Muktinath Spiritual Yoga Tour

Muktinath sits at around 3,700 metres, high enough that some people notice the thinner air. The tour gains that height gradually over several days, which helps your body adjust, and you spend only one night at the top before descending. The daily breathing practice supports you further. Drink plenty of water, go slowly, and tell your guide how you feel. Most people in reasonable health manage it comfortably, but if you have a heart or lung condition, check with your doctor before joining.

No. Muktinath and the sites along the way are deeply sacred to Hindus and Buddhists, and many people come for darshan and for liberation. But the journey is equally open to anyone drawn to the Himalayas, to yoga and meditation, or simply to travelling slowly and with meaning. You are welcome to take part as fully or as quietly as feels right for you. Nothing is asked of you that you do not want to do.

You do not need to be an athlete or an experienced yogi. Most of the journey is by vehicle, and the yoga is gentle and adapts to your level. There are two easy walks: the village and waterfall at Narchang on day three, and the hike to the Sekong Natural Pool on day five, which takes about an hour and a half each way. If you can walk comfortably for that long and sit through a long drive, you can do this tour.

You travel by road from Pokhara, around 175 to 195 kilometres in all. Done in a single day, that is a punishing eight- or nine-hour jeep drive, but this tour spreads it across several days with plenty of stops, so it stays comfortable. The road is smooth and paved from Pokhara to Beni, then becomes rough through the Kali Gandaki valley, where a sturdy Four Wheel Drive jeep is needed, and is paved again on the final stretch near Muktinath. The rough section is simply part of the adventure, and the slow pace and the scenery make the long drive an experience in itself.

Muktinath is one of the holiest temples in the Himalayas, sacred to both Hindus, who worship Vishnu here as the lord of liberation, and Buddhists, who know the place as Chumig Gyatsa, the hundred springs. Pilgrims bathe under its 108 sacred water spouts and in the holy pond, and visit the eternal flame of Jwala Mai, a small natural flame that appears to burn on water. It is believed to grant liberation from the cycle of birth and rebirth.

No. Bathing under the 108 spouts and in the holy pond at Muktinath is the traditional pilgrim practice, and the water is genuinely, shockingly cold. You are welcome to take part if you wish, or simply to visit, meditate and receive darshan. Nothing is forced, and nobody is judged for standing and watching.

The Kali Gandaki is a sacred river that carved one of the deepest gorges on earth, and it is older than the Himalayas it cuts through. In its bed are found Shaligram stones, black fossilised ammonites, the shells of sea creatures that lived more than a hundred million years ago, in an age when these mountains lay beneath an ancient ocean. Those fossils are the physical evidence for the river's great age. Hindus revere the Shaligram as a sacred form of Lord Vishnu.

Galeshwor Dham, also known as Pulastya Dham, is an ancient meditation ground on the bank of the Kali Gandaki, devoted to Lord Shiva. It is named in the Bhagavata Purana, and the sages Pulaha, Pulastya and Vishrava are said to have practised here. For a pilgrim, it is one of the most atmospheric stops on the route, a place where people have been sitting in meditation for a very long time, and we sit there ourselves for a short practice rather than passing through with a camera.

On day two, you do not simply pass a hot spring; you sleep beside it. After the drive down from Galeshwor, you have the evening to bathe in the natural hot pond, then meditate on the bank of the Kali Gandaki as the light goes. It is the most relaxing night of the trip, and it comes at exactly the right point, before the climb into the high valley begins.

It is a quiet natural pool reached by an easy hike of about an hour and a half from Lete, through jungle and open hillside, with Mount Dhaulagiri standing above it. We arrive around the middle of the day and spend roughly two hours there, which is enough time to actually settle rather than just arrive and turn around. For many guests, this is the stillest part of the whole journey, quieter even than the temple.

Narchang is a Magar village, one of Nepal's indigenous communities, with a waterfall just outside it where we stop for a short meditation. Marpha is the Thakali apple capital of the region, a village of whitewashed houses with flat mud roofs, narrow stone paved lanes, apple orchards and old Tibetan Buddhist monasteries. Both are living villages rather than museums, and both give you a sense of how differently people have learned to live at each level of this valley.

You spend the first night at the ashram, which is a simple mountain village experience rather than a hotel, then four nights in the best available quality hotels along the route, and the final night in a four-star luxury hotel in Pokhara. Breakfast and dinner are included every day, along with fruits and nuts during the day and two cups of tea daily. Lunch is included on day one and as a farewell meal on day six. The food on the road is simple and local, largely vegetarian, and dietary needs can usually be arranged if you tell us in advance.

The lower Mustang region, which includes Jomsom, Kagbeni and Muktinath, sits inside the Annapurna Conservation Area, so an ACAP entry permit applies. The expensive restricted area permit is not needed, since that applies only to Upper Mustang beyond Kagbeni. Permit fees are not included in the tour price, but we handle the paperwork for you. Bring your passport and a couple of passport photographs, and let us know in advance so we can arrange it before you travel.

It suits older travellers well, because almost all of the distance is covered by private vehicle rather than on foot, the pace is deliberately slow, and there is a comfortable room every night. The two walks are optional and gentle. Families with older children manage it comfortably. If you are travelling with young children or with anyone who has a heart or lung condition, speak to us first so we can talk through the altitude honestly with you.

Yes. Groups are small, meals are eaten together, and the daily practice and evening discussions do most of the work of introducing people to each other. The sharing rate pairs you with another guest of the same gender. If you would rather have your own room at the end of each day, the private room rate covers that for the whole journey.