Upper Mustang

Name: Upper Mustang
Address: NP

Curated schematic — not walking distance. Pin-to-pin OSM named-waypoint line Jomsom → Lo Manthang. Cited itinerary ~120 km round from Jomsom (provisional, secondary). Restricted-area RAP + ACAP (official NTB/Immigration 2026-09-21). High ~3,950 m is the cited pass landmark.

Last verified 2026-09-21 vs Department of Immigration / NTNC-ACAP

Byline

The Hiking World editorial · author
Desk byline for seed records. Named surveying editors replace this once a trail is verified.

The Kali Gandaki and Mustang Himal from orbit, Nepal

Figures marked provisional are seed data and still need verification. Source and last-checked date sit under each cited value.

Permits and fees

Permit	Cost	Quota / restriction	Issuer	Source	Verified
RAP (Upper Mustang) + ACAP entryUnverified — not officially sourced	Restricted-area USD 50/person/day (NTB / Immigration). ACAP NPR 3,000 foreign / NPR 1,000 SAARC (tax included, NTNC).	—	Department of Immigration / NTNC-ACAP	Issuer page	Unverified

Altitude weather delta

High 3,950 m minus low 2,739 m is 1,211 m of relief on this record. A standard tropospheric lapse of 6.5 °C per 1,000 m implies about 7.9 °C cooler at the high point than the valley, all else equal.

That is a model (International Standard Atmosphere environmental lapse), not a forecast and not a trail-closure. Wind, snow, and storms stay in Hazards.

derived:lapse-rate · 2026-09-10 · provisional

ISA 6.5 °C / 1,000 m · wikipedia.org · 2026-09-10

loading map...

This line is a schematic. The files are not a GPS track. GPX · GeoJSON

Facts28.784, 83.730

Distance120 km*

operator itinerary (cited ~120 km round, Jomsom base; schematic — not walking distance) · 2026-09-21 · editorial · provisional

Ascent+1,081 m*

Copernicus GLO-30 (6 schematic pins, not a walking profile) · 2026-09-21 · dem · provisional

Descent0 m*

Copernicus GLO-30 (6 schematic pins, one-way; not a walking profile) · 2026-09-21 · dem · provisional

High point3,950 m*

cited pass landmark ~3,950 m (Wave N evidence; not DEM at pin; Lo Manthang 3,840 m) · 2026-09-21 · editorial · provisional

Low point2,739 m*

Copernicus GLO-30 (Jomsom pin) · 2026-09-21 · dem · provisional

Routeout-and-back

Days10

SeasonMay–Oct (rain-shadow, monsoon-accessible; NTB / NTNC, checked 2026-09-21)

GradeSAC T2 (mapped — no official SAC grade) · YDS 1

Editorial v1 · Provisional catalog

DifficultyUngraded — schematic, no OSM sac_scale line

SAC T2 (mapped — no official SAC grade): Mountain hiking. Continuous trail, some steep ground, sure-footedness helpful.
YDS Class 1: Class 1. Walking on an established path; low fall risk.

Curated schematic from named OpenStreetMap nodes (ODbL). The line is pin-to-pin, not a surveyed walking path. Pin-to-pin 2-D length 51.44 km is schematic — not walking distance and is not this DataPoint. The published distance is the cited ~120 km round from Jomsom (operator itinerary, secondary, provisional). Return retraces; the stored line is not doubled. Ascent and descent are Copernicus GLO-30 samples at those six pins only, not a walking profile, and remain provisional. The elevation-profile km axis follows the schematic pins, not the cited itinerary.

No connected Upper Mustang hiking relation resolved on 2026-09-21. Pins: Jomsom → Kagbeni → Chele → Ghami → Tsarang → Lo Manthang. osmRelationId is unset. Never graduate to verified without a connected OSM hiking relation. Restricted-area corridor to the walled capital of the former Kingdom of Lo. Jomsom and Kagbeni also sit on annapurna-circuit (relation 1187310) — relate-not-merge; this record is the restricted north corridor, not the circuit.

typicalDays 10 is Math.round(120/12), a placeholder, not a published itinerary window.

High ~3,950 m is the cited pass landmark (Wave N evidence, lastVerified 2026-09-21) — not Lo Manthang 3,840 m and not the GLO-30 sample at the Lo Manthang pin (3,820 m). Low 2,739 m is Copernicus GLO-30 at the Jomsom pin (lastVerified 2026-09-21), still provisional. Ascent 1,081 m / descent 0 m are pin-sample DEM on the one-way schematic, not a walking profile.

Upper Mustang is a Restricted Area. NTB trekking-permit table (https://ntb.gov.np/en/plan-your-trip/before-you-come/trekking-permit, checked 2026-09-21) and Dept of Immigration Nepal: USD 50 per person / day plus ACAP NPR 3,000 foreign (NTNC e-permit, https://epermit.ntnc.org.np/, checked 2026-09-21). Restricted-area RAP is issued through a registered agency, not self-issued; minimum two trekkers, solo prohibited. Confirm live tariffs before travel.

Water

No water sources recorded.

Surface

Surface is not recorded. This field is filled only from an OSM surface tag, not from the grade.

Permits & fees

Permit: RAP (Upper Mustang) + ACAP entry

Getting there

No sourced gateway chain yet.

Trailheads

Jomsom (schematic start) car-free: unknown
Lo Manthang (schematic end) car-free: unknown

Hazards

Restricted area: individual/solo trekking is legally prohibited. Requires a Government-registered trekking agency and a minimum of two trekkers (Dept of Immigration Nepal / NTB trekking-permit table, checked 2026-09-21).
Altitude: cited passes ~3,950 m; Lo Manthang 3,840 m (GLO-30 at the Lo Manthang pin 3,820 m). This is a high rain-shadow corridor, not a casual hike.
Related record annapurna-circuit shares Jomsom / Kagbeni geography — relate-not-merge.

Questions

Do I need a permit for Upper Mustang?

A permit is listed as required for Upper Mustang: RAP (Upper Mustang) + ACAP entry. Status is unverified. This desk does not treat that as an official ruling.

When is the best time to hike Upper Mustang?

On this record the best season is: May–Oct (rain-shadow, monsoon-accessible; NTB / NTNC, checked 2026-09-21).

How difficult is Upper Mustang?

Upper Mustang is graded SAC T2 (mapped — no official SAC grade) · YDS 1. A sourced hazard on this record: Altitude: cited passes ~3,950 m; Lo Manthang 3,840 m (GLO-30 at the Lo Manthang pin 3,820 m). This is a high rain-shadow corridor, not a casual hike.

How long is Upper Mustang?

This figure is 120 km (provisional): a schematic straight-line estimate between waypoints — not a measured walking distance; published figures are the better guide. See /guides/how-long-is-the-trail