Kagbeni

Kagbeni sits at 2,810m at the confluence of the Kali Gandaki and Jhong rivers, marking the official checkpoint between the open Annapurna Circuit and the restricted Upper Mustang region. The village is one of the oldest continuously inhabited settlements in the upper Kali Gandaki, with a tightly packed core of flat-roofed mud-brick houses, narrow tunneled alleys, and irrigated barley fields fed by ancient stone-lined channels.

The 15th-century Kag Chode Thupten Samphel Ling monastery, founded by the great Sakya lama Tenpai Gyaltsen, dominates the village. Its red-walled assembly hall houses old thangkas, statues of Sakya lineage masters, and a small school of young monks. Two clay protector figures — locally known as the male and female Ghorum — stand guard at the village edges in unmistakably pre-Buddhist Bön style.

Kagbeni is a key acclimatisation and overnight stop for trekkers heading to Muktinath, Lo Manthang, or the Nar-Phu valleys. Its position in the rain shadow of the Annapurnas means it stays walkable through the monsoon. A handful of guesthouses, an internet-famous "YakDonald's" sign, and panoramic views up the wind-blasted Kali Gandaki valley make it one of the most atmospheric stops in the region.