Day 1: Arrival in Kathmandu (1,350 meters)

Namaste! Welcome to Nepal!

A representative from our local partner greets you at Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu and transfers you to your hotel. Your time during the day is not planned, so you can explore the tourist area Thamel on your own. In the evening, we meet together with our local representative, Ram, for dinner. Ram is a successful businessman and social entrepreneur, who has done a tremendous amount of work helping the survivors of the April and May 2015 earthquakes in Nepal. After a short informational meeting about our trek, Ram tells us about the relief work he has been involved in since the earthquakes struck Nepal last year.

Day 2: Kathmandu – Pokhara (827 meters)

From Kathmandu, we drive 6-7 hours before reaching Pokhara, where we stay overnight before flying up to the Himalaya and the airport at Jomsom. Pokhara is Nepal’s second largest city and is situated next to Phewa Lake. We arrive in Pokhara in the afternoon. After checking into our hotel, the remainder of our day is not planned, allowing you the opportunity to explore Pokhara freely.

Day 3: Pokhara – Jomsom – Kagbeni (2,810 meters)

We get up early in the morning and fly from Pokhara into the Himalaya to Jomsom. We get the feeling of being up in the mountains immediately when we disembark from the airplane at Jomsom. After collecting our luggage, our trek begins. Our first day of trekking from Jomsom to Kagbeni provides us with beautiful scenery. After 2 – 3 hours of trekking, we reach our teahouse in Kagbeni for lunch. After lunch, we have a look around the village and visit the local monastery, then return to our teahouse, where Maria gives us an introduction to Ishayas’ Ascension meditation. Maria also teaches us our first meditation technique before we eat dinner.

Day 4: Kagbeni – Chhusang – Samar (3,660 meters)

After breakfast, we drive into the valley and start our trek in a village named Chhusang. We walk the rest of the way in the desert-like landscape of Upper Mustang. We pass small, lush villages and encounter breathtaking views of the Annapurna Mountain Range, including one of the fourteen 8,000 meter peaks in the world called Dhaulagiri. We arrive in Samar in the afternoon, where we spend the next two nights.

Day 5: Rest Day in Samar

We wake up in the morning and have a beautiful view of the Annapurna Mountain Range from our teahouse. We learn more about Ishayas’ Ascension meditation, practice yoga and enjoy small-village life in the Himalaya.

Day 6: Samar – Chungsi Cave – Syangboche (3.800 meters)

After breakfast, we visit one of the meditation caves of Mila Repa, a famous yogi and poet, who lived from 1052 to 1135 A.D. We meditate in the cave before we continuing on our journey to the village of Syangboche, where we spend the night in a teahouse.

Day 7: Syangboche – Ghemi (3,520 meters)

Our total walk time today is approximately 3 – 4 hours. We arrive in Ghemi for lunch and explore the village afterward.

Day 8: Ghemi – Drakmar – Tsarang – Lo Mantang (3,810 meters)

Our journey today takes us to Drakmar, a small village that is surrounded by fascinating red rocks. From Drakmar, we walk to Tsarang and visit the famous monastery and library in the village. We drive by car from Tsarang to Lo Mantang, the capital of Upper Mustang and the home to the king of the Mustang region. We stay in Lo Mantang for three nights.

Day 9: Sightseeing in Lo Mantang (3,810 meters)

We sightsee around Lo Mantang and visit the King’s Palace as well as monasteries with sacred murals that have been restored through a collaborative project between the local inhabitants and western conservationists. During our walk, we discover how the Tibetan people live their everyday lives in Lo Mantang.

Day 10: Horse Riding to the Garphu Monastery (3,810 meters)

We ride on the horseback up the valley towards the Tibetan border. Along the way, we stop at the Garphu monastery as well as visit some of the villages in the area. We return to Lo Mantang in the afternoon.

