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Tiji Festival is a fascinating three-day festival known as the “Chasing of the demons ”celebrated every year in Upper Mustang. It is also known by the name Tenzi festival. On this day monks dress up in an elaborated customs with masks on them and perform dances and Rituals organized by Choedhe Monastery. About 65 monks from Lo Manthang, Nhenyul and Chhosyer reside in this monastery. Tiji Festival Mustang commemorates the victory of Lord Buddha’s incarnation Dorje Soman over a demon called Ma Tam Ru Ta.
People also celebrate the festival with dance, music and reenactments from the story of a deity. The Rituals performed on this day are believed to drive away evil spirits.
Welcome to Nepal, the Land of the Himalayas! You will be guided to your hotel by a Great Nepal representative once you arrive at the airport. You will have the rest of the day to do whatever you wish to do: get some sleep, stroll around or party hard. Well, do whatever suits you. Overnight stay at hotel in Kathmandu.
Today day you will have a full day sightseeing tour of Kathmandu City consists of Kathmandu Durbar Square (City of Temple), Swayambhunath Stupa(Monkey temple) and Patan City (City of fine arts). Kathmandu Durbar Square is a complex of palaces, courtyards and temples like Hanuman Dhoka Palace, Kumari Ghar (Abode of the Living Goddess), Taleju temple, built between the 12th and 18th centuries, used to be the seat of the ancient Malla Kings of Kathmandu. The Great Swayambhunath Stupa stands on a hill to the west of Kathmandu. Its name means “The Self-created, Self-existent Buddha” also known as Monkey temple. Patan City is noted for its craftsmen and metal workers. The diversity of the Medieval culture that allowed both Hinduism and Buddhism to flourish has left a rich legacy of impressive sightseeing in this city for today’s visitors. Overnight stay at Hotel in Kathmandu.
After breakfast, you will board a vehicle. On your way to Pokhara, you can enjoy the beautiful scenery of the country side of Nepal with green hills, rivers, farms etc. In Pokhara you can enjoy great views of the Himalayas including Dhaulagiri, Manaslu, Machhapuchhre, the five peaks of Annapurna and many others. Overnight stay at Hotel in Pokhara.
This morning you will have the opportunity to experience perhaps the most exhilarating mountain flight in the world (certainly the best in Nepal), with stunning views of Annapurna and Dhaulagiri mountain ranges. We fly up the valley between two 8000+m giants seemingly within touching distance of the mountains. Upon reaching Jomsom our trekking starts with a short trek to Kagbeni, the main gateway to Upper Mustang. The scenery up here is vastly different to that which we experienced at Pokhara and this stark grandeur under the shadow of snow-capped peaks sets the tone for our trek. Overnight at Kagbeni.
The day starts with a permit check as we leave Kagbeni and head upstream beside the Kaligandaki River. Our first stop is Tangbe village with it’s narrow roads through whitewashed stone houses, fields of buckwheat and barley and apple orchards. With Nilgiri Peak on our right it’s around 2 hours to Chhusang village before we leave the Kali Gandaki Valley and the track climbs steeply up a rocky gully to Chele. Overnight at Chele.
The climb from Chele is up a steep spur to a cairn at 3130m. Here there is a view of the village of Gyagar across a huge canyon. You will see some Chortens on a ridge, and then descends further on a pleasant trail to Samar (3290m). The Annapurna Himal, still dominated by Nilgiri, is visible far to the south. Shyangmochen is the lunch place for today. The trail climbs gently from Shyangmochen to a pass at 3770m & enters another huge east-west valley. There is a trail junction, take the right fork and descend to Ghiling with its extensive fields of barley at (3570m/11712ft). Overnight at Ghiling.
From Geling, the trail climbs gently through fields up the center of the valley, passing below the settlement of Tama Gung and aChorten. It rejoins the direct trail and then becomes an unrelenting climb across the head of the valley to the Nyi La pass at 3950m, the highest point reached on the trek. Then we descend from Nyli la and cross to Tangmar Chu and descend to Charang (3560m/11679ft). Overnight at Charang.
