28°32'N 84°21'E · 1,700 m
Signature · Annapurna → Mustang → Dolpo
Twenty days from the green gorges of the Marsyangdi, over the 5,416-metre Thorong La, across the high desert of Mustang and the roof of Dolpo.
The line begins where the Annapurna Circuit begins: in the deep green gorge of the Marsyangdi, climbing through oak and pine past Chame and Bhratang, onto the high shelf of Ghyaru and Ngawal — some of the finest riding in the region — to Manang, at 3,540 metres, beneath Gangapurna and Tilicho.
From Manang the trail grinds up past Yak Kharka to Thorong Phedi, and then, in the dark of a pre-dawn start, over the pass itself: Thorong La, 5,416 metres, prayer flags snapping in thin wind. What follows is the defining descent of the expedition — 2,600 vertical metres out of the alpine and into the rain shadow, where green Nepal gives way to the ochre canyons of Mustang.
Kagbeni is the gate. North of it the caravan routes run through sandstone country — mani walls, chortens, dry river crossings — climbing to a high camp under canvas and over a herders' pass into Dolpo, the least-visited district in Nepal. Chharka Bhot, Tinje, Saldang: villages that see fewer visitors in a year than Thorong La sees in a morning.
The final act runs beneath Crystal Mountain to Shey Gompa, then down to the turquoise of Shey Phoksundo, Nepal's deepest lake, before the long forested descent of the Phoksundo Khola and the mountain flight home from Juphal. It ends, as it should, with a slow day in Kathmandu and a table full of food.
Mangal Krishna Lama leads this tour. In 2022 he made the first solo mountain-bike traverse of the Great Himalaya Trail high route. It was 88 riding days from Kangchenjunga to Hilsa, over twenty-two passes above 5,000 metres, as his log shows. Before that he guided for ten years in Manang, Mustang and Dolpo. The guides who plan your trip are the guides who ride with you.
Surface mix · the days it appears on
140–150 mm travel · aggressive enduro tyres · dropper post essential · strong braking setup
A single expedition crossing three distinct Himalayan microclimates requires precise seasonal timing: the monsoonal subtropical forests of the Marsyangdi, the arid Tibetan plateau rain-shadow of Mustang, and the barren 4,500-metre high-altitude desert of Upper Dolpo. We operate this crossing during windows when passes remain clear and river crossings manageable.
Recommended
Mar · Apr · May
April and May offer optimal conditions as winter snowpack recedes from Thorong La (5,416 m) and the high passes of Upper Dolpo. Days are progressively warmer, high-altitude pastures begin to green, and rivers remain low enough for safe unassisted crossings.
Rideable
Jun · Jul · Aug · Sep
While the initial ascent through the southern Marsyangdi gorge experiences heavy subtropical monsoon rainfall, Mustang and Upper Dolpo lie protected behind the Himalayan barrier in a dry rain shadow. High mountain rivers run full with glacial meltwater, requiring careful ford management.
Recommended
Oct · Nov · Dec
October and November provide the clearest skies, crispest mountain views, and most stable atmospheric conditions across the entire traverse. Days are dry with crisp frozen mornings, firm gravel trails, and crystal-clear vistas across Crystal Mountain and Phoksundo Lake.
Rideable
Jan · Feb
Deep winter brings sub-zero daytime temperatures and heavy drifting snow across Thorong La and the desolate passes into Dolpo. Teahouses in Upper Dolpo largely close as communities migrate down-valley, making the crossing feasible only with fully self-sufficient expedition logistics.
Route profile
Tal 1,700 m · Chame 2,670 m · Manang 3,540 m · Thorong Phedi 4,540 m · Thorong La 5,416 m · Muktinath 3,710 m · Kagbeni 2,804 m · Sangta 3,800 m · High Camp 4,500 m · Chharka Bhot 4,300 m · Tinje 4,400 m · Saldang 3,620 m · Shey Gompa 4,320 m · Shey Phoksundo 3,611 m · Suligad 2,237 m
Day by day
Day 01
Arriving in Kathmandu at 1,400 metres, where our team meets you and transfers you to the hotel. After unpacking and settling in, the team gathers in the old quarter for a traditional welcome dinner. Twenty demanding days across three Himalayan kingdoms begin here, best met with restful anticipation.
Day 02
A dedicated preparation day in Kathmandu. We unpack bikes, dial in suspension, and mount reinforced tyres before sitting down for the expedition briefing. Our guides walk through the route stage by stage: managing oxygen on the two 5,000-metre passes, mule logistics across Upper Dolpo, and weather contingency plans. An easy afternoon spin through the foothills loosens travel legs.
