Mustang Asthanga Yoga-Trek and Tour
Journey with us to heaven on Earth
Mustang Ashtanga Yoga- Trek and Tour
DATES: TO BE ANNOUNCED
$1500 USD
A once-in-a-lifetime retreat in Nepal’s ancient Himalayan Kingdom of Mustang. Beginning in Pokhara, we will travel together to one of the most spiritual and holy places in Nepal- Muktinath Temple. Muktinath Temple is a pilgrimage site for many seekers around the world. We will embark on a journey full of yoga, wisdom, and truth.
On this trip, you will have the chance to visit the most ancient and sacred temples and monasteries, while learning about the local Himalayan culture and yogic practices.
This journey is for all levels of yoga practitioners - through this journey, you will receive the magical energy of the Himalayas and journey deep into you inner self, discovering your pure soul full of unconditional love.
Moderate level of physical fitness is required, for any information about this contact us privately. We will be travelling in higher altitudes and occasionally trekking for long periods of time.
Muktinath, Mustang.
Muktinath is a Vishnu temple, sacred to both Hindus and Buddhists. It is located in Muktinath Valley at the foot of the Thorong La mountain pass in Mustang, Nepal. It is one of the world's highest temples (altitude 3,800 m). It known as Mukti Kshetra, which literally means the ‘place of liberation’ (or Moskha). This place hold incredible power and spiritual presence. For centuries people from all over the world have travelled to this site. The temple is small and contains a human-sized golden statue of Vishnu as Shri Mukti Narayana.
Behind the temple is a semi-circular wall with 108 stone faucets at a height of seven feet. It is believed that once you run and cleanse yourself under each of these spouts, that one is freed of past Karma. We will journey to this site towards the end of our retreat. We will embrace the tradition and get blessings from the Monks who reside there. We will sit at sunrise with the stunning 260 views of the Himalayan ranges in Mustang and enjoy silence and a moment of peace in gratitude of reaching to such an important and spiritual place on earth.
10-Day Example Itinerary:
Day 1: Arrival at hotel 11AM, Opening ceremony followed by lunch, afternoon asana practice and kirtan in Pokhara.Day 2: Morning yoga classes and exploring temples in Pokhara, evening yoga. Day 3: Morning yoga classes, then leave for Tatopani, after arrival trip to to Tatopani springs.Day 4: Leave for Marpha, exploring Marpha, short evening mediation. Day 5: Morning yoga practice, leave for Kagbeni, afternoon philosophy.Day 6: Morning yoga and monastery visit, explore area, philosophy lesson.
Day 7: Trek to Muktinath, afternoon mediation. Day 8: Sunrise Temple yoga visit, exploring muktinath, lunch and then trek to MarphaDay 9: Morning Asana practice, exploring Marpha, leave for Pokhara.Day 10: Last morning practice, check out 11am
Accomodation:
Throughout our journey, we will be staying at various different hotels and villages. The rooms will be usually twin sharing rooms with your fellow retreat participants. There can be maybe an option to request for a private room in special circumstances. Rooms will come with an attached bathroom and hot shower.
Accomodation is included in the price. We will spend three nights total in Pokhara and otherwise we will stop at different villages. Below you can find a detailed explanation of the places we will be stopping at on our journey
Places and villages we will visit along our journey to Muktinath
Pokhara:
Pokhara City is one of the most popular tourist places in Nepal. It is also one of the second largest cities in Nepal. It lies in the Annapurna mountain range and has many places to see and offers numerous outdoor activities. You can take an adventure trip to this city and also enjoy sightseeing at this place. After visiting Kathmandu, people visit this place as it is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Nepal. For its scenic view, of the lush green, golden and silvery shadow of sun and moon on the mountains, pristine lakeside river, it is a haven for trekkers and adventurers. You can take a holiday at the foothills of the Annapurna Mountains in Pokhara city and enjoy taking walking and trekking trials in and around the city. You can also go mountaineering, shopping in the streets and bazaars of Pokhara City, get the spectacular view of the vegetation and the landscape view of the city. There are many places of eatery, clubs, and bars sprawling the streets of the city. This is the place where you can relish complete recreational activities. Visit lakes, temples, historical monuments, and places of amusement when you visit this city.
Marpha:
Marpha is a village in Mustang District under Dhaulagiri Zone of the Western Development Region of Nepal. Marpha village of Mustang, situated at 2,680m from the sea level, is famous for its apple production. Besides the apple and wine production, this village is also famous for the Thakali community, the original architecture of the Thakali community, and their culture and traditions.
Kagbeni:
Kagbeni is a Tibetan village that is the only “Gateway to upper Mustang” located in the Valley of Kali Gandaki River. Kagbeni is known as one of the oldest villages in the Himalayas. Kagbeni lies in the Baragubg Muktikshetra rural municipality of Mustang district in Gandaki province of western Nepal. Kagbeni is situated at an altitude of 2,804 m away from sea level with an area of 58.3 km2. Kagbeni receives power from a hydroelectricity facility from the nearby Kali Gandaki River. Being a small village it has its’ own popularity and stardom throughout the world because of its natural beauty, culture, tradition, and landscape.
Tatopani:
Tatopani is a small village on the very beggining of the journey to Muktinath. We will stop here to immerse ourself into the healing benefits on the end of our Trek. Tatopani Hot Spring, the main bathing area has a pool, saunas, and concrete hot tubs separated into distinct men’s and women’s sides. In addition to clearing impurities from the body, the mineral-rich water from this spring may also rev up a sluggish metabolism, ease muscular tension, and accelerate the process of healing.