Wake up early in morning we climbs up steadily to Lo-GekarGompa,whichn is the oldest Gompa of Nepal. We continue our walk with a sight of the walled city of Lo all along the trial. We make a short descent, cross a stream and climb up into the plateau of Lo-Manthang. Overnight at Lo Manthang.
Today we spend our all day in Manthang by observing the dances and celebrations. Horse racing and a giant tug-of-war are the major attractions of this place which gives us much fun and entertainment. Overnight at Lo Manthang.
Early morning after breakfast we visit surrounding villages like Namgyal, Chosar or Chornup or grace last day of the festival. Overnight at Lo Manthang.
After having breakfast at lodge, we start our trek continue your journey on the highland route, crossing alpine meadows before dropping down a steep eroded alley to Dhakmar. Overnight stay at Dhakmar.
After having breakfast at lodge, we start our trek, we begin to follow narrow winding path until we reach Geling crossing a small stream, we can enjoy good view of the Nilgiri Mountains, deserted landscapes, Tibetan style villages, farming terraces and natural vegetation, From Geling, the path turns broader till Samar passing deserted landscapes, natural vegetation, plateau, Tibetan style houses, chortens, mani walls, prayer flags and observe the distinct culture of the local inhabitants. Overnight stay at Shamar.
After having breakfast at lodge, we start our trek following a descending path; we then reach Chuksang crossing a suspension bridge over Kali Gandaki. We walk along the bank of Kali Gandaki with views of natural vegetation and apple orchards. Overnight stay at Chusang.
The trek again gets back on the road and slowly continues to go downhill. The road keeps losing height and meets the previously trekked route at Ekle Bhatti. Another easy walk finally ends the trek at Jomsom. Overnight stay at Jomsom.
After morning breakfast we check in the airport to fly back to Pokhara. The plane takes you through the Kaligandaki valley with Dhaulagiri in the left and Annapurna on the left hand side. Upon Arrival Pokhara, we drive back to Kathmandu. Overnight stay at hotel in Kathmandu.
Sadly your most memorable journey ends today. A Great Nepal representative will escort you to the airport 3 hours before your scheduled flight. On your way home you have plenty of time to think about your recent adventure and to plan your next wonderful adventure in Nepal.
You will be staying in 3 star hotels (as mentioned in itinerary) while you are in Kathmandu and Pokhara. While visiting the rural areas, especially high altitudes, you will be staying in teahouses. It is important to note that teahouses are small lodges run by locals and are a very popular type of accommodation in high altitudes and rural areas. They tend to be quite on the cheaper side and only offer limited services.It is important to be open-minded and not expect all the services you get in city areas. The rooms are typically small with twin beds, clean blanket, pillow and bed sheet. Normally people tend to carry their own sleeping bags for sanitary reasons. The only area, that is usually heated is the dining area, so be ready to face some cold night. Toilets in teahouses are typical squat-style and are very small but clean. Likewise, hot water is not available, but you can easily get some for a small fee. If you have any other questions related to accommodation, food, and other details during your visit to Nepal, you can always contact our operators who are available 24X7 at your service.
To enable all trekking & expedition members to acclimatize well and hence maximize their chances of success, our trekking & expedition programs are prepared with sufficient time for acclimatization. Adaptation to the altitude takes time and there can be no short-cuts, even if supplementary oxygen is used in the final stages. The atmospheric pressure at the base camp is half of that at the sea level. A thorough program of acclimatization is built into the itinerary which consists of regulated height ascents, followed by descents and rests before the final ascent to the summit. Yes it is very important for all trekkers and climbers because this will prevent the climbers to get rid from altitude sickness.
Although our guides from Great Nepal Treks carry first aid medical kit, it is better to carry a supply of first aid items for your own personal use according to your health conditions. Here are the list of some general as well as some special medications you may require:
– Antiseptic cream (Betadine)
– Sunblock SPF 30+
– Throat lozenges
– Painkillers and anti-inflammatory such as Aspirin, Paracetamol, Ibuprofen etc.
