Dhaulagiri from Tilicho Trail © Sterling Lorence

Flying to Jomsom is amazing, passing between Dhaulagiri on the western side and Annapurna on the eastern

Annapurna South flight to Jomsom © Casper Tybjerg

Above Kagbeni © Sterling Lorence

Dhaulagiri on Tilicho trail © Mads Mathiasen

Descending to Lupra © Dan Barham

Dhaulagiri © Arun Karki

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top of the Thorung La pass on the Annapurna Circuit trek

Annapurna Circuit via Tilicho Lake

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Essence of the Kathmandu Valley

Mustang Enduro MTB

This amazing shuttle supported mountain bike adventure in the Kathmandu and Mustang valleys, gets you riding some of the best trail riding in Nepal with awe inspiring views of some of the biggest mountains on earth. You will have over 15000m of descending on this Enduro style big mountain epic, while getting close to the local cultures and eating they delicious cuisine.

We begin this adventure in Kathmandu, riding a couple of the best trails of the valley rim, getting to know each other before heading into the big mountains. We then fly to Pokhara before catching the mind-blowing flight to Jomsom the next morning. Here the riding starts for real and over the next few days you will some big shuttle rides up here on the Tibetan plateau before we head south down the Kali Gandaki gorge.

Having guided and arrange logistics for Anthill films – Strength in Numbers and later Red bull and Freeride entertainment – Where the trails ends we at Himalayan Trails have been true experts in the Mustang area for a long time.

This adventure is best suited for riders with intermediate to expert technical skills and a good level of fitness.

Starts In: Kathmandu
Ends In: Kathmandu
Duration: 9 Days
Difficulty Grade: Demanding

Highlights

Shuttle supported enduro style riding
Over 15,000m (that’s 50,000 feet) descending
Experience Nepal: cultures, cuisines and local characters
Ride the deepest gorge in the world
Journey through Nepal’s diversity from the high-altitude Tibetan plateau to lush Pokhara

Itinerary

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Day 01: Welcome to Kathmandu

We will save you from the mad crowd at Kathmandu airport and transfer you to your hotel. The Manaslu Hotel is situated right outside the tourist district of Kathmandu, Thamel. We will put your bikes together and then maybe head into Thamel for a bit of shopping, a beer in a favorite bar and then on to a nice spot for dinner.

Accommodation: Hotel Manaslu

Putting together bikes © Dan Barham

Day 02: Ride the Scar route

Our first real riding and what a day! It has it all…great riding and stunning nature. You start the day by winding your way out of Kathmandu on small lanes, again seeing the Kathmandu that few visitors ever do. Leaving the city behind you ride through small villages and rice fields as you climb up to the valley rim. Here you join the small black-topped road that winds its way up to Kakani, a hilltop village at about 2075m with stunning views of the Himalayan Range.

From Kakani, you ride into the Shivapuri National Park, which lies in the transition zone between subtropical and temperate zone. The vegetation consists of a variety of natural forest types including pine, oak, and rhododendron, depending on altitude and aspect. Recorded wildlife in the park includes Himalayan black bear, leopard, jungle cat, deer, and rhesus monkey. This little park is also home to an amazing 177 species of birds, including 9 threatened species. Once inside the National Park, you will ride one of Nepal’s most famous single trails, the Scar Route! It is an awesome trail which winds its way through the forest around the northern perimeter of the park and it takes us almost all the way to your Hotel for the night. Set above Budhanilkantha overlooking the Kathmandu valley this is a great place to relax after our first day on the bikes.

Accommodation: Shivapuri Heights
Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

The scar route © Chris Reichel

Day 03: Ride in Shivapuri and off to Pokhara

We have an early morning as we need to get one super ride in here in Kathmandu before we head off to Pokhara. We transfer into the Shivapuri National Park to the top of a hill on the Northern rim of the valley, from we ride a couple of the most famous trails in the valley, Heaven and the helipad trail. We ride through the jungle with great views of the Kathmandu valley, before a short jeep trail climb. The trail then follows are great little ridgeline all the way into town. The ride is not super technical but will keep you interested all the way, it is a nice single trail to start your Nepal adventures on. We ride all the way to the big Stupa at Boudhanath, where we will have lunch before heading to the airport, where we catch our plane to Pokhara.