Day 11: Lo Mantang – Ghar Ghumba – Drakmar – Ghemi (3,520 meters)

We leave Lo Mantang after breakfast and start on our way back to where we started our journey. On today’s trek, we reach the highest point of our trip (4,280 meters). Along the way, we also visit the sacred Ghar Gompa, a legendary monastery off-the-beaten-path. After visiting the monastery, we eat lunch and then continue to Drakmar, which we also visited on our way to Lo Mantang. We end our day in Ghemi, where we stay overnight. Today is a rather long day – around 10 hours, including our visit to Ghar Gompa – but it is my favorite on this trek, as it is filled with beautiful scenery and a special culture attraction.

Day 12: Ghemi – Chhusang (2,980 meters)

We start our last day in Upper Mustang by driving close to Samar, where we have lunch. Afterward, we continue our hike to Chhusang, surrounded by beauty and awesome views of the Annapurna Mountain Range. We overnight in Chhusang.

Day 13: Chhusang – Muktinath (3,760 meters)

We walk 5 – 6 hours on a rough path to reach Muktinath, a village located on the famous Annapurna Circuit Trek and a pilgrimage place for both Buddhists and Hindus. The highest point on today’s walk is Chago La, located at 4,077 meters. We arrive in Muktinath for lunch and sightsee in the village afterward.

Day 14: Muktinath – Jomsom – Pokhara (1,350 meters)

We get up early in the morning and drive to Jomsom Airport, where we fly to Pokhara. We arrive at the hotel in Pokhara before lunch, and the rest of the day is free.

Day 15: Pokhara – Kathmandu

We get up early in the morning and drive to the Airpot, where we fly to Kathmandu. We arrive at the hotel in Kathmandu around Lunch time, and the rest of the day is free.

Day 16: Kathmandu Sightseeing

After breakfast, we drive to one of the Tibetan neighborhoods in Kathmandu, Boudhanath, to begin our sightseeing. We tour the small Buddhist monasteries in the area surrounding the famous Boudhanath Stupa. Located in East Kathmandu, the Boudhanath Stupa is one of the largest stupas in the world. It stands with four pairs of eyes in the four prime directions keeping watch for virtuous behavior and human success. We continue our walk through the streets of Boudhanath and continue to the traditional neighborhood of Kopan on our way to the Kopan Monastery, which is situated on a hillside on the outskirts of Kathmandu. Following a guided tour of the monastery by one of the monks, we eat lunch in the visitor’s restaurant, where we enjoy one of the best views of Kathmandu. After lunch, we drive to the famous Pashupatinath Temple and walk around its grounds. Pashupatinath Temple is a Hindu temple devoted to Lord Shiva located beside the Bagmati River. It is one of the most significant temples for Hindu devotees around the world. The golden pagoda temple is richly carved with silver doors. During Maha Shivaratri, which is held every February/March, a big fair is held around the temple. Both Pashupatinath Temple and Boudhanath Stupa are UNESCO World Heritage sites. After visiting Pashupatinath Temple, we return to our hotel. The rest of the evening is free.

Day 17: Final Departure

On our farewell day, a representative from our local partner transfers you to Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu for your departure. We at Live A Life In Motion will do our best to give you an extraordinary time together with us in Nepal. We look forward to meeting you on our trek in Nepal.

 

Tour Leader: Ingvill Ytreland

In 2013 and 2014, Ingvill journeyed to Asia, where she spent ten months in Nepal and six months in the Himalaya on treks and climbing expeditions as well as visits to remote sherpa villages. Her first trek was the classic Everest Base Camp. In November 2013, Ingvill summited one of the classical mountains in the Everest region named Ama Dablam (6,812 meters). She returned to the Everest region in Nepal in 2014 and 2015 with the goal of climbing the world’s highest mountain, Mount Everest (8,848 m). Unfortunately, her expedition was canceled in 2014 after an avalanche killed 16 climbing Sherpas in the Khumbu Icefall. In 2015, her expedition was canceled again when a 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit Nepal on April 25, 2015. Ingvill has experience from trekking in the Mount Everest, Annapurna, Ganesh Himal, Rolwaling, Langtang and Upper Mustang regions of Nepal, the Ladakh region in India and the Snowman trek in Bhutan. Besides Ama Dablam, Ingvill has summited multiple other 6,000 meter peaks, including Island Peak (6,189 m) and Lobuche East (6,145 m) in the Mount Everest region in Nepal and Lungser Kangri (6,666 m) in Ladakh, India. Ingvill has been fortunate to have learned about the challenges one can meet on expeditions through not only her own experiences, but also from experienced mountain guides.