Day 03
drive
Leaving the capital at dawn, our private four-wheel-drive follows the Trishuli and Marsyangdi rivers upstream. We pass Besisahar, where the Annapurna foothills begin, climbing deeper into the canyon until reaching Tal at 1,700 metres—a stone settlement wedged into the river flats at the entrance to Manang. The vehicular road ends; tomorrow the pedalling begins.
Day 04
forest singletrack · rocky jeep tracks · packed dirt roads · loose gravel climbs · suspension bridges · short punchy descents
The expedition begins on the pedals, climbing steadily up the granite gorge of the Marsyangdi. We pedal through pine forests past the waterfalls of Dharapani and the traditional timber houses of Bagarchhap and Timang, catching our first views of Annapurna II and Manaslu towering over the tree canopy before finishing in Chame.
Day 05
high-altitude singletrack · narrow mountain traverses · stone-paved village lanes · jeep tracks · fast alpine descents · loose gravel corners · short technical climbs
Climbing out of Chame past the sweeping granite slab of Paungda Danda and the fragrant apple orchards of Bhratang. We climb into the high northern shelf through the stone hamlets of Ghyaru and Ngawal, enjoying breathtaking balcony singletrack with open panoramas of the Annapurna massif before dropping past Braga’s ancient cliffside monastery into Manang at 3,540 metres.
Day 06
on foot
rocky footpaths · alpine meadows · glacier viewpoints · stone staircases · loose gravel · gentle village trails
An essential acclimatisation day based in Manang. We make an active morning hike up to the turquoise waters of Gangapurna Lake or the high ridgelines towards Ice Lake to stimulate red blood cell production, returning to village teahouses to rest. The afternoon is spent cleaning drivetrains and checking tyre pressures, preparing for the remote wilderness ahead.
Day 07
ridden → hike-a-bike
rocky singletrack · narrow traverses · loose scree · technical switchbacks · gravel climbs · boulder-strewn · alpine hiking trails · extended hike-a-bike
Ascending higher into the alpine zone above the treeline, pedalling through Gunsang and the barren grazing pastures of Yak Kharka. The air thins perceptibly as we grind beneath towering shale peaks to Thorong Phedi at 4,540 metres, resting early in the shadow of the pass ahead of our midnight departure.
Day 08
hike-a-bike → ridden
high-altitude hiking trails · extended hike-a-bike · loose scree · rocky switchbacks · alpine singletrack · technical descents · dusty jeep tracks · desert trails · ancient stone village pathways
A pre-dawn alpine start by headlamp, pushing and carrying bikes up steep frozen scree to the prayer flags of Thorong La at 5,416 metres. Cresting the pass as sunrise ignites the snowfields, we drop into an astonishing 2,600-metre descent, transitioning from glacial gravel into arid plateau singletrack past Muktinath and down into the ancient walled fortress of Kagbeni.
Day 09
hard-packed desert trails · loose gravel climbs · rocky jeep tracks · narrow canyon traverses · dry river crossings · occasional exposed sections
Leaving the main trekking artery behind to turn north along ancient caravan singletrack towards Sangta at 3,800 metres. We ride along wind-carved sandstone bluffs, passing ancient mani walls and whitewashed chortens where the geography shifts dramatically into the arid rain shadow of the Tibetan plateau.
Day 10
ridden → hike-a-bike
remote tracks · high-altitude yak trails · loose scree · rocky traverses · narrow singletrack · alpine ridgelines · hike-a-bike · stream crossings (seasonal)
Leaving the last settled houses behind, we push into the roadless border wilderness between Mustang and Dolpo. We climb across barren river terraces and narrow yak singletrack into High Camp at 4,500 metres. We sleep under canvas tonight beneath jagged ridgelines, with our camp kitchen serving hot food by the warmth of propane burners under deep starlight.
Day 11
ridden → hike-a-bike → ridden
high-altitude alpine trails · loose scree crossings · narrow traverses · fast ridgeline descents · glacial valleys · dry river crossings · technical singletrack · extended hike-a-bike near the pass
Crossing the high frontier over Nyalu La into Upper Dolpo, reaching nearly 5,000 metres on herders’ singletrack. From the prayer cairns at the summit, a wild, technical descent unfolds into the isolated valley of Chharka Bhot—a fortified stone village preserving Tibetan Buddhist culture largely unchanged for half a millennium.
