Are you one of those curious travel freaks who landed on this page hoping to get more insight for a memorable trip to Muktinath? Are you confused about how to reach it? Or are you one of those who doesn’t know whether it is worth visiting? We guess…….. You have come to the right place. This is the blog that would be answering all your queries through our real-life experience.
We call ourselves travel freaks.
Before we start anything, let’s guess what you will be thinking….. Hmmm……
Table of Contents
1. What is so special about Muktinath?
To answer this, you need to read our blog and, at the same time, take a look at our snaps. You will understand. However, before we start, let us give you a general perception of this place.
Muktinath truly reflects Nepal’s cultural heritage and breathtaking natural beauty. It is one of the main reasons why we chose to travel to Nepal. There are few places on earth that you visit during your lifetime, and the memories that you create by visiting those places remain etched forever. This is one such place.
We know what you might be thinking now……..
2. How did we reach Nepal and then Muktinath?
To answer this, let us take a quick recap of our journey in Nepal; we already explored Chitwan and Pokhara. Checkout our Nepal blog series. Our experiences will definitely help you plan your perfect itinerary. In case you need help, please do reach out to us.
So coming back to our journey, you may now ask the next question………..
3. Did we take any permission to visit Muktinath?
The answer is yes; we took permission to visit the Muktinath or the Mustang region. Just like many of you reading this blog, we came to know after reaching Pokhara. Our hotel manager informed us. The permission could be obtained by using any government-issued Indian ID Cards for an amount of 1200 INR/person (for any foreign nationals: Passport is sufficient). The permit was issued by Annapurna Conservation Area Project. We applied and got the permit within a day. Our manager helped us to procure the permit.
Another interesting fact we came to know was that there would be a separate bus for the Muktinath route. In fact, buses also require a special route permit. Nevertheless, we were excited, as always, to visit this heavenly place.
Don’t worry; we do understand you might be wondering…………….
4. How was the journey from Pokhara to Muktinath?
Please fasten your seat belts while reading this as we are taking you on a thrilling and adventurous ride to this heavenly place. Oh, but where were we?
So, we were done with two memorable days in Pokhara. Finally, the day arrived & we started our most awaited journey to Muktinath. It was a chilling December morning. We were ready by 4 o’clock sharp in the morning. The distance between Pokhara to Muktinath was approximately 180 km. We departed at the scheduled departure time.
Even after putting on three layers of thermals, we were still shivering for almost two hours till the sun was out. As we departed in the early hours, we didn’t have breakfast, so thought of having it on the bus itself. But, the road condition was so poor that it was really difficult to have breakfast on the go. We did hold on to our breath till we reached. However, despite the journey being tough, we enjoyed every bit of it.
Trust us when we say that we enjoyed the thrilling ride. Now you may be curious to know the following question by hearing the name of Muktinath again and again………..
5. Is Muktinath for Hindus or Buddhists?
Before answering this, let us continue our journey…….
Our bus did stop for a few bio breaks. There were many trekkers who came all the way to explore the wonders of the Annapurna Region. As we were moving towards Muktinath, the mercury started dipping even below the freezing point. By the time we reached Jomsom, the temperature read –1 °C. Jomsom is a small town where we found a small airport that seems to be used occasionally. The journey continued, and finally, we reached Muktinath by close to noon.
There was only one shop where our bus stopped. As it was off-season (December), there were little or no tourists except us. The hike to the temple was approximately 2 km from the bus stop. In fact, when we started to walk, by talking to a few local people about the place, we came to know it holds immense spiritual significance for both Hindus and Buddhists.
For Hindus, it is believed to be one of the 108 Divya Desams, sacred Vaishnava shrines mentioned in ancient scriptures. It is regarded as the place where Lord Vishnu, the preserver of the universe, attained salvation from the cycle of birth and death. Buddhists, on the other hand, believe that Muktinath is a crucial spot where the great Tibetan saint, Guru Rinpoche (Padmasambhava), meditated during his journey to Tibet.
We felt really nice to see such coexistence of both religions, which added a unique cultural flavour to the pilgrimage experience. Finally, after walking for half an hour (of course, the time can vary depending on how you are soaking in this place), we stood in front of the Main Gate. There were stairs that you need to climb before you could enter the temple premises.
So, we guess we have answered this question. We have a different opinion on this also, irrespective of your religion; you can visit this place and get yourself lost in this heaven.
Many of the non-trekkers reading this might be wondering. Hmmm… Let us guess………..