Ingvill holds a master degree in business and economics from the Norwegian Business School. She has 20 years work experience as a procurement and project manager at different companies and consultancy corporations in Oslo. For the last ten years before starting her journey, Ingvill worked for Skandinaviske Enskilda Banken.

Meditation and Yoga Teachers

Jonathan Weber

Jonathan will be leading the meditation and yoga for the starting on June 1st 2017.

Jonathan has 30 years of experience in yoga and meditation, inspired by his first meeting with teacher Ram Dass in 1987. He has a special interest in the practice of Tibetan Buddhist yoga, and has spent over a year in India and Nepal studying its traditional roots. Jonathan combines his long experience in Eastern traditions with a modern science-based training. As a certified Mindful Hatha Yoga and MBSR Yoga Therapy instructor (Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction), he is passionate about bringing meditation and yoga together in a way that everyone can practice, and seeing the transformative and positive effect of these practices.

Jonathan has been teaching in Norway since he arrived in 2006. With an intuitive and compassionate approach to teaching, he offers mindfulness and yoga as a way to realize greater well-being and vitality. Jonathan brings a warmth, gentleness, and grounded presence into his teaching and daily life.

Jonathan is also an accomplished Visual Artist and Illustrator, educated through the Pacific NW College of Art.  Originally from Oregon, USA, he now lives and teaches in Oslo, Norway.

 

This equipment list is made based, in part, on my own experience from my journeys in Himalaya as well with the advice given by others on their equipment lists. All specific products and/or materials mentioned below are those, which I have had experience with myself and can personally recommend.

In Norway, we have a tradition for using products made of wool for underwear and base layers, fleece or wool as mid-layers and a wind and waterproofed shell or down as our outer layer, all depending on the temperature and weather, of course. It has been my experience that using wool as the first layer is much more conducive to keeping warm in cold weather, as compared to under layers made of technical materials.

The brands, which I have used and have had good experience with, are:
Brynje of Norway and Icebreaker (for clothes made of wool)
Mountain Hardwear, Norrona and North Face (for outer layers)

Both this advice and list are based on my best tips. I am not sponsored by any of the brands that I recommend. These are strictly my recommendations for you if you have to buy new equipment for the trek. If you already have some or all of this equipment, then, of course, you use what you have.

Sleeping bag and mattress:
• One sleeping bag with a recommended comfort temperature of –10 C/+14 F Example: Marmot Sawtooth
Note: If you do not have a sleeping bag, one can be borrowed from our local trekking agency partner for no additional charge.
• ADDITIONAL: Exped Synmat 7 Mattress
Note: A thin mattress is included in the price. The mattress recommended above is if you would like extra comfort on the trek.

Underwear:
• Icebreaker or similar (see the underwear category on www.icebreaker.com)

Base Layer:
• One pair of thick woolen long underwear (example: Brynje Arctic longs or Icebreaker Vertex leggings (women), Icebreaker Apex leggings (men), or similar)
• One pair of thin woolen long underwear (example: Brynje Classic longs or Icebreaker Oasis Leggings, or similar)
• One thick woolen long sleeve shirt (example: Brynje Arctic shirt or Icebreaker Tech Top Long Sleeve, or similar)
• One thin woolen long sleeve shirt (example: Brynje Classic Shirt or Icebreaker Oasis Long Sleeve Crew, or similar)
• Two t-shirts (example: Brynje Classic t-shirt or Icebreaker Oasis Short Sleeve Crew, or similar)

Mid Layer:
• One fleece jacket of your own choice

Outer Layer:
• One warm down jacket (example: Mountain Hardwear Nilas Hooded Down Jacket, or similar)
• Two pairs of trekking pants of your own choice.
• One wind- and waterproofed jacket and trousers/pants. I prefer GoreTex. (example: Norrona or Mountain Hardwear.)
• Shorts