Day 12
high-altitude double track · flowing jeep trails · rocky river crossings · hard-packed dirt · rolling valley trails · short rocky climbs · occasional loose gravel
Traversing the wide, desolate expanses of the Barbung Khola basin towards Tinje at 4,400 metres. We ride fast, rolling double-track and open singletrack across high plateau benches, sharing the valley only with nomadic herders and grazing yak herds with no motor vehicles or power lines for scores of kilometres.
Day 13
high-altitude jeep tracks · narrow alpine singletrack · rocky pass crossings · loose scree · fast ridgeline traverses · technical switchbacks · dry river crossings · flowing valley trails
Ascending high passes above Tinje to cross Jyanta La, soaking in limitless vistas of barren ochre ridges before a long, sweeping descent into Saldang at 3,620 metres. As one of Upper Dolpo’s cultural capitals, Saldang’s flat-roofed stone homes cling to terraced barley fields along the Nagon Khola.
Day 14
ridden → hike-a-bike → ridden
high-altitude singletrack · rocky jeep tracks · loose scree · alpine meadows · river crossings · narrow traverses · technical switchbacks · short hike-a-bike near the pass
Climbing out of Saldang along historic pilgrimage trails towards sacred Crystal Mountain and Shey Gompa at 4,320 metres. We ride between dramatic red cliff walls, arriving at the eleventh-century monastery where prayer wheels spin in mountain wind and butter lamps flicker in silent stone sanctuaries.
Day 15
high-altitude singletrack · rocky traverses · alpine trails · loose gravel corners · flowing descents · stream crossings · stone village pathways · forested trails approaching Phoksundo
Pedalling south across alpine benches in the shadow of the Kanjiroba Himal. Rounding a high spur, the landscape gives way to the deep, luminous turquoise waters of Shey Phoksundo Lake at 3,611 metres. We descend fast, rocky singletrack right to the water’s edge at the ancient Bon village of Ringmo.
Day 16
on foot
A restful sanctuary day on the shores of Shey Phoksundo. We walk through the thousand-year-old Bon monastery of Thasung Tsholing perched on the cliffs above the water, explore the village of Ringmo, or sit on the lake shore watching clouds drift across sheer limestone cliffs.
Day 17
ridden → drive
hard-packed trails · loose gravel climbs · rocky jeep tracks · narrow canyon traverses · dry river crossings · fast forested singletrack
A sustained descent following the crashing waterfalls of the Phoksundo Khola down into deep forests of blue pine, juniper, and cedar. Emerging at Suligadh, we transfer by vehicle to the mountain airstrip town of Juphal at 2,400 metres for our final evening together in Dolpo.
Day 18
flight
Boarding a morning twin-otter aircraft out of Juphal, soaring over the Dhaulagiri and Annapurna ranges before connecting in Nepalgunj for the flight back to Kathmandu. We trade mountain solitude for the warmth of private hotel suites, hot showers, and the lively evening culture of the capital.
Day 19
A leisurely day in Kathmandu to wander the ancient stone courtyards of Patan, shop for handicrafts, or unwind with restorative Ayurvedic therapies before coming together for our celebratory farewell dinner.
Day 20
A private airport transfer delivers you to Tribhuvan International Airport for your return flight home, carrying memories of an extraordinary crossing spanning three Himalayan kingdoms.
From the route
Rider questions
Most of it. The big passes are not — the final climbs to Thorong La and over into Dolpo are extended hike-a-bike with the bike on your shoulder — and a few high traverses ask for short pushes. The descents on the far side are why you carry it.
A 140–150 mm full-suspension enduro bike with aggressive tubeless tyres, a dropper post and strong brakes. Between Manang and Juphal the route is far from any bike shop, so spare hangers, pads and tubes travel with the support crew; setup details are confirmed when you reserve. Bikes can be hired in Kathmandu.
Lodges and teahouses for most of the route, hotels in Kathmandu at either end, and one night under canvas at a high camp around 4,500 metres on the crossing into Dolpo, with the support crew cooking.
Two crossings define the route. Thorong La, at 5,416 metres, is the confirmed high point. The crossing into Dolpo is of the same order, and the exact col is set by the season. Most of the middle week rides between 3,600 and 4,950 metres.
This is an expert-graded expedition. Nearly every riding day rates five of five for physical effort, and the route spends two weeks above 3,500 metres. Acclimatisation is built in — a rest day in Manang before Thorong La and another at Shey Phoksundo — but a deep endurance base is essential.
It is our most demanding — graded expert, twenty days with twelve riding days, and two great crossings, the 5,416-metre Thorong La among them, with extended hike-a-bike where the bike goes on your shoulder. It asks for real high-altitude fitness and confident technical descending.
