Trip to nepal (pokhara ,mustang, muktinath)
I hope this itinerary helps anyone planning a budget trip across the border. This is my 4th post here—feel free to check out my profile for the others, which are mostly about traveling to raw, offbeat places.
For my latest trip, I explored Pokhara, Sarangkot, and went up through the Mustang region, hitting Marpha, Jomsom, Dhumba Tal, Kagbeni, and Muktinath. Moving from green valleys straight into a rugged, high-altitude desert was a crazy transition. I’m a student and a budget backpacker so I’m always looking to do these raw trips without spending a fortune. Figuring out the local transport and cheap stays for the Mustang route took some digging, so I’ve broken down my whole experience below to hopefully save you guys some time and money.
The whole trip took 7 days, and the total cost came out to about ₹8000 INR.
Trip Duration— 18 april to 25april
Weather Conditions—The temperature was about 10°C during the day and dropped to around 0°C at night. But at night you will be sleeping in a blanket anyway, so the cold doesn't really matter. During the day, a single coat is enough. If you get cold easily, just pack some woolen inners. Don't carry a very bulky coat, it's not needed
Network - everywhere 4g is available
local vibe: To be completely honest, I found a lot of people to be quite rude, especially in how they speak to Indians. It felt like there was a bit of an unnecessary superiority complex going on. I don’t expect special treatment or for people to go out of their way to help, but basic politeness was often missing. And before anyone blames tourists for bad behavior, I actually saw more locals throwing trash around than anyone else.
Also, be aware that almost everyone acts like a dalal. If you ask a random person on the street for taxi info or transport, they will almost always try to take a cut and overcharge you. You probably won't notice this if you travel in a comfortable pre-booked package tour. But when you are backpacking, roaming the streets, and dealing with people directly, it becomes very obvious. Not everyone is bad natured, but it is definitely something to be mentally prepared for so you don't get taken advantage of.
On 18th March, I started my journey from Patna and took the only daily train to Raxaul, which is the nearest border town. I reached late around 9:45 PM. Since the border closes at around 9-10 PM, I decided to stay the night in Raxaul. You can easily find budget hotels right near the railway station.
Day 1- The next morning, I took an auto at 5 AM to the border gate. It's hardly a 5-minute ride from the town. You can exchange cash and get a Nepali SIM from the shops on the road right before the border. At the crossing, they just ask to see your Aadhaar card or any other identity card.
After crossing, these same autos will drop you at the border gate where you can catch an auto for Birgunj. Ask the driver to drop you exactly at the bus stand, and make sure to keep your map open. Sometimes they try to drop you before the station at a dalal's shop, who will tell you there is no transport and try to charge you extra.
I reached on time and caught the 6 AM bus from Birgunj to Pokhara. The fare was 1000 NPR. The bus dropped me in Pokhara around 3-4 PM. Buses in Nepal usually take an extra 2-3 hours because they stop every 30-40 minutes, and they even stop the bus for a whole hour just for lunch.
From the Pokhara bus stand, I took a reserved taxi to the Lakeside area for 400 NPR. There are lots of hotels and hostels near Phewa Lake where you can easily get a room for 500 to 1500 NPR.
To be honest, if you are a regular traveller going for raw nature, Pokhara isn't really a great place. The city is essentially situated on a plain with mountains around it, but they aren't dramatic at all—just simple hills. It doesn't give you that aesthetic Himalayan village vibe, and our Indian hill stations are honestly far better. It's also not very developed, so if you are going mainly for partying or a city-like feel, Kathmandu is far better. It's okay for a normal tourist, but if you like peace and nature, it doesn't offer much.
In the evening, I explored the Lakeside market, spent some time around Phewa Lake, and had a Thakali thali which cost around 250-350 NPR.
Day 2- I woke up at 4 AM since the buses to Mustang (Muktinath) leave at around 7 AM from the Baglung bus stand. Since I had some time, I reserved a taxi to Sarangkot for 2000 NPR from Lakeside, which included taking me there and dropping me back at the bus stand. It took about 30 minutes and I reached just before sunrise. The view was really beautiful. Honestly, if you are just visiting Pokhara and returning, you should definitely go there. But if you are heading up to Mustang, you can easily skip it. You will see those same white mountains glowing with golden light every single morning and evening in Mustang, and from much closer.
After the sunrise, I returned to the bus stand and booked my ticket. The fare is 1700 NPR all the way to Muktinath, but I took it till Jomsom, which cost 1300 NPR. I got dropped off in Marpha at around 4 PM. Again, I don't know why, but buses in Nepal have way too many stops. We could have easily reached by 1 or 2 PM, but they stop every few kilometers. On the plus side, the buses are comfortable and the road isn't very bad either, except for a few rough sections.
You also have to make a permit for lower Mustang. For Indians, it costs 1000 NPR. The bus will actually stop right at the checkpost and it can be made in just 5 minutes. You don't need to bring anything special, you can just fill out the form online right there at the checkpost.
Mustang is really, really beautiful. I got off at Marpha village, which is just a few kilometers before Jomsom, the major town in that area. Marpha is known as the apple orchard village of Nepal. It was very beautiful and unique with these traditional white brick houses everywhere, completely surrounded by apple orchards. You can get a room here for around 1000 to 1500 NPR.
