Trip Overview
Tiji Festival Trekking takes to the forbidden kingdom of Upper Mustang, Lo Manthang, where you will spend a few days observing and celebrating the colorful & ancient Tiji Festival.
Tiji Festival Trekking traverses the beautiful and remote Upper Mustang region. Upper Mustang Trekking itself is a famous and loved trek by travel lovers. And, traveling to this place during a major festival of the locals here allows you to have deep insights into the rich culture and tradition of the region. You are trekking through picturesque villages enjoying breath-taking views of the Himalayan Mountains during the Tiji Festival Trek. The trail is adventurous and presents a perfect balance of difficulty.
You see many locals of the nearby villages gather together at the town square during the festival. The dancers present themselves as different characters of demons in flamboyant robes and hideous masks. They perform an ancient dance slashing at the air with their swords and intoning spells over on viewers. You spend about three days indulging in the divine sights, sounds, and movements, a pure once-in-a-lifetime cultural marvel.
This three-day ceremony is lit up with a colorful custom dress, dancing, music, and reenactments from the story of a deity and his demon father. The festival of Tiji is centered on a legend, which speaks about a deity named Dorje Jono who must battle against his demon father to save the Kingdom of Mustang from destruction.
The Tiji festival is also celebrated as a spring renewal. We at Escape Nepal Holidays designed a Tiji Festival Trek itinerary incorporating ample rest days and picturesque villages of night stay. Go through our cost includes and excludes part to know more about the package cost. If you are not satisfied with our proposed itinerary or departure dates. Feel free to contact us anytime for further information.
Tiji Festival Trek itinerary
You take a long scenic drive from Kathmandu to Pokhara and then take a short flight from Pokhara to Jomsom. The flight offers stunning aerial views of the Himalayan Mountains. From here, you begin trekking towards Lo Manthang via beautiful small villages like Kagbeni, Chhuksang, Samar, Geling, and Tsarang. You then spend three days enjoying and participating in the Tiji festival. Further, retracing the path, you reach back to Jomsom and take another scenic flight to Pokhara.
You See & Experience on Tiji Festival Trekking
Scenic drive from Kathmandu to Pokhara
Drive from Kathmandu to Pokhara is going to be long yet scenic. The route follows the Trishuli River. On the way, you get to see amazing views of lush green hills, waterfalls, colorful terraced fields, and small settlement areas. The drive offers beautiful scenery.
Aerial view of Annapurna Himalayas during Pokhara Jomsom flight
From Pokhara, you take a short flight that leads you to the starting point of the trek, Jomsom. During the flight, you get to see aerial views of many Himalayan mountains like the Annapurna range, Dhaulagiri range, Nilgiri, Machhapuchhre, Tukuche, etc. Likewise, you get to see a wonderful landscape.
Picturesque villages with beautiful narrow alleys and white-washed house
This part of the Annapurna range has some of the finest villages. The white-washed houses and ancient monasteries add a splash of color to the barren landscape of the Mustang. These villages have amazing narrow alleys, where you can take some of the marvelous shots. The architecture of the houses matches with the Tibetans.
Observe the lifestyle and culture of the locals similar to Tibetans
This part of Nepal is highly influenced by Tibetan culture and practices. People here follow Tibetan Buddhism. Their culture, tradition, norms, values, dresses, language, and assortments, all are similar to Tibetans. The people here live simple and happy life. You can interact with the locals and get to know them. Many stupas, mani walls, prayer wheels, and shortens are seen throughout the trail.
Cross Nyi La Pass before reaching Lo Manthang
To celebrate the Tiji festival, you have to reach Lo Manthang, and before reaching this place, you have to cross challenging Nyi La Pass (3,840 m). The trail to the top of the pass is difficult and includes steep rocky climbing. From the top of the pass, you get to see an outstanding view of the surrounding mountains.
Explore Lo Manthang
Lo Manthang houses some of the ancient monasteries. You get to visit the Thubchen monastery and Jampa monastery, which is believed to be built in the 15th century. Likewise, you can explore the royal palace, Chode Gompa, Choprang Gompa, and Monastic museum. You explore the local market full of souvenirs and handicrafts shops, small coffee shops, etc in the evening.
Experience Tiji Festival
Introduced back in the 17th century by King Samdup Rabten when he Sakya Trizin Ngawang Kunga Sinam in Lo Manthang to perform a special Vajrakila ritual. Since then, the monks of Chhode monastery are celebrating festivals every year in the royal courtyard. The royal family of Mustang and all the villagers of seven provinces of Upper Mustang participate in the sacred ritual. The festival lasts for three days.
Witness barren landscape and stunning snow - capped Himalayan Mountains
Tiji Festival Trekking offers a stunning barren landscape. You get to see beautiful unique rocks and warm color hills on the way. Likewise, snow-capped mountains like Annapurna range (8,091m), Mt. Dhaulagiri (8,167 m), Mt. Nilgiri (7,061 m), Mt. Tukuche (6,920 m), etc.