Mustang: The Legendary Expedition (Nepal)

Thirteen nights and around 746 miles across Nepal on a Royal Enfield, from the jungle of the Terai up the Kali Gandaki to Muktinath at 3,700 metres. It is the operator’s original Nepali expedition.

Patan opens it, the city of beauty next door to Kathmandu, then the descent to the Terai lowlands and a jungle walk in Chitwan National Park. Tansen follows on mountain roads to a hillside village well off the tourist route, then Pokhara through the Aadhikhola valley to Phewa lake.

Tatopani is where the tarmac ends, at Beni, and the route turns up the Kali Gandaki, which runs between Annapurna and Dhaulagiri and is by some measures the deepest gorge in the world, with a peak over 8,000 metres on either side of it. Marpha follows through Ghasa on a steep rock-strewn track with river crossings, into Buddhist Mustang.

Muktinath is the high point at 3,700 metres by way of Jomsom, a pilgrimage site sacred to Buddhists and Hindus alike, with 108 water spouts and a flame fed by natural gas that has burned for centuries. The return descends the Kali Gandaki with Dhaulagiri in view, then Rupakot, Bandipur for its old architecture, Gorkha, and Nuwakot above the Trisuli, before Kathmandu through Shivapuri National Park, with Boudhanath or Pashupatinath optional and an evening in Thamel. Bike rental is included and the price is quoted per person. The altitude gain is substantial and the track above Ghasa is demanding, so a reasonable level of fitness and some off-road experience both help considerably.