From May 3 to 26, we took our third long trek in Nepal, this time to the area north of Annapurna known as Upper Mustang. This is a border area of Tibetan culture along the Kali Gandaki river north of Jomsom, which we visited on both previous treks. Like Dolpo, it is a restricted trekking area, which means more expensive permits but fewer people.

It's an area we've wanted to visit for a long time, even more since we gazed on its varicolored canyons from the trail out from Dolpo. We timed our trip to attend the Tiji or Tenchi Festival, which takes place in Mustang's capital every year on the 27th to the 29th days of the third month of the Tibetan lunar calendar.

After 17 days in Upper Mustang, we spent another week walking back to Pokhara through areas we already covered on our second trek last November. Spring brings new vistas and rhododendron blooms, and we wanted to see some places that we'd passed through too quickly last time.

As before, I have written detailed day-by-day postings with lots of pictures. This time there are even more pictures because I had trouble choosing among the many remarkable views.

To see all the postings, you will have to either keep saying “next page” or select them sequentially from the navigation area to the right.

We are now in Ladakh (India) on a long trek without internet access until we fly home on July 12.