Jhong village and the north side of the valley

Most visitors to Muktinath see only the temple and Ranipauwa. Across the valley, on the north side of the Jhong Khola, are older villages that see far fewer outsiders. We walk down from Ranipauwa past fields and poplars, cross the stream and climb gently to Chhyonkhar, then on to Jhong, about 1.5–2 hours in all. The path is easy but the altitude, around 3,600 m, makes it slower than it looks.

Jhong stands on a spur with the ruins of an old fort on the hilltop above, one of several forts that once guarded the Muktinath valley and the route between Lo and the south. The village has a gompa, tight lanes of mud-walled houses and terraced barley fields. Life here runs on farming and herding, with little tourism, so walk quietly and ask before entering courtyards or the gompa. The fort ruins are fragile, so view them from below.

From Jhong the view stretches back across the valley to Ranipauwa, the temple grove and the long slope up to the Thorong La. On the way back, we drop through fields to the jeep road and either walk up to Ranipauwa or take a jeep. The walk works well on your acclimatisation day, or on the afternoon after a dawn temple visit. It shows you a side of Muktinath most pilgrims never see.