A quick piece of advice: in Mustang, very fast winds blow daily from around 11 AM to 6 PM because of its unique geography. I went in April so it wasn't very cold, but you still need a coat just to deal with the heavy winds. You can easily explore the small market area in Marpha. There are some cafes that aren't very expensive, and you should definitely try the local apple pie.
You can also climb up the mountains just above the village. You will find many goat herds up there. Personally, I really like seeing animals grazing with that massive mountain backdrop and clicking pictures, so it's definitely worth going up for the views. Mustang is just unreal. From everywhere you look, you can see massive white mountains in the backdrop and barren, Ladakh-like mountains in the front. In the evening, the peaks literally sparkle like gold. So with this, the day ended.
Day 3- I woke up early to catch the sunrise. Unlike a lot of Indian hill stations where fog can easily ruin the view, Mustang has very low humidity and fast winds, so you are almost guaranteed to see a clear, beautiful sunrise and sunset every single day.
After that, I headed to the main road in Marpha to catch a bus heading up to Muktinath. You can ask the locals about the exact timings, but there is usually one around 6 AM. I ended up missing it, so I just took a reserved cab for 2000 NPR for a one-way drop to Muktinath. The drive is about an hour, and the landscape changes so quickly along the way. You have these completely barren mountains, but because the Kali Gandaki river flows right through the middle, the surrounding areas are lush green and full of apple orchards. Behind those barren, dry mountains, you see massive snow-capped peaks. It creates such a beautiful contrast. Also, even though it feels incredibly remote, the 4G network is actually widely available here, so you don't have to worry about being off the grid.
Once you reach Muktinath, you have to climb a bit. You can hire a pony for about 600 NPR, but I just chose to take the stairs. There are hardly 400-500 stairs, so it’s really not a big or difficult climb.
Here is a big piece of advice: after visiting the temple, don't just return via the main stairs. Step away from the main spot and follow the random dirt trails down towards the road. It is actually much easier than taking the stairs down. Because the vegetation is so sparse, you can easily spot the main road from far away, and the mountain slopes aren't too steep. There is a beautiful village nearby called Jharkot, and you can just walk directly towards it through the trails since the houses are clearly visible from above.
For returning from Muktinath, there are plenty of buses heading down between 6 AM and 2 PM. Most of them go directly all the way to Pokhara or Kathmandu, but you just need to tell the driver to drop you at Kagbeni. The fare for that drop was 350 NPR.
I spent about 2-3 hours exploring Kagbeni. It is a stunning village with traditional houses, zero tourist crowds, a beautiful riverside, and lots of greenery. There are rice fields and patches of long grass everywhere. Like I mentioned before, the daytime winds here are intense, so watching the grass and rice plants sway heavily in the wind against that mountain backdrop is just beautiful.
To get back down to Jomsom, you just walk to the main road and wave down any passing bus. Since there is literally only one road, any vehicle heading down will surely pass through Jomsom. You can also try asking a passing biker for a lift, which is what I did, and luckily I got one.
Once back in Jomsom, I booked a hotel. The prices are the same here, around 1000-1500 NPR for a standard ground-floor room. I spent the rest of the evening eating some Jhol momos and a Thakali thali, roaming around the town, and exploring the area near the Jomsom airport before calling it a day.
Day 4- I woke up at 5 AM again, took a walk around the town during sunrise, and grabbed some breakfast.
After that, I headed out to Dhumba Tal, which is a really beautiful lake. If you just check Google Maps from Jomsom, it shows a pretty long distance and suggests hiring a private cab, which honestly takes the fun out of it. So, I decided to go on foot using random trails.
To do this, walk towards Marpha from Jomsom for about 500 meters. You will see a beautiful hanging bridge. Once you cross it, you'll spot a board pointing the way to Dhumba Tal and a village (I think the name was Thini). From there, walk towards Marpha again for another 200 meters or so.
This is where I found the most beautiful part of my whole trip. It opened up into a wide area with small streams of white water flowing through, wild horses grazing, and those huge white mountains in the backdrop. It isn't a marked tourist spot, there are no roads or houses, and there was absolutely no one else around. I just encountered it randomly.
I walked through that area for about 1 kilometer towards a road that becomes visible in the distance. If you cross through here, you directly hit the road, and from there, Dhumba Tal is just 500 meters away. By taking this trail, you save yourself from walking at least 12 to 13 kilometers on the main road route. The whole hike was barely a 2-kilometer walk to reach the lake. It is incredibly peaceful. I spent some time there, then returned to Jomsom and spent the rest of the day just exploring the town through random trails.
Day 5- The next morning, I took a bus straight from Jomsom down to Pokhara. Since it was downhill, it only took about 5 hours. You can use the afternoon to explore a bit more of Pokhara if you want. Then, catch the night bus from Pokhara (Prithvi Chowk) back to Raxaul. It leaves around 6 PM and drops you at the border by 4 AM, which gives you plenty of time before catching your train.
advice: please walk more and try to avoid taking taxis everywhere. You will discover so much more and enjoy your trip way more when you explore on foot.