HEAVEN IS A MYTH,NEPAL IS REAL-MUSTANG

                                                           MUSTANG

Mustang district is located in Nepal.Among 75 districts,Mustang is one of them.Jomsom is the headquarter of this district.In the north-west  part of Nepal,Mustang lies in the altitude of 3,840 meters.It is normally divided into two parts,Upper Mustang and Lower Mustang.Mostly tourist visits Upper Mustang for adventurous trekking purpose whereas Lower Mustang is mostly popular  for natural beauty.Mustang district is rich in vegetation.Apple fields and Rhododendron forests are the major fruit and plant found  in this district.Mustang is overall mixtures of natural beauties,cultural sites and rich in history. 

                                                                 Mustang is mostly popular for trekking and for religious reasons.Cultures,religions,language and lifestyles are closely related to Tibetans.It is the last forbidden kingdom of Nepal.We can say that it may be great chance to experience  the cultural and lifestyles of the place because it hasn't changed for centuries.If you are fond of Buddhist culture,you can experience some ancient monasteries and Buddhists sites.It is home to the Kali Gandaki Gorge which is considered to be the deepest in the world.It lies in the rain shadow of Annapurna and Dhaulagiri range.Mustang lies in the high altitude so the wind blows throughout the day.So traveller's may have questions,why to visit mustang?I'll be providing some places and things not to miss while visiting Mustang.

JOMSOM:Jomsom lies at an altitude of 2800 meters.It is also called as Dzong-Sampa or New Fort.It spreads on both sides of the Kali Gandaki river.As I previously mentioned,it the the headquarter of the mustang district.Being headquarter of the district,it is primarily an administrative and commercial center of the district.Thakalis are the local resident of the place.The barrage of Nepalese Army is stationed here.Jomsom Airport is in here where domestic flights are regular.Due to the strong winds it is served by 6-8 flights a day in forenoon.Regular visitors are aware about the flights depending in the weather condition.Jomsom trekking is a perfect mixture of pilgrimage and aventure in Nepal.JOMSOM -MUKTINATH trekking is the perfect agventure down here.The trek  will take you to the  mystical     Tibetan  influenced Jomsom valley to the famous pilgrimage site Muktinath Temple.It also offers you mesmerizing himalayan view passing through dense Rhododendron Forest.But to be honest,you'll require good level of physical fitness as it lies in high altitude.So it is  a damn beautiful place to be traveling around.

UPPER MUSTANG:Upper Mustang was  the restricted area until 1992.So it is considered as one of the most  preserved in the world.It is located in north of the Annapurna and lies at an altitude of 4000 meters.Still there are very few people visiting Upper Mustang.It takes you to the old hidden  world of Buddhist kingdom.Upper Mustang takes you to explore thousand years of old monastery.caves,gumbas and natural beauties.It is also famous for rock climbing,cycling etc.August and October are the most likely months to visit the place.Special permit are required for foreigners costing US dollar 50 per person per day.So it also a most to visit Upper Mustang if you're in Mustang.

MUKTINATH TEMPLE:In my previous article I wrote all about Muktinath Temple.So,I'll be describing here shortly.It is a sacred place for both Hindus and Buddhists from all over the world but mostly from Nepal and India.It is called the place Mukti Kshetra which literally means 'The Place Of Liberation'.

 Beside these Kagbeni,Red Cliffs,Chhairo Gompa,Sandup Choeding Gompa are some other inmportant places in Mustang.Kagbeni is a village located in Upper Mustang.Other than is,being sorrounded by snow capped mountains Mustang receives frequent snowfall but moslty in winter season.Adventurous sports like rock climbing,mountain cycling,horse riding are famous here.Lately  Mustang has been the central point or say attractive place for movies shooting.Many Nepali movies are captured down there.It is not even that expensive to spend in this place.You'll also get chance to experience local  delicious foods which you have never encounter in past.So this is it,if you love travelling and love nature Mustang should be in your bucket list.

 

HEAVEN IS A MYTH,NEPAL IS REAL-POKHARA

                                          POKHARA

Pokhara is the second largest city in Nepal.It is located around  200 km. west of the Kathmandu valley.Despite being small in area in comparison to Kathmandu valley,its geography miraculously varies within few distance form place to place.Dhaulagiri,Annapurna an Mansula,the three highest mountains in the world are within around 15-35 miles from the valley.Due to the closeness of the three highest peak of the world,the city  is base for the trekkers undertaking Annapurna circuit. It is even home for Gurkas soldiers who are known for their bravery.It is a land of spectacular beauty crowned by Himalayas.Mesmerizing view of Mount Machhapuchhare reflects in the clear water of Phewa Lake leaves everyone speechless. 

Pokhara valley is mostly recognized for the countless natural beauties which we can encounter after we visit the place.It is one of the majar tourism destination in the world.Paragliding,rafting,boating,pony trekking,caving,micro-light flying are some of the extremly popular form of adventure tourism.Lately,Bunjy jumping is also added in the place.The visitors will certainly love and find this place worth visiting.It has become a most visited place in Nepal.Other than this tourist also visit this place for the start or the end of a trekking to the Annapurna Region-Annapurna base camp, Ghorepani , Poonhill , Jomson, Mustang.It is around 25 days trekking pacakage.There are numerous temples,gumbas,churches in the valley. Tal Barahi Temple,Bindhya Basini Temple,Matepani Gumba,Akaladevi Temple are some of the popular religious  sites in the valley.Tal Barahi temple is situated in the middle of the Phewa Taal which is one of a kind.David Falls is the only waterfall in Pokhara. The name David Falls was kept after the swiss   women name Davi drowned while swimming in the waterfall due to the overflow of the water. Sarangkot hill is the place for paragliding and skydiving .Mahendra Cave,Bat Cave, Gupteshwor Cave are other attraction the place.The best viewpoint and attraction of Pokhara are Sarangkot and Thulakot where four lakes Phewa, Begnas, Khaste and Dipang and whole Annapurna range can be seen clearly.On the summit of sarangkot there's a Buddhist stupa which attracts many visitors. Phewa Lake,Begnas Lake,Seti River,Gandaki River,Dipang Lake, Rupa Lake,Neurani Lake are some of the lakes and rivers in Pokhara.

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Other than this talking about the climate,Pokhara has a mild climate ranging form a max. 35 degrees centigrade.It is the place with maximum rainfall all over Nepal.For this reason,the valley is also known as Cherapunji of Nepal.The best time to visit Pokhara  is February,March.April,October and November.During this months the climate of the Pokhara is best for see sighting,trekking rafting and paragliding.There is not any transportaion problem in this place but the easiest and fastest way is through air.The other way is by road.It is about 6-hour of drive from Kathmandu to Pokhara.The prices in foods and lodges are reasonable and even negotiable.
                                     Pokhara has been listed number 1 in the Forbes 20 most values cities list in the world.So, there's no doubt that you'll be enjoying the hell out of life,if you love nature.Personally talking about me,I love to travel in Pokhara over and over again because it is so beautiful that I cannot put in words.You just need to be there to feel the heavenly atmosphere like I felt.