– Band-aids, bandage, compression bandage and ‘Second Skin’ for blisters
– Re-hydration salts. (Trioral, Electrobin, Oral Rehydrating Salt)
– Dextrose glucose tablets
– Water treatment tablets
– Your prescription medications
– Antibiotics for longer climbing and expedition style trips
You will be affected by high altitude problems if it is your fist trip at a high altitude. The altitude has some important beneficial effects on the human body and your trips have been designed to enable these. Please familiarize yourself with the information on AMS (Acute Mountain Sickness) and understand how to avoid it and read on benefits of high altitude and take advantage of these to improve your body’s metabolism.
Altitude sickness is the reaction of the body adjusting to decreasing amounts of oxygen. The high altitude slowly decreases the flow of oxygen means the higher you climb, the flow of oxygen is very thin resulting the malfunction of body. Altitude sickness most commonly occurs from above 2,800 meters (9,200ft) but this is different for everyone – there is simply no way of knowing your own susceptibility prior to being at altitude thus it is vital for you to monitor your own health. AMS occurs when the body is unable to adopt at the higher altitude having less amount of oxygen. At an altitude of 5490m (18000 ft.), the oxygen availability becomes just the half of the availability at sea level. While only a third of oxygen is available at the summit of Mt. Everest. Symptoms may be mild and subside/go away after a day’s rest, or if it is ignored it could lead to death.
Symptoms can appear within 1-2 hours although most often appear 6-10 hours after ascent and generally subside in 1-2 days as the body adjusts to altitude. They may reappear as you continue to go higher. Symptoms of AMS usually occur gradually and can be one or a combination of the following:
• Headache: Due to the less amount of oxygen in air, the blood influences the blood vessels to spread wide in order to supply more oxygen to the brain and which cause them to show the early symptom of AMS.
• Dopiness: The trekkers or climbers feel very sleepy but could not.
• Shortness of breath: The breathing pattern changes as the breathing becomes faster and deeper than normal in order to get enough oxygen and rapid pulse
• Loss of appetite and nausea: Despite of physical exercise, the trekkers don’t have an appetite to eat.
High Altitude Pulmonary Edema (HAPE)
If one accumulates of fluid in the lungs and mild fever then, there is a chance of High Altitude Pulmonary Edema (HAPE). The filling of fluid in the lungs is Pulmonary Edema. The fluid blocks the passage of fresh oxygen to get into the lungs which causes the shortage of oxygen. Though the exact reason for the HAPE has not been identified, scientists think that pressure of blood vessel around the lungs is directly proportional to the altitude. As a result the smaller blood vessels leak allowing the fluid to escape to the lungs. The treatment for the HAPE victims is to give the oxygen at the rate of 4 liters a minute, using Portable Altitude Chamber (PAC). In case of unavailability of PAC bag or oxygen, one is taken down to the low altitude which is the only way of life-saving. HAPE can also lead to unconsciousness which may also results to death in a short period of time.
High Altitude Cerebral Edema (HACE)
HACE is the accumulation of fluid in the brain due of the swollen blood vessels to the brain. HACE is also seen within a couple of hours and can send the patient to coma and take his/her life in just few hours likewise to HAPE. The excessive flow of blood to the brain due to the low-level oxygen causes vasodilation which eventually leads to leakage of blood vessels to the brain. A 4 to 8mg of dexamethasone is given as a first dose to those who suffer from such sickness and then 4mg Diamox is given an every six hours gap. Similarly, 2-4 liters/minute oxygen is given and one is taken to down if it is necessary.