6. How were the temple and the premises after walking for so long?
For them, we would be glad to share with them that the temple was really beautiful, and the mountain in the backdrop left us awestruck. We stood still for how long, didn’t even realize, as the place seemed to be straight out of fiction.
While entering the temple, after putting off our shoes, it felt as if our feet went numb. As we entered, we saw the idol of Lord Vishnu with his two wives, Bhu Devi and Sri Devi, by his sides. Just as we came out of the temple, we spotted water coming out of the spouts. The temple pandit told us that these were 108 in number.
The place was quite slippery due to the surrounding ice, and one of our co-passengers slipped and fell hard on his knee, be cautious while visiting this place. Also, one can easily spot the picturesque Dhaulagiri from there.
We are sharing our experience with the temple premises. Now you might ask…….
7. How far was the Buddha Statue?
After exiting the temple premises, we started following a path leading to a humongous Buddha Statue. The place is hardly 300 meters from the temple premises. The place close to the Buddha Statue was heavenly.
We tried to capture the beauty of the place by taking snaps. There was a helipad in the close vicinity of the temple premises. The place is worth visiting, taking this tough journey to reach in the month of December.
We understand, after a hectic journey, you wanna know the following question……..
8. Where did we stay for the night in Muktinath?
We will answer this; before that, let us continue with our experience first.
Finally, it was time for us to depart towards our night stay at Marpha. Marpha was approximately 30 km from Muktinath. As there was a slight transition from noon to dusk, the mercury was dipping. We decided to hop onto our bus and reach Marpha as early as possible. However, soon after entering the bus, we realised that we needed to have our packed lunch. So, we thought of having it in the nearby shop. To our utter surprise, even the dipping temperatures froze our packed lunch. Somehow, we managed to have lunch and continued the journey.
We stayed in Marpha on our return journey from Muktinath; you can even stay in Muktinath also. There are a few hotel/homestay options available. Now as we mentioned, we will be staying in Marpha, you might say…….
9. How long did it take to reach, and what is so special about staying at Marpha?
As Muktinath is located at an altitude of close to 4000 metres above sea level, you may find shortness of breath. On our return journey towards Marpha, one of our co-passengers felt uneasiness with difficulty in breathing. Thankfully, the concerned passenger was able to acclimatize to the environment. So, would suggest being aware of this fact and taking extra precautions/medicines along while travelling to this area.
We reached our stay around 5 pm & there was strong bone-chilling winds were blowing outside. In no time, we entered the hotel. For the first time in our travel life, we were greeted with a glass of warm water.
Everybody settled in the hotel lobby & grabbed evening snacks with a hot cup of tea. Some other traveller groups were dancing to the tune of Nepali music. However, the weather was so cold that we thought it better to sit and enjoy in the lobby itself.
In the meantime, the outside weather felt as if there was a thunderstorm, but the hotel manager confirmed that it was normal weather in the month of December. It was already close to 10 in the night, so went to sleep as we had a long journey planned the next day to Pokhara and from there to Kathmandu. However, we could barely sleep at night due to the strong wind noise that was blowing all night.
Despite all the hardships, this was a lifetime experience. Given a chance, we would love to visit again sometime.
With lots of memories, we bid adieu to this iconic place and departed for our next destination. Follow us for our next destination story of Nepal.
Hope after reading this blog, you got a glimpse of this place and will be able to plan a trip to Muktinath.
Last but not least, you might ask one last question………
10. What kind of help are we gonna provide to you?
Hmm, this question is bound to come to your mind. Let us inform you that we prepare itineraries not only for anywhere in India but also for Asia. We have been travelling since we were toddlers. So here in our blogs and stories, we will be giving you a glimpse of our journey and also helping you to plan your trip.
Read about our Uzbekistan blogs.
Read about our Kazakhstan blogs.
Read about our Singapore blogs.
Read about our Vietnam blogs.
Read about our Cambodia blogs.
Read about our Bali blogs.
Read about our Kuala Lumpur blog series.
Read about our Sri Lanka blogs.
Read about our Nepal blogs.
Read about our Char Dham blogs.
Read about our Ladakh blogs.
Read about our day trip to Hyderabad.
Read about our Madhya Pradesh blogs.
Read about our Andaman and Nicobar blogs.
Do follow our Instagram handle @mindfulllofvacations and keep an eye out for the next destination story of Nepal. For any query related to any trip, drop a mail at @mitkau007@gmail.com
by mitkau