Who will be guiding you on this journey
Your teachers for the retreat will be Prem and Mikki.
Prem and Mikki are both experienced Yoga teachers and have been teaching for many year. To find out more, click on the pictures below!
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Originally from Australia, Mikki traveled far from home in search of a deeper meaning of life and to follow the path of yoga. Her journey began in Nepal and since then she has traveled across Nepal and India learning and deepening her knowledge in many areas of Yoga. She teaches daily classes as well as at Teacher Training schools. She teaches Ashtanga Vinyasa, Vinyasa, Meditation, Yoga Nidra, Anatomy and Philosophy. Her heart is pure and guides her students with love and kindness whilst also inspiring many to follow their dreams.
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Prem is from Nepal, born in Lumbini. He has spent the last 7 years travelling around India and Nepal learning from different Gurus and deepening his knowledge in many areas of Yoga. He has taught at many Teacher Training Schools over the years as well as studio and online classes where he specializes in Ashtanga Vinyasa, Adjustment and Alignment, Pranayama Kriya yoga and philosophy. He is a kind and warm soul but will help you discover your hidden talents and skills with a sense of encouragement and strength. He has a deep spiritual presence and has a passion for tradition.
How to travel to Nepal:
There are many international flights to Nepal each day. The airport is Tribhuvan International Airport Kathmandu or Pokhara International Airport.
Tribhuvan International Airport Kathmandu- this is the Capital of Nepal. If you decide to fly into Kathmandu, you will need to travel further to Pokhara either via a domestic flight or you can take Tourist buses. Domestic flight is around 30 minutes and around $150 maximum. For the Tourist bus, they will leave from a popular place in Kathmandu called Thamel. They leave at 7am every day, are around $15 and we can easily help you organize this. If you are coming earlier, once you arrive in Pokhara we can give you suggestions of where to stay or if you are arriving when the retreat is beginning we will provide the accommodation from the starting date (28th).
Pokhara International Airport- This is where we will begin our retreat. This is a recently opened International airport so until now we are waiting for news for the international flights to begin there. Otherwise this is where you will arrive on your domestic flight if you choose this. From there, if you arrive early you can get a taxi to the hotel we suggest or one of your own or if you arrive at the date of the retreat you can come directly there.
What is included:
9 nights accomodation
3 meals daily (fully vegetarian)
Daily yoga classes
Transport from Pokhara throughout the journey to Muktinath
First aid and medical help (Not financial)
Breakfast on final day (12th)
Permit for Mustang
What is not included:
Transport from Kathmandu or any airports
Visa for Nepal
Flight tickets
Health and travel insurance
Alcohol, cigarettes or non-veg items.
Choice of room
Terms and Conditions:
To book we only require a 50% deposit amount from you now to book your spot.
Deposit amount is fully refundable up until 3 months before the retreat start date. After that it will be secured towards the accommodation costs. This also means that by this date you cannot change the date for the retreat.
If before this time you decide you cannot make it, we can change the deposit for a future date in that same 1 year timeframe.
If for some reason the course is canceled from our end, you will get a full refund.
We have a minimum amount of people that need to join the retreat for it to run. This means, we have the ability to cancel the retreat up until the 3 months before the retreat. After this date, there will be no cancellations unless emergency situations occur, and retreat will run as planned.
Any discount offers are only valid within the same year they were running and are non transferable for dates in the next year.
Festival Season in Nepal
October/ November is the season for festivals in Nepal. There are Two festivals that fall in this time period and they are the most important festivals of the year. They are Dashain and Tihar Festivals.
Dashain Festival in Nepal, also known as Vijaya Dashami is the biggest and longest festival celebrated by Hindu Origin Nepalese all over the world. Dashain lies in the month of Ashwin (September/October). Ashwin is the happiest month, which brings joy and a smile to the face of Nepalese people.It is a festival of spirituality and merrymaking as well as a celebration of faith. In celebration of Goddess Navadurga, the festival honors nine manifestations of the goddess. In the first day of Dashain, the Divine Word of God is read each day for nine days. Activities associated with Dashain include swings, kite flying, reading cards, and making animal sacrifices. Nepalese diaspora, as well as other Nepali populations living outside Nepal, observe the festival with equal enthusiasm.
This years dates:
Around October 20th- 30th
The second festival is called Tihar. In fact, some Nepalese even refer to it as “Deepawali”. Its timing is based on the new moon of the Hindu month Kartika, but extends two days before and after that event. Thus, it is a five-day festival. On the Western calendar, it comes in either November or October, varying year to year.While each Hindu ethnic group in Nepal celebrates Tihar in slightly different ways, the main outlines remain the same everywhere. The season is called “the Festival of Lights” after the clay lanterns (“diyas”) that are lit and stacked around houses every night. People use pigmented rice, flour, sand, and flower petals to make “rangoli,” which are decorative patterns on the floors of homes and outdoor areas. They are meant to honour and welcome various Hindu gods and goddesses to the home. Also of high importance is the honouring of various animals during Tihar, they are outlined below:
Day 1: Festival of the Crow
Day 2: Festival of the Dog
Day 3: Festival of the Cow
Day 4: Festival of the buffalo
Day 5: Festival where sisters and brothers give each other Tika on their foreheads to secure for them a happy and long life.
This years dates:
November 11-16th