The paperwork changes as the ground does — a conservation area, restricted areas and a national park on one line. Every permit the route needs is in the Included list below. All of it is arranged as part of the expedition and carried by your guide.
From Shey Phoksundo the route descends the Phoksundo Khola to Suligad, drives to Juphal, and flies via Nepalgunj back to Kathmandu — one of Nepal's most scenic mountain flights — with a rest day and a final dinner before departure.
Departures
Before you reserve
The detail a high-altitude expedition deserves — answered here, and talked through with you personally before your place is confirmed.
Every departure is led by experienced local guides who know this ground. Safety is more than equipment. It is close coordination with the villages, lodges and families along the route, and a local network that gets word and help moving fast. The pace is set by the slowest rider. Altitude is taken step by step. Where a tour climbs on the bike, there are nights at altitude before the high passes. Where a helicopter lifts riders high, they stay up only a short time and ride straight down. The rule on the mountain is simple: if symptoms do not ease, we go down. If a rider has to leave the mountain, the team arranges the rescue, and the rider's insurance pays for it.
These are graded rides at real altitude, with long days in the saddle and sustained descents. We talk through your riding history honestly before a place is confirmed. Be honest with us about how you ride; it helps us match you to the right trip.
Bring your own bike, or hire one from us. Hire is priced by the type of bike: a hardtail at $20–30 a day, a full-suspension trail or enduro bike at $50–80. An e-bike, at $100–150 a day, is by request: we arrange the logistics, charging and support included, where the route allows. We recommend the right type for each tour and for what you like to ride. If you fly your own, check your airline's rules for a bike box and declare the bike at customs in Kathmandu. Your bag, up to 15 kg, travels by vehicle, porter or mule while you ride. Spares and tools ride with the guides, and the kit list comes once your dates are set.
In Kathmandu and Pokhara you stay in comfortable city hotels; on the route, in family-run lodges — simple, warm, shared washrooms at altitude — with breakfast, lunch and dinner included, and a serviced camp on the nights a tour sleeps beyond the lodges. Tell us about any diet when you reserve; dal bhat, noodles, eggs and fresh bread are on every menu. Bring a bottle and a filter or tablets — your guide shows you where to refill.
Breakfast early, on the bike by eight, lunch in a village or on the trail, and at the lodge by mid-afternoon on most days — the light and the weather are kindest before noon. The vehicle or the mules carry the bags; your guide sets the pace to the slowest rider and briefs the next day over dinner. If you need a rest, you ride in the vehicle where there is a road, or walk with one of the team where there is not.
Insurance is a condition of riding: it must cover mountain biking at the altitudes on your route, helicopter evacuation and rescue, medical treatment, and trip cancellation and delay. We check every certificate before departure.
A 30 per cent deposit holds your place, and the balance is due two months before departure, by bank transfer — no card is entered here, and nothing is charged through this site. What happens if you have to cancel is set out in full in our booking terms. Read the booking terms →
We guide you through Nepal entry and arrange every permit your route needs — park or conservation-area entry for the ground it crosses, any local permit the valley adds, and a restricted-area permit wherever the route enters a restricted area. They are carried by your guide, not by you.
One scale for every tour and ride, set by the hardest riding and the altitude together. If you are unsure where you sit, tell us what you ride at home; a guide will say plainly whether a trip suits you.
Intermediate
Red trails in the UK and Europe, blue to black in North America
Three to five hours a day, with most climbs shuttled
You ride red trails with confidence and can do it again the next day.
You have not yet ridden off-road for several days in a row.
Advanced
Red to black trails in the UK and Europe, black in North America
Four to seven hours a day, descents of a thousand metres or more, and some carrying
You ride black trails cleanly, are comfortable on loose rock and steep switchbacks, and can push or carry a bike for an hour at altitude.
Steep, exposed or loose ground still makes you walk.
Expert
Black and double-black in North America; the hardest natural trails in the Alps
Six to nine hours a day, remote, with long hike-a-bike over 5,000-metre passes
You have done multi-day trips in the mountains, ride technical descents tired and cold, and have been above 4,500 metres before.
This would be your first trip at altitude.
Where a day is graded, it carries three scores, each out of five.
“He knows the mountain inside out, every little road, trail, bump — it's fascinating. … I loved the perfect balance between riding time and time to explore the cultural sites and towns.”
The per-rider price falls as the group grows. Everything listed below is included; the figure is confirmed in writing when you reserve, and nothing is charged through this site.
Group sizePer rider
Included
Not included