Footwear:
• One pair of liner socks (example: Icebreaker Hike Liner, or similar)
• One pair thick woolen socks (example: Icebreaker Mountaineer mid-calf sock, or similar)
• Two pairs of trekking socks (example: Icebreaker Hike Medium Crew, or similar)
• One pair of trekking boots (example: Scarpa SL Active, or similar)
• One pair of sandals

Hand and Head Gear:
• One beanie
• One warm hat
• One sunhat
• One buff long neck, or similar
• One pair of gloves
• One pair of warm mitts (example: Mountain Hardwear, Jalapeno OutDry Mitt, or similar)

Other Equipment:
• Sunscreen (SPF 50 or higher)
• One pair of UV-A & UV-B blocking sunglasses
• One headlamp with extra batteries
• One travel yoga mat
• One 30-40 liter daypack
• One toothbrush, toothpaste, soap and moisturizing cream
• One travel towel
• One water bottle and thermos
• Wet wipes and antibacterial gel
• Imodium, Paracetamol, Ibuprofen, Universal plaster/Band-Aid, Compeed plaster/blister cushion, Chlorine Dioxide tablets for water purification
• Camera

Even though our guests have been healthy on our treks, we recommend that you ask your doctor for prescriptions of antibiotics in the case of dysentery and Diamox, which is used to prevent altitude sickness. We will not use these drugs, unless it is necessary.

All equipment must be packed in duffel bags for the porters to carry them. If you do not have a duffel bag and want to borrow one from our local agent in Kathmandu, please notify us in advance of your arrival. 10 kg/22 pounds of luggage, per person, is included in the price of the trip. For an additional fee, it is possible to rent your own porter. It is possible to leave luggage that you to not need on the trek with our local agent in Kathmandu at no additional charge.

Visas
A visa for Nepal can be purchased upon arrival at the airport. You will need two passport photographs and $40 USD in cash to apply for a 30-day visa.Your passport must be valid for at least 6 months and contain at least one empty page for the visa.

Cancellation Insurance
Customers must arrange their own cancellation insurance. If you have taken out travel insurance for a full year, check whether cancellation cover is included before buying separate cancellation insurance. Cancellation insurance must be valid from the date of booking.

Travel Insurance
Customers must arrange their own sickness, accident and travel insurance valid for altitudes of up to 5,500 meters above sea level. Check the terms and conditions of your travel insurance for such coverage. Many travel insurance policies limit the altitude to which they provide coverage. You may need to take out supplementary coverage. A copy of your valid travel insurance policy must be sent to the Arranger before the start of your tour.

Included in the Price:

• Four nights accommodation (breakfast inclusive) at Hotel Holy Himalaya in Kathmandu on a twin-sharing basis.*
• One night accommodation (breakfast inclusive) at a tourist hotel in Pokhara on a twin-sharing basis.*
• Airplane ticket Pokhara – Jomsom (to and from the trek)
• Car drive from Kathmandu to Pokhara
• Airplane ticket from Pokhara to Kathmandu
• Eleven nights full-board accommodation in local teahouses on a twin-sharing basis. Included in the price in tea and coffe to the meals and boiled water. Alcohol, soda and bottled water are not included.
• Meditation and yoga instruction
  
• All applicable trekking fees (Special trekking permit in Upper Mustang value $500 US dollar.)
  
• Sightseeing, including all fees, where applicable, in the Tibetan neighborhood of Boudhanath and the Hindu temple Pashupatinath
• Arrival and return transportation between the airport and hotel
• Welcome and farewell dinners.
• An English-speaking tour leader and yoga- and meditation teacher

* for an additional fee, it is possible to get single room accommodation at the hotel in Kathmandu and Pokhara.

Not included in the price:

• Airfare to Kathmandu
• Vaccination
• Insurances
• Visa

Live A Life In Motion is a Norwegian-registered company. For this reason, Live A Life In Motion offers pricing and payment options for our treks in both Norwegian Kroner and U.S. Dollars to our customers from which to choose.

Prior to payment, the customer and Live A Life In Motion agree upon which currency the customer will make his/her payment for the trek. All bank/transaction fees are the responsibility of the customer.

Price:
$4,140 US Dollar