Upper Mustang Bike Tour

Met at Tribhuvan International Airport and transferred to your hotel. Evening briefing on the route and a bike fitting: we check frame size, saddle height, brakes and tyres, and go through the restricted-area permit rules for Upper Mustang. Bring your own helmet, gloves and pedals if you have preferences; everything else can be provided.

Altitude: 1,400 m.

The support vehicle carries the bikes while we drive west along the Prithvi Highway to Pokhara, following the Trishuli river through terraced hills. Riders who prefer to start early can do the last section on the bike.

Afternoon free in Pokhara on Lakeside, with a short shakedown ride around Phewa Lake to check the bikes before the mountains.

Drive: 5 to 8 hours.

The first real riding day, heading north into the Kali Gandaki on the road towards Beni and Tatopani. The route climbs steadily out of the Pokhara valley with Machhapuchhre and Annapurna South behind you, then follows the river as the gorge deepens.

Tatopani means hot water, and the natural hot springs beside the river are the reason to stop here. Dhaulagiri and Nilgiri tower over the village.

Riding: 5 to 6 hours on paved and rough road. Altitude gain: 370 m.

A big climbing day up the Kali Gandaki, the deepest gorge in the world with Annapurna I and Dhaulagiri, both over 8,000 m, standing on either side of the valley.

The road climbs through Ghasa, Marpha with its apple orchards and whitewashed lanes, and Jomsom, the district headquarters. Above Jomsom the landscape changes completely: the trees end and you ride into high desert. Kagbeni at the mouth of the restricted zone is a medieval village of tunnelled alleys and a red gompa. Expect a hard headwind from late morning.

Riding: 5 to 6 hours. Altitude gain: 1,614 m.

Into Upper Mustang. Passports and permits are checked at the Kagbeni checkpoint, and beyond it the landscape becomes extraordinary: eroded cliffs in red, ochre and grey, cave dwellings cut into the rock faces, and villages of whitewashed houses beneath ruined forts.

The route crosses several passes, the highest around 4,010 m, riding a mixture of jeep track and old trail through Chele, Ghami and Charang. The final climb over Lo La brings the first sight of the walled city of Lo Manthang.

Riding: 6 to 7 hours with vehicle support available. Altitude gain: 1,036 m.

A full day in the former capital of the Kingdom of Lo, a walled town of around 150 houses that was closed to outsiders until 1992. We visit the four-storey royal palace and the three main monasteries, Jampa, Thubchen and Chode, whose 15th-century murals are among the finest surviving Tibetan Buddhist wall paintings anywhere.

In the afternoon there is an optional ride or drive north to the cave complex at Chhoser, where a five-storey cave dwelling is cut into a cliff face, and to within sight of the Chinese border at Korala.

Riding: optional 20 km round trip to Chhoser.

The ride back south, taking a different line where possible to see new country: the red cliffs at Dhakmar and the Ghar Gompa, said to predate Samye in Tibet and to be the oldest monastery in Nepal.

Mostly descending, with several short climbs, and a long fast run down the valley to Jomsom. The wind is behind you today, which makes a considerable difference.

Riding: 5 to 6 hours. Altitude loss: 1,097 m.

A long descent down the Kali Gandaki through Marpha, Ghasa and Kalopani, dropping out of the desert back into pine forest and then subtropical valley. The gradient is in your favour all day but the road surface demands attention.

Another night at the Tatopani hot springs, which after five days of riding is well earned.

Riding: 5 to 6 hours. Altitude loss: 1,553 m.

The last riding day, following the river down to Beni and then the rolling road back to Pokhara. The support vehicle is available for anyone who would rather save their legs for the celebration dinner.

Evening free on Lakeside.

Riding: 5 to 6 hours. Altitude loss: 370 m.

Return to Kathmandu by road with the bikes, or by air if you prefer, in which case the bikes follow by vehicle. Afternoon free in Thamel, farewell dinner with the team in the evening, and transfer to the airport the following morning or onward arrangements if you are extending your trip.

Drive: 7 to 8 hours, or a 25-minute flight.