Liberate yourself in Muktinath

(A longer version of my article published in WAVE Magazine July 2010 issue Liberate yourself in Muktinath

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What to take: water bottle, sunscreen with higher SPF, sunglasses, masks/scarves to protect from wind, warm clothes, windcheater, paracetamol tablets, garlic, lemon etc. to prevent altitude sickness

You are dead tired of going to the same places, watching the same routine movies, hanging out in the same restaurant. You want to escape from your hectic city life. You are dying to get away somewhere to forget everything and give rest to your computer-weary eyes. You want to have a complete change in your life for once.

If so, why not liberate your tired senses through a visit to the much talked about Muktinath area. You have heard it's beautiful, a totally different Nepal, a place one ought to visit once etc. etc. Whatever you have heard about Mustang and Muktinath, they are all true and even more. The place exceeds its legend!

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Muktinath is no longer a tough expensive destination. With roadways opening upto Jomsom, the headquarter of Mustang, Muktinath has become accessible in low cost with less pain. When we say Muktinath, the first thing that comes to our mind is the temple but going Muktinath is much more than a religious pilgrimage.

A section of Jomsom-Beni Road

To reach Muktinath, you can either fly to Jomsom from Pokhara which is a 20 minutes flight with spectacular view of Annapurana range or you can take a bus from Pokhara to Beni that takes about 4 hours. From Beni, in good season direct buses to Jomsom is available otherwise you have to take several jeeps intermittently on the way according to road condition. Or you can also opt for trekking as the route falls in the famous Annapurna trail.

From Jomsom, after half hour's walk from the bus park/airport, you cross the Kaligandaki and reach Muktinath jeep park. A jeep will take about 2 hours to reach Muktinath. If you feel like a trekker, you can also walk all the way. I recommend you walk this distance from Muktinath to Jomsom at least one way to take in the breathtaking views slowly. Walking along the Kaligandaki gorge surrounded by majestic cliffs and watched over by Dhaulagiri you feel dwarfed by nature. You see barren, dry, and brownish land stretched ahead of you then all of a sudden you come upon a bend and spot of colors and greenery hits you as you come upon a settlement. There are several small settlements in the way like Eklaibhatti, Khingra, Jharkot and of course Kagbeni. These places have a charm of their own. The people, cute tiny "lulu" cows, apple orchards, pink buckwheat fields, the shrines and rosy cheeked mischievous kids are enough to transport you to a different world. It's not surprising if you feel like you have landed on a National Geographic show.

Houses in Kagbeni

So by trek or tyre, you arrive at Ranipauwa, entrance to Muktinath. This place also has its own allure. From here, you can see a vast desert like hill which is the way to upper mustang. There is a thin trail in this golden hill which beckons you. If you give in to its charm and take this trail, it will take days to reach upper mustang. But no worries, you can at least have a motorcycle tour of the trail. Not very far but at least a consolation!

Coming to the temple at last, from Ranipauwa it takes half an hour to climb the steps reaching the temple. It’s a challenge for anyone to bathe in all the 108 taps plus dip in 2 ponds of the temple. The water is freezing cold even in summer because according to locals, its source is some 2 days uphill in the mountains. After taking a freezing shower and queuing up in line, when you enter the main temple you feel at peace to see both Hindu and Buddhist deities majestically bestowing blessings.

The famous Muktinath Temple

Besides the main temple, you can also visit a monastery and the natural gas cove a little uphill and make a "house". Since Muktinath is thought of as the entrance to heaven, it is believed that one ought to make houses for their soul here so as to get "mukti". Piling a few stones is enough for building your soul a nice cozy home.

Before you return back, don’t forget to have a typical nepali daal bhaat with local aluko tarkari and local achaar. The taste is heavenly! You can try "faparko roti" and "syau ko sukuti" also. If you really want to experiment, try on yak momo/thukpa. You can even spend a night here. Contrary to the saying that with height, price increases, the food as well as lodging is not so costly.

After your return to Jomsom, you can either fly direct to Pokhara or again take jeeps. But alternating between jeep and trek is the cheapest and the best way. This way you will be able to enjoy other must-see places like Marpha-the apple orchard kingdom, Lete- a sleepy little village with a perfect view of Dhaulagiri, Tatopani-a small town having a hot water spring as well as the best view of Nilgiri mountain, Rupse Fall-a majestic cascading fall which will literally make you gasp and many such small never-heard of places which if you miss, you will have missed something wonderful indeed! The hills with its coniferous forests, wild hilly rivers and the many lovely falls all make up for the difficulties you face.

After you reach Pokhara, you go on your own way back to your normal life. But as you look back, you realize that you had been to a dreamland. The days that you have had, those were truly liberating!

 A whole new vista:  "Faparbari"(buckwheat) fields, Kaligandaki Gorge and the mountains in Kagbeni