Mustang Cultural Trek with Tiji Festival or without – 20 Days Overview

Mustang trekking in Nepal

MUSTANG is also known as the “THE FORBIDDEN KINGDOM OF NEPAL” today they also call it  AS THE “LOST TIBETAN KINGDOM”

Mustang a small kingdom in Nepal was closed to westerners until 1992 and it is an enchanting land of windswept vistas, red-walled monasteries, and feudal towns. This tiny kingdom was not only a major corridor of the trade from the 1400’s to before the Chinese occupation of Tibet but also figured importantly into the early Buddhism in Tibet.
Local legends tell the tale of great founders of Tibetan Buddhism, Padmasambhava (Guru Rimpoche), who before building Samye (the oldest monastery in Tibet) came to Mustang to stand guard against and get into a battle with the evil powers who were out to destroy Buddhism. The temple of Lo Gekhar in eastern Mustang was built by Padmasambhava after his triumphant battle and still stands guard today.

Our route to Mustang will take us across the vast Kali Gandaki riverbed, up over the windswept passes at 14,000 feet and across the ‘Plain of Aspirations’ to the walled capital city of Lo Manthang. We will also cross through a landscape of indescribable vastness and beauty, home to the infamous snow leopard, the endangered Bharal (blue sheep) and the mythical Mehta (abominable snowman).

Rimmed by 20,000 plus, snowcapped peaks and bathed in hues of orange and red rocks with sporadic fields of vibrant green, yellow and red barley, maize and buckwheat, Mustang is a step back to the simpler times.
The Annapurna and Dhaulagiri massifs provide an impressive backdrop as you trek up the Kali Gandaki river valley to the ancient city of Lo-Manthang. Mustang is quintessentially Tibetan in character and to date largely unspoiled.
However, the advent of a planned new road which is progressing slowly is likely to change these factors to an extent in the future.

THE TENJI OR TIJI FESTIVAL IN UPPER MUSTANG
Tiji comes from the word “ten che” meaning the hope of Buddha Dharma prevailing in all worlds and is effectively a spring renewal festival

Book References
• East of Lo Manthang: In the land of Mustang. – Peter Matthiessen and Thomas Laird, Shambhala Press, Boston, 1995
• Mustang, a Lost Tibetan Kingdom – Michel Peissel, Book Faith India, Delhi, India, 1967

“We found ourselves in the midst of a festival in which over a thousand men, women, and children were taking part. Before we spread a sea of weather-beaten brown faces that contrasted with those of the beaming, dirty little children who clung like grapes upon the rooftops of the houses” ” The women… looked superb in hand-woven sleeveless Chubas (a bath-robe style dress made of thick wool) over bright, loose silk blouses. Around their waistbands were tucked two aprons, a short one that hung down in front, the other caught in the belt and hanging down behind to the ground. These were gaily striped in bright, narrow bands of blue, red, green and yellow. Many women were literally smothered with ornaments of silver and precious stones…necklaces of bright orange coralline stones alternating with turquoises…ivory-white bracelets made of a truncated conch shell. Head-dresses…studded with turquoises ran along the central parting of their hair and fell down their backs.  – Michel Peissel

Michel Peissel was the first westerner to witness the Tiji festival in 1964 during a visit to Mustang by special permission from the Government of Nepal. He was also the only third westerner to ever visit Mustang. He arrived in Lo Manthang in time to witness only the last day of the festival and later wrote: “The scenes I witnessed were so extraordinary and so unexpected that I dared not believe my eyes and even today I have some trouble in believing in the reality of what I saw that day.”

The Tiji festival is a three-day ritual known as “The chasing of the Demons” that centers on the Tiji myth. The myth tells of a deity named Dorje Jono who must battle against his demon father to save the Kingdom of Mustang from destruction. The demon father wreaked havoc on Mustang by bringing a shortage of water (a highly precious resource in this very dry land) and causing many resulting disasters from famine to animal loss. Dorje Jono eventually beats the demon and banishes him from the land. Tiji is a celebration and reaffirmation of this myth and throughout the festival, the various scenes of the myth will be enacted. It is, of course, timed to coincide with the end of the dry winter/spring season and will usher in the wetter monsoon season (the farming season for Mustang).

Altitude Chart (mtr)

Brief ItineraryView full

• Day 1 : Arrival day - 1300 meter
• Day 2 : Sightseeing- UNESCO World Heritage Sites
• Day 3 : Drive to Pokhara
• Day 4 : Fly to Jomsom
• Day 5 : On Mustang trek Route
• Day 17 : Fly from Jomsom to Pokhara
• Day 18 : Drive back to Kathmandu
• Day 19 : Explore Kathmandu
• Day 20 : DEPARTURE

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