Buddhists. Here you come across
Natural flaming which really exhilarates you. At
this point, you can see splendid view of
Dhaulagiri (8165m), Nilgiri (7061m.) and others.
Now you walk for fifteen minutes to reach
Muktinath Temple, where you can enjoy a holy
bath of 108 Taps. The people of Kagbeni, Jharkot
and Muktinath are close to the life style,
culture, religion and idea of Tibetan people
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Day 04 : |
Trek from Muktinath to Marpha (2667m.) and it
takes about approximately six hours. You now
begin the descent down the dramatic Kali Gandaki
Gorge, initially through arid country in the
same geographical and climatic zone as Tibet.
After passing through Jharkot and Khingar,
villages with typical Tibetan architecture, you
follow the valley floor most of the way to
Jomsom. Jomsom is sprawled along both banks of
the Kali Gandaki and from here there are fine
views of the Nilgiri peaks. You continue down to
Marpha, a delightful Thakali village, complete
with a drainage system beneath the flagstone
streets. Its narrow alleys and passageways
provide welcome shelter from the strong winds of
the Kali Gandaki Gorge and Marpha is
particularly well known for its apples, apple
cider and apple, apricot and peach rakshi.
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Day 05 : |
Trek from Marpha to Kalopani and it takes about
four hours.
The trail is quite flat moving along the bank of
Kali Gandaki. While trekking, you pass few
Thakali villages and sometimes you walk through
sparse forest covered mainly by pine,
rhododendron and bamboo. From Kalopani, you can
have closer view of Dhaulagiri mountain. Besides
this, you can enjoy the splendid views of
Nilgiri, Annapurna fang (Barahshikhar) and many
more unnamed mountains and peaks. Kalopani is
small town and there are run small projects,
Hotel Management training centre and few offices
along with good lodges and guest houses.
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Day 06 : |
Trek from Kalopani to Jomsom which takes about
six hours. This day also you have to trek along
quite flat and dry path. The path moves along
the bank of Kali Gandaki. While trekking, you
pass few Thakali villages and sometimes you walk
through sparse forest covered mainly by pine,
rhododendron and bamboo.
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Day 07 : |
Fly from Jomsom to Pokhara which takes about 35
minutes. The flights are available during the
morning time. The strong breeze blows during the
after and frequent change of the weather prevent
the flight being landed and taken off in the
afternoon. During the flights in morning, the
sky looks very clear which makes you able to
enjoy the splendid views of different mountain
peaks. Stay overnight at hotel in Pokhara.
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Day 08 : |
Drive from Pokhara to Kathmandu by tourist mini
bus, which takes about seven hours. While
driving from Pokhara to Kathmandu, you head up
to Damauli,, Dumre, Muglin and Kurintar where
the Nepal's first Cable car is operated to reach
to Manakamana Temple. En route, you could enjoy
the mountain views, green sceneries, rice
terrace fields, vegetable fields and people
being engaged in their daily life activities.
From Naubishe you climb up to Thankot, the
gateway to capital city. You can also fly from
Pokhara to Kathmandu which takes about 25
minutes.
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