Breathlessness
– A dry cough, developing to a wet one with blood-tinged discharge or saliva
– Tightness in the chest & blueness/darkness of face, lips & tongue
– Low fever up to 38°C/100°F
– Severe fatigue, progressing to coma
– Severe headache symptoms not relieved by painkillers or lying down
– Confusion, disorientation & drowsiness
– Nausea/vomiting
– Loss of balance or coordination
– Blurred or double vision/retinal hemorrhage
Certain medical conditions (such as respiratory disease) or medications (such as sleeping pills) can increase the risk of altitude sickness – it is important that you inform your guide of any medical conditions or medications before ascending to altitude. You can help your body to acclimatize and avoid altitude sickness by:
– Avoiding alcohol, tobacco and substances that can interfere with good delivery of oxygen to the body or cause dehydration
– Eating small, frequent meals high in carbohydrates
– Drinking plenty of water – the test of sufficient amount of water intake is ability to urinate colorless urine
– Taking it easy or have a rest. Walk at a slower pace than you would at sea level and avoid over-exertion
– Climb the mountain gradually and stop for a day or two of rest for every 600m/2000ft above 2,400m/8000ft
– Climb high but Sleep at a lower altitude if possible
– Learn how to recognize early symptoms of mountain sickness
Since our Guides from Great Nepal Treks are very professional and well trained about altitude sickness, they will guide you during your trekking and expedition activities in Nepal.
Most travelers are able to successfully acclimatize by following the previously mentioned guidelines. However, there are instances where medical treatment is required. Ultimately, the best treatment for acute mountain sickness (AMS) is to descend to a lower altitude and rest. Early diagnosis is important. Acute mountain sickness is easier to treat in the early stages. The guide will monitor you all the time for symptoms and will pace you appropriately to minimize your exposure to AMS.Cooperating with the guide and reporting if any of the above-described symptoms are seen allows your guide to undertaking appropriate and timely action to minimize your exposure to AMS. Sufficient time for acclimatization (After 3000 meters) is also another method to minimize AMS. Following precautions can be done in order to get rid of AMS:
Don’t ascent up rapidly.
• Never use alcohol, sleeping pills and smoking.
• Drink more fluid 3-4 liters a day, clean boiled water / tea / coffee / soup / juice etc.
• Climb high and sleep low.
• Don’t go trekking alone, take guide/porter.
• Follow the advice from your guide, hotel, local people, guidebook.
• Descent if mild symptoms rapidly getting worse.
• Never leave or descent sick person along.
• Avoid getting cold.
• Take an easy and comfortable trekking route even if it is longer.
• Sleep more than normal.
Your Guide will carry some medications in First Aid Kit and may suggest for medication such as Ibuprofen, Paracetamol, combination of them or specific AMS medication. Standard and effective medication for prevention of AMS is Acetazolamide (Diamox) and it may be given to help improve breathing and reduce mild symptoms. This drug can cause increased urination. Ensure you drink plenty of fluids and avoid alcohol when taking this drug.With severe cases of AMS, our guide will contact our office in Kathmandu and arrange your evacuation by helicopter. Before we accept you on the trek we will require that you purchase health and travel insurance including helicopter rescue and hospitalization.
You never know when the unexpected situation comes and put you in hearse condition whether you are professional or beginners. Our professional guides do their best to make you well with first aid support. If the situation goes worse, you will be evacuated by Helicopter. You are entirely liable for all the expenses incurred in evacuation. So, before coming to Nepal, please make your travel insurance. Ask your guide to arrange a runner to the nearest communication point and inform office about requirement of a helicopter. For evacuation, we require the name of the sick person and the exact location from where helicopter can airlift you. You should not leave the place after calling Helicopter for evacuation though you are feeling better than before.
On the trek, there is a facility of purchasing safe drinking water in teahouses.It is better if you carry the water purifying pills on your own. On camping trek, the water will be treated with Potassium permanganate or Iodine. On the trail, water from the streams is safe to drink, but better not to use it directly for drinking.
Security and a safe journey is our core objective of trekking. Our guide holds licenses issued by the Nepal Government and our staffs are local, honest, kind and genuine. But we also insist you to take care of your own personal belongings. If you are on ‘camping trek’ please take your main bag inside the tent once you reach campsite and put all bags and belongings in the middle of the tent when you feel sleepy. Your guide assigns a Sherpa on turn wise basis to guard the campsite throughout the night. If you are on ‘Tea house arrangement, never leave your baggage unattended and keep your lodge room locked when you go out. Feel safe since you are in the hands of ethical trekking company in Nepal.