Upper Mustang Is Being Paved: Rs 3.15 Billion to Blacktop the Chhusang–Ghami Road (2026)
Nepal's 2026 budget puts Rs 3.15 billion into blacktopping a key stretch of the Upper Mustang road toward the Tibet border — quietly changing one of the Himalaya's last walk-in treks.
Key facts
- Nepal’s 2026 budget allocates Rs 3.15 billion to upgrade and blacktop the 50 km Chhusang–Ghami section of the Upper Mustang road.
- The environmental assessment for extending the road on toward the Korala (Tibet) border is already complete.
- It is part of the Kali Gandaki corridor linking Pokhara to the Chinese frontier.
- The change is reshaping how the classic Upper Mustang trek is walked.
For decades, walking into Upper Mustang — the old forbidden kingdom of Lo — meant days on a footpath through ochre canyons to the walled capital of Lo Manthang. That is changing, section by section. Nepal’s 2026 budget puts Rs 3.15 billion into blacktopping the Chhusang–Ghami stretch, and the assessment for pushing the road all the way to the Korala border is done. As a local operator, I have watched this road creep north for years; here is what it means on the ground.
What is being built
The Upper Mustang road runs up the Kali Gandaki — by vertical relief the deepest gorge on Earth — from Jomsom toward the Tibetan plateau. It is being upgraded from a rough jeep track into a graded, blacktopped highway in stages. The current Rs 3.15 billion push targets the 50 km Chhusang–Ghami midsection; beyond it, the corridor is planned to reach Korala, Nepal’s highest border crossing with China.
| Section | Status (2026) |
|---|---|
| Pokhara → Jomsom | Largely drivable; being upgraded |
| Jomsom → Chhusang | Jeep road in use |
| Chhusang → Ghami (50 km) | Rs 3.15B blacktop upgrade funded |
| Ghami → Lo Manthang → Korala | Track; extension assessed |
What it means for the trek
Two things. First, access is getting easier: a jeep can now carry you deep into Mustang in a day, which opens the region to travellers who could never spare two weeks on foot. Second, and more bittersweet, the pure walk-in is disappearing — where the road runs, the trail shares the valley with vehicles and dust. The good news is that Mustang is laced with older high routes — via Ghyakar, Ghar Gompa and the eastern villages — that stay off the road and keep the trek wild.
What this means for trekkers
Our honest advice
If a true footpath through Upper Mustang is on your list, walk it soon, and walk it with a guide who knows the off-road high trails rather than the valley road. The scenery — the walled city of Lo Manthang, the cave gompas, the Tibetan-Buddhist culture — is unchanged and extraordinary. And because Mustang sits in the rain shadow, it is one of the few regions trekkable right through the monsoon.
Ready to see the old kingdom before the highway reaches it? Our 12-day Upper Mustang trek uses the quiet high trails to Lo Manthang, and pairs beautifully with the fly-in Jomsom route. For the full permit picture, see our Upper Mustang permit guide — the restricted-area fee is now US$50 per person, per day.
Source: Government of Nepal 2026 budget allocation (Chhusang–Ghami road, Rs 3.15 billion); Department of Roads / Kali Gandaki corridor plans, reported 2026.
Cover photo: Rajan Pun via Pexels (Pexels License).
来源： Government of Nepal 2026 Budget
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