This is an incredible flight along with the Himalayan Range with spectacular views, to say the very least! It gets better as we arrive too – Pokhara is a stunning lakeside town with amazing views up to the high Himalayas.

Accommodation: Mums Garden Resort
Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Lower Helipad trail © Chris Reichel

Day 04: Up in the high mountains

This morning we have one of the most stunning flights in the world ahead of us, going up between Dhaulagiri and Annapurna I. Because of the mountainous terrain, the flight is very early in the morning, so we head off to the airport before dawn with our bikes packed. After we arrive in Jomsom we will have breakfast and put our bikes together before shuttling up 1000m and ride the exciting lower part of the Tilicho to Jomsom trail. To help our acclimatising, we ride the 12 km mostly flat ride up along the Kali Gandaki River to Kagbeni, an ancient fortress town, where we will stay tonight.

Accommodation: Tea House
Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Tilicho Trail © Sterling Lorence

Day 05: The Lupra trail

After breakfast, we take a lift with a jeep to gain some altitude fast. We get out of the Jeep at Ranipouwa near the famous Muktinath temple, have a look at the sacred flames coming from the mountainside and then jump on the bikes. Today’s drop is going to really challenge your biking skill! We first climb to the little pass to the Lupra valley. We stop at the pass and enjoy the amazing views of Mt. Daulagiri, Mt. Nilgiri, and the upper Mustang valley. Now the fun really begins as we drop into the valley on very technical trails with rocks, sand, and some fun switchbacks. We have a little walk up to another pass before we drop down to Seuli Bhatti for lunch.

After lunch, we ride the 2.5 km back to Kagbeni and relax for the rest of the afternoon.

Accommodation: Tea House
Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Lupra Trail © Sterling Lorence

Day 06: Another Look at Upper Mustang

After breakfast, we jump in the jeeps and head up to Muktinath, high above the valley floor. We head out on our bikes past this sacred temple and pilgrimage site on single and jeep trails as we make our way across the valley. We leave the jeep trail behind for now and climb up a gradual single trail to the high point of our trip, the 4577 meter high Gyu La (pass). The pass is the border with the restricted area of Upper Mustang and from here we can see a long way into this legendary forbidden kingdom. We then backtrack downhill on the 7 km single trail we just climbed but it is much more fun going down! We rejoin the jeep trail and stay on it most of the way back down to Kagbeni where we will have a late lunch.

Accommodation: Tea House
Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

The Gyu La Trail © Arun Karki

Day 07: Ride to Kalapani

Today we have a fun day ahead of us with plenty of single trails but first we have to backtrack on the jeep trail down to Jomsom. Here we get on the single trails on the opposite side of the valley from the runway you landed on a few days back.

For the first few kilometres we are on and off small jeep tracks, we climb for about 1.5 km to a little hill from where there are excellent views of Jomsom, Marpha and the mountains. We then get onto a 5 kilometre super single trail which is technically challenging, but lots of fun! We even ride down some short sections of steps before getting to a flatter section which brings us to the bridge to the famous Thakali village of Tukuche.

We cross the river and check out this stunning village, we may even try their famous apple brandy and have a bite of lunch. We then recross the river and continue down the valley. It is another 14kilometres of great single trails –there are some short sections of uphill which aren’t rideable, but the overall ride is fast and fun.

Accommodation: Tea House
Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 08: Back to Pokhara

We have a big day ahead of us but at the end of today awaits the luxury of a hot shower and drinks on the lakeside in Pokhara. We get up early and ride back down to the bridge we crossed yesterday and get back on the single trail on the other side of the valley. We only have 3 km of single trail before we rejoin the main jeep trail at Kalopani, here it becomes a wild down hill ride which last year’s group loved. We stay on the jeep trail until Rupse Chhahara, dropping a lot of altitude and fast.

