Saribung Expedition

Arrive in Kathmandu, check into the hotel, Rest and visit local sights

Free day.

Morning drive to Pokhara and late afternoon, free time at Phewa lakeside.

After a 40-minute flight, we find ourselves at the foot of Annapurna and Dhaulagiri. Meet up with our team that will accompany us on this amazing adventure; formalities for entering Mustang and loading of mules. We walk through the valley to reach a village with typical Tibetan architecture, the gateway to the ancient kingdom of Mustang.

A three-hour hike brings us to Tangbe, a magnificent village with beautiful chortens and a maze of alleys. The surrounding high cliffs are full of caves and overlook the valley with a river known as Mustang Khola. After walking another 1 ½ hours we reach Chhuksang (3000m). We overnight at the next stop which is Chele.

Climb up to a pass at 3,700m from where we see a spectacular village of Gyagar. Descending to Samar (3,600m) we follow the pilgrim’s path, passing close a sacred cave and descending from a canyon. We then climb up another canyon to Shyangmoche (3,800m). We then cross another pass to reach Geling, where we set up camp. Duration of hike: 7hr

From Dhakmar, we hike to the village of Chunkar, crossing a pass that’s over 4,000m high, and descend to Gemi, a remarkable village in a green setting. We then walk along a balcony to reach Dhakmar.

Our hike today leads through the Mui La pass (4,170m), and we cross over to Lo Gekar with its 11th-century monastery of Ghar Gompa. Further on, we reach Tsarang in the middle of barley fields, where the king once lived. We visit the monastery.

At the exit of the village, one can see cave dwellings overlooking the valley. We climb up to a beautiful pass at 3,900m, which dominates the valley of Lo Manthang, the former fortified capital of the mythical kingdom of Lo. The small city is protected by surrounding walls, and access is through one of the two doors that mark the entrance.

The small town of Lo Manthang was founded by Ame Pal in 1380 CE. Rest before visiting the city and its two monasteries: Namgyal Gompa and Tynghar.

Climb up and walk above the small town following which a path leads us into the valley to reach Mustang Khola. We encounter some delicate passages. After crossing a steep pass we descend into the middle of the fairy chimneys overlooking the village of Dhie. An enjoyable descent through lunar-like terrain leads us to the hamlet. We cross a tributary of the Kali Gandaki via a suspension bridge and hike up to the village of Yara.

We leave Yara and hike through a wide gorge with very important cave dwellings that were once used by monks. We go past Gara where we stop and then walk on to the village of Luri Gompa, “Gompa” means monastery in Tibetan.

Surrounded by beautiful ridges, we cross a pass at 4,900m and walk through the amazingly beautiful landscapes to the shelter at Ghuma Thanti, where we set up camp.

This is an intermediate step which is ideal for acclimatization.

Amidst an arid landscape in high altitude, we cross two passes over 5000m, one at 5,300m and the other at 5,500m, and then make our way through a difficult hike. We enjoy splendid views of the Dhaulagiri (8,167m) and its neighbor, the Tukuche (6,920m). This challenging day is marked by hikes through difficult terrain.

We pass by the Damodar Kund lake, a major pilgrimage site for Hindus and Buddhists. The trails here are not very distinct and we rely on our Sirdar (local guide) to lead us in order to avoid getting into difficult passages. We then follow the course of a torrent that flows down from a glacier. A large Chorten built by a Japanese team sits in the middle of the base camp.

We enjoy a relaxed day acclimatizing at base camp before venturing to higher ground.

Today we finally reach the exclusive terrain of glaciers and high altitude. We climb up the long moraines and go through a magnificent forest of penitents. We carry all the gear and equipment needed at high altitude. This feels like the end of the world!

We climb up the glacier for about two and a half hours to reach the pass. We then go further up to reach the beautiful ridge, which leads on to the summit of Saribung. The snow slopes here are at a gradient of 30°. The summit is 6,328m above sea level! When we stand on the top, the panorama is breathtaking. While we climb up, the rest of the team crosses the pass and sets up camp on the other side of the mountain. We make a gentle descent over a glacier, then negotiate complex and testing moraines to finally join the others at camp.

We make a long descent following rivers flowing down from the surrounding glaciers. We cross many torrents, which means sometimes getting your feet wet. We then go up a path through a moraine which leads to an old, abandoned hamlet of Ngoru (4,400m). Soon after, we reach the beautiful village of Phu. The houses in this Bhotia (Tibetan) village have flat roofs and are arranged in a unique style of their own.

Rest day and visit the extraordinary village of Phu!

Descend along the banks of a long river gorge.

We make a rather dull descent through a forest to reach Koto.

We descend along the route of the Around Annapurna Trek encountering many villages along the Marsyangdi River.

From Dharapani, we walk through beautiful rice fields of the region to reach Gurung country. The valley opens up at the confluence of the two great rivers, Ngadi Khola and the Marsyangdi. The landscape is predominantly agricultural with terraced hillsides that have been tilled by generations of Nepalese farmers over the centuries.

We take a bus ride initially on a dirt track, and then on a paved road to Dumre. We finally return to Kathmandu by private bus. Overnight at the hotel.

Enjoy your free time in the city.

Transfer to TIA (Kathmandu Airport) for your return flight. End of our services.