use a 4x4 vehicle or a high powered
bike, to cater to the challenging roads
within the park. A few Buddhist mon-
asteries are located within the park.
Although I could not visit all of the
monasteries due to my packed sched-
ule, I did visit a couple of them. The
jungle is dense and needs a certain
level of skill to deal with it. A spec-
tacular view of the entire Kathmandu
city can be captured from zero point
in Shivapuri.
After experiencing the thrills of
the jungle, I set off towards my next
destination, the Pokhara Lake for a
serene camping experience. Being in
the midst of hills, chirping birds, lying
under the night sky full of stars, hear-
ing the crickets cry and soft waves of
the water soothing your nerves is an
experience that cannot be described
in words. I spent one full day lazing
around and enjoying my own compa-
ny, no regrets there …
I had gathered enough energy to
now change direction and was ready
to experience the loftiness of the Hi-
malayas. I hit the road with Mukti-
nath as my next targeted destination.
Interestingly Muktinath is also
commonly known as lower Mustang,
maybe because of the exhilarating
off road experience it offers, anyway,
that’s purely my guess.
I’ll digress a little for my biker
friends and give some insights into
how to prepare for the Mustang Valley
trip.
The ideal would be to take a dirt
bike. An adventure bike is not apt for
this terrain. Though it is only about
120 kilometres from Pokhara, you will
need to carry some extra fuel to cover
a distance of at least 500 kilometres.
The drop in mileage is huge due to the
challenging terrain. Along with ex-
tra fuel, extra engine oil, puncture kit
and inflating pump, a bash plate is a
TRAVERSE 63
must, to avoid a broken engine cover.
You do not need to carry food supplies
as that is readily available but do not
forget your camping gear.
To deal with the heavy luggage on
my bike, I decided to leave my ex-
tra baggage at a roadside food stall.
I planned to pick it up on my way
back. There is only one way into
and out of the Mustang Valley so this
plan worked just fine. The people are
friendly, helpful and honest so leaving
your stuff behind is not a problem.
The trouble taken and time spent
to visit Mustang Valley was absolute-
ly worth its while because the entire
journey is very scenic. You can drive
and admire the peaks that are visible
all along. Some of the famous peaks
visible on this route are Dhaulagiri,
Annapurna, Machapuchare and a few
more.
On my way back from Mustang I
visited Sarangkot which is famous as a