At Rupse Chhahara we once again cross the valley and have to climb for about half an hour walking the bike but it is well worth it because the single trail then drops for the next 3 km to Dana where is becomes flatter but also faster. We reach Tatopani after 17 km of great riding in time for an early lunch.

After lunch we have another 8 km of jeep trail to ride down to Galeswhor where we can wash the mud off ourselves and have a beer before getting in the cars and heading back to Pokhara. The drive into Pokhara takes a couple of hours and we will arrive in time to enjoy the sunset and a couple of cold beverages by the lake.

Accommodation: Mums Garden Resort
Meals included: Breakfast

Day 09: Back to KTM and Depart for Home

Today we take that awesome flight back to Kathmandu and pack for the journey home. The rest of the day is free for shopping, relaxing, checking out the mad street life, or optional sightseeing of Kathmandu. If you book a late afternoon or evening flight, you can depart this same day.

Accommodation: None
Meals included: Breakfast

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Gallery

Included In Price

Accommodation as per the detailed itinerary above based on standard rooms on twin share with local tea house accommodation* on the trail
Meals as per the detailed itinerary above, including all meals on the ride, with filtered drinking water, plus locally available snacks along the way
Entrance fees and biking permits to Upper Mustang, National Parks and the Annapurna Conservation Area
International arrival and departure transfers in private vehicle
All transfers by private jeep as mentioned in the itinerary during the ride.
Transportation by private jeep to Pokhara from Beni on Day 11
Flight to Pokhara from Kathmandu and on to Jomsom from Pokhara all accompanied by your guide.
Luggage transfer during the whole ride except on to Tangge from Yara on Day 08.
Your biking guide with the assistant and 1 luggage boy with all their transport, equipment, insurance and including their meals and accommodation
A first aid kit with basic supplies appropriate for the group size and route – if you require specific medications it is critical that you discuss this with us prior to your trip departure

Note: The local tea houses are basic but clean and they do not have attached bathrooms or hot showers. The price is based on twin share and does not include any extra charge that lodge owners may levy for single rooms, or hot showers (if these facilities are even available) or for battery charging. We can’t know in advance what they may charge for such things in the different lodges along the way, so we prefer to leave this cost out, rather than pass along an estimated charge to you.

The meal inclusions on the trek are breakfast (one set breakfast and tea or coffee), lunch (one main meal and tea or coffee) and dinner (soup, main and dessert with tea or coffee)

Not Included In Price

Services and activities not mentioned in the itinerary
Any gear or equipment that you may need to rent/buy – please ask us if you would like any advice about gear to bring/buy/rent
Bike hire
International flights to and from Kathmandu
Nepal visa fees and international airport taxes
Any excess baggage charges
Comprehensive travel insurance that includes trip cancellation and rescue evacuation should this be required for any reason (we require this as the minimum insurance cover)
Additional nights, optional trips and sightseeing tours outside the detailed itineraries above
Any extra charge that tea house owners may levy for single rooms, attached bathrooms, or hot showers (if these facilities are available) and charging of batteries
Personal expenses (eg mineral water/soft drinks/bar bills, entrance/photography fees at monasteries, laundry, telephone calls, postage, donations, extra snacks, etc)
Tips for your guide, drivers, etc (please ask if you would like guidance about appropriate tips)
Costs incurred due to changes in programs and reservations due to unforeseen events (eg caused by natural disasters or poor weather, adverse road conditions/flight delays, labor strikes, fuel shortages, extreme exchange rate changes, etc)

Adventure travel: Every effort will be made to keep to the above itinerary, but as this is Adventure Travel in the mountains, we cannot guarantee it. Weather conditions, road conditions, vehicle breakdowns and the health of fellow travelers can all contribute to changes. We will try to ensure that the trip runs according to plan, but an easy- going nature will be an asset!