Yangar and Muchu are the two settlements between Yalbang and Yari on the northern route through Humla, at roughly 3,600 to 3,800 m. This is where the country stops looking Himalayan and starts looking Tibetan: trees give way to juniper scrub and wind-scoured rock. Muchu carries a permit checkpoint, the second of three on the way to the border.
Where Yangar and Muchu are
Both sit in Namkha Rural Municipality, upper Humla, north of Yalbang and south of Yari. Yangar comes first, reached by climbing away from the river after the suspension bridge below Yalbang; Muchu follows, higher again, on the way to the last settlements before the border zone.
They are working villages rather than trekking stops. Houses, walled fields, animals, a school if the village is large enough, and whatever lodging exists arranged household by household. Nobody built anything here for visitors.
The stage from Yalbang: cliff and wