28°38'N 83°36'E · 2,480 m
Signature · Upper Mustang
Upper Mustang by enduro bike — high-desert singletrack, a monastery held to be one of Nepal's oldest, the walled city, and a 4,210-metre pass earned on foot.
Kagbeni is the line. North of it lies the Upper Mustang Restricted Area — a permit, a checkpoint, and a landscape that belongs to another century: wind-carved ochre cliffs, mani walls, cave monasteries, villages that have never seen a crowd. The permit is part of the expedition; so is the obligation that comes with it — small numbers, local lodges, and money that stays in the valleys it passes through.
This is enduro country. The support vehicle carries the group up where a road exists; the trails down are the point — the red-cliff descents at Dhakmar, ridgeline singletrack towards Charang, the canyon switchbacks below Muktinath. The core of the trip, days ten to twelve, is the hardest riding of the trip, graded five of five: Ghar Gompa to Dhakmar, the lost valleys of Dhee and Tangye, and the crossing of Pa Pass.
The high point, at 4,210 metres, is earned the honest way: a pre-dawn start and a sustained hike-a-bike with the bike on your shoulder. What follows is a drop of 1,250 metres, and some 1,800 metres of downhill, on ancient caravan routes — the biggest descent of the trip, ending where the Kali Gandaki Gorge reappears at Chuksang.
Ghar Gompa is held to have stood since the 8th century. Lupra keeps the pre-Buddhist Bon faith. Sam Dzong moved its whole village, and its heritage, when the climate turned against it. Lo Manthang is a living walled city, not a museum. Not photo stops: lunches are cooked in villages, lodges are family-run, and Lo Manthang's days belong to its streets.
Before the flight back, the trip descends to Sekung Lake for a night of serviced camping — campfire dinner, Dhaulagiri and Nilgiri on the skyline, and a sky with no light pollution to stop it.
Mangal Krishna Lama leads this tour. In 2022 he made the first solo mountain-bike traverse of the Great Himalaya Trail high route. It was 88 riding days from Kangchenjunga to Hilsa, over twenty-two passes above 5,000 metres, as his log shows. He has guided in Mustang for more than ten years. The guides who plan your trip are the guides who ride with you.
Surface mix · the days it appears on
Enduro bike · reinforced tubeless tyres · dropper post essential · 180–200 mm rotors
Over a decade of reading these weather windows applies here with an extra margin: Upper Mustang sits beyond the main Himalayan crest, in the driest country the range makes, and it wears a season differently to the valleys south of it. We watch that window as closely here as anywhere we ride, and what follows is the honest account of each.
Recommended
Mar · Apr · May
March to May is one of the two recommended windows, alongside autumn — the season most riders choose to cross the 4,210-metre Pa Pass and ride into Lo Manthang.
Rideable
Jun · Jul · Aug · Sep
Upper Mustang lies beyond the main Himalayan crest, in the deepest of the range's rain shadows — the ground stays high desert, rocky and dry, while the monsoon works on the country to the south. It is the quietest window on this route, and the trade is the same one that holds everywhere we ride through it: an odd delay on the road in, and a readiness to adapt. Lodges through Mustang are family-run and thin out with the season, and our trips are prepared for that.
Recommended
Oct · Nov · Dec
October to December is the other recommended window, on the same far side of the monsoon as spring — and the season we watch most closely as the weather here, like everywhere we work, grows less predictable than it once was.
Rideable
Jan · Feb
January and February bring the high desert's own quiet — a plateau that empties out below a 4,210-metre pass, colder again for the altitude, with family-run lodges thinning further along the route. The same readiness applies here as through the monsoon: our trips run on the window that is actually open, not the one the calendar names.
Route profile
Lete 2,480 m · Marpha · Kagbeni 2,804 m · Nyi La 3,900 m · Ghami · Lo Manthang 3,840 m · Tangye · Pa Pass 4,210 m · Muktinath 3,710 m
The file holds part of the route, not every day of the trip
Day by day
Day 01
Arrive Kathmandu (about 1,400 m). Airport transfer, team greeting, and the expedition briefing: bike setup, equipment checks, safety protocols. Suspension baselined, sealant inspected, tyre pressures set for Nepal.
Day 02
shuttle → ridden
forest singletrack · jeep track · root sections · stone paths · flow trails
First ride: Kakani down towards the Kathmandu Valley through cool pine forest, monasteries and Tamang villages to the Helipad viewpoint. Nepali lunch at Dandagau, then the descent back towards the valley.
Day 03
shuttle → ridden
forest singletrack · berms · rock gardens · natural flow trails · steep descents
The region's best enduro trails, with the Himalaya from Langtang to Everest on a clear day. Bikes are packed in the evening; the crew moves the equipment west overnight.
Day 04
flight → shuttle → ridden
forest trails · stone steps · flow singletrack · lakeside trails
A 25-minute flight past Annapurna and Dhaulagiri to Phewa Lake. Shuttle to the World Peace Pagoda, fast forest descents and stone stair sections, then final bike inspections before the remote valleys.
Day 05
drive → ridden
ancient mule trails · rocky jeep tracks · village pathways · flowing singletrack
A long drive into what is by one measure the deepest river gorge on Earth, then the first Mustang riding on old trading routes as lush forest gives way to high-altitude desert. Marpha: whitewashed houses, cobbled alleys, apple orchards.
Day 06
shuttle → ridden → shuttle → hike-a-bike → ridden → jeep
rocky singletrack · alpine trails · technical switchbacks · ancient village paths
Shuttle-assisted descents from Alubari, viewpoints above Thini, and a hidden alpine lake few travellers reach, ending with technical descents into Kagbeni — where the Upper Mustang Restricted Area begins.
Day 07
jeep → ridden → shuttle → ridden
short, steep descents
high-altitude ridgelines · loose rock · fast alpine descents · technical switchbacks
Into the Restricted Area. Jeep to Nyi La, then a descent across open plateaus, coloured canyons and centuries-old trade routes to the mani walls of Ghami. An afternoon shuttle reaches the red cliffs for a signature descent back into the village.
Day 08
shuttle → ridden → shuttle → ridden
ridgeline singletrack · flow trails · rocky traverses · historic trade routes
Ridgelines towards the ancient capital, windswept plateaus down into Charang, and after lunch the rolling hills that reveal Lo Manthang on the horizon. Entering the walled city through its centuries-old gates is the defining moment of the journey.
Day 09
shuttle → ridden
two descents of 2–3 km · two short, very steep drops
high desert singletrack · rolling plateaus · village trails · rocky sections
Old and New Sam Dzong — villages relocated because of climate change, carrying centuries of Tibetan heritage with them. Lunch in Choser, then the monasteries, palace and streets of Lo Manthang. A day where the culture is the equal of the riding.
Day 10
shuttle → ridden → jeep → ridden
high alpine ridgelines · loose rocky descents · natural singletrack · technical switchbacks · ancient trade routes
Climb to Ghar Gompa — believed one of the oldest monasteries in Nepal, 8th century, tied to Guru Rinpoche — then the celebrated trails around the wind-sculpted red cliffs, descending to Charang, once an administrative centre of the Kingdom of Lo.
Day 11
jeep → ridden → shuttle → ridden
two steep descents off one drop · the yak trails on to Tangye
remote alpine singletrack · high mountain passes · loose shale · fast descents · narrow traverses
A signature day. A remote pass opens the hidden valleys; exposed ridgelines drop to Dhee, perched above the Kali Gandaki watershed. Lunch is cooked by the villagers, then a maze of ancient yak trails leads to Tangye — no roads, no development.
Day 12
ridden → hike-a-bike → ridden → drive
high alpine hike-a-bike · ridgeline singletrack · loose rocky descents · ancient caravan trails · technical switchbacks · fast alpine flow
Depart before sunrise. The trail steepens into a sustained hike-a-bike to Pa Pass, 4,210 metres — the most demanding and most rewarding day — then down caravan routes and ridgeline singletrack to Chuksang, 1,250 metres lower, where the gorge reappears. Transfer to Muktinath as the sun sets behind Nilgiri and Dhaulagiri.
Day 13
ridden → jeep → ridden
ancient village trails · flow descents · rocky canyons · alpine singletrack
Ancient trails down to Lupra, one of the few settlements where the pre-Buddhist Bon religion still thrives, then the Kali Gandaki valley down to Marpha, where the support vehicle takes over for the last stretch to the lake. The crew builds a campfire dinner as the sun drops behind Dhaulagiri, and the sky comes out with nothing to stop it.
Day 14
drive
Breakfast beside the water, then the long drive back down the Kali Gandaki — lunch at Kusma among its suspension bridges, and an evening free on Phewa Lake as forest replaces desert.
Day 15
flight
A last flight over the Himalaya. The day is free — markets, the old squares, and an evening free in Thamel.
Day 16
Deliberately flexible: Durbar Square, Boudhanath, Swayambhunath — or nothing at all. Wellness spas and Ayurvedic treatments answer two weeks of riding.
Day 17
Airport transfer and the onward journey.
From the route
Rider questions
Upper Mustang was an autonomous Tibetan kingdom closed to foreigners until 1992, and it still sits behind a restricted-area permit priced to keep numbers small. The permit is arranged as part of the expedition — the paperwork is ours, the riding is yours.
Yes. Everything north of Kagbeni is the Upper Mustang Restricted Area, and every rider needs a special restricted-area permit alongside the standard entry paperwork. We arrange all of it as part of the expedition — you never queue at a counter.
Graded advanced. The trip ramps deliberately — the first week rides trails graded three and four of five, and the core days around Dhakmar, the lost valleys and Pa Pass are the five-of-five days, including a sustained hike-a-bike to 4,210 metres.
Shuttle-assisted enduro and all-mountain. A support vehicle takes the sting out of the big climbs where a road exists; the descents — canyon switchbacks, ridgeline singletrack, centuries-old caravan trails — are why you came.
An enduro bike with reinforced tubeless tyres, a dropper post and 180–200 mm rotors. The terrain is rocky, dry and fast; setup details are confirmed when you reserve.
Comfortable hotels in the cities, family-run lodges through Mustang, two nights in the walled city of Lo Manthang, and one night of serviced camping beside Sekung Lake under an unlit sky.
Departures
Before you reserve
The detail a high-altitude expedition deserves — answered here, and talked through with you personally before your place is confirmed.
Every departure is led by experienced local guides who know this ground. Safety is more than equipment. It is close coordination with the villages, lodges and families along the route, and a local network that gets word and help moving fast. The pace is set by the slowest rider. Altitude is taken step by step. Where a tour climbs on the bike, there are nights at altitude before the high passes. Where a helicopter lifts riders high, they stay up only a short time and ride straight down. The rule on the mountain is simple: if symptoms do not ease, we go down. If a rider has to leave the mountain, the team arranges the rescue, and the rider's insurance pays for it.
These are graded rides at real altitude, with long days in the saddle and sustained descents. We talk through your riding history honestly before a place is confirmed. Be honest with us about how you ride; it helps us match you to the right trip.
Bring your own bike, or hire one from us. Hire is priced by the type of bike: a hardtail at $20–30 a day, a full-suspension trail or enduro bike at $50–80. An e-bike, at $100–150 a day, is by request: we arrange the logistics, charging and support included, where the route allows. We recommend the right type for each tour and for what you like to ride. If you fly your own, check your airline's rules for a bike box and declare the bike at customs in Kathmandu. Your bag, up to 15 kg, travels by vehicle, porter or mule while you ride. Spares and tools ride with the guides, and the kit list comes once your dates are set.
In Kathmandu and Pokhara you stay in comfortable city hotels; on the route, in family-run lodges — simple, warm, shared washrooms at altitude — with breakfast, lunch and dinner included, and a serviced camp on the nights a tour sleeps beyond the lodges. Tell us about any diet when you reserve; dal bhat, noodles, eggs and fresh bread are on every menu. Bring a bottle and a filter or tablets — your guide shows you where to refill.
Breakfast early, on the bike by eight, lunch in a village or on the trail, and at the lodge by mid-afternoon on most days — the light and the weather are kindest before noon. The vehicle or the mules carry the bags; your guide sets the pace to the slowest rider and briefs the next day over dinner. If you need a rest, you ride in the vehicle where there is a road, or walk with one of the team where there is not.
Insurance is a condition of riding: it must cover mountain biking at the altitudes on your route, helicopter evacuation and rescue, medical treatment, and trip cancellation and delay. We check every certificate before departure.
A 30 per cent deposit holds your place, and the balance is due two months before departure, by bank transfer — no card is entered here, and nothing is charged through this site. What happens if you have to cancel is set out in full in our booking terms. Read the booking terms →
We guide you through Nepal entry and arrange every permit your route needs — park or conservation-area entry for the ground it crosses, any local permit the valley adds, and a restricted-area permit wherever the route enters a restricted area. They are carried by your guide, not by you.
One scale for every tour and ride, set by the hardest riding and the altitude together. If you are unsure where you sit, tell us what you ride at home; a guide will say plainly whether a trip suits you.
Intermediate
Red trails in the UK and Europe, blue to black in North America
Three to five hours a day, with most climbs shuttled
You ride red trails with confidence and can do it again the next day.
You have not yet ridden off-road for several days in a row.
Advanced
Red to black trails in the UK and Europe, black in North America
Four to seven hours a day, descents of a thousand metres or more, and some carrying
You ride black trails cleanly, are comfortable on loose rock and steep switchbacks, and can push or carry a bike for an hour at altitude.
Steep, exposed or loose ground still makes you walk.
Expert
Black and double-black in North America; the hardest natural trails in the Alps
Six to nine hours a day, remote, with long hike-a-bike over 5,000-metre passes
You have done multi-day trips in the mountains, ride technical descents tired and cold, and have been above 4,500 metres before.
This would be your first trip at altitude.
Where a day is graded, it carries three scores, each out of five.
“Mangal is the very BEST [guide] you can have in Nepal. He knows all the beautiful paths and is always with a smile in his face.”
The per-rider price falls as the group grows. Everything listed below is included; the figure is confirmed in writing when you reserve, and nothing is charged through this site.
Group sizePer rider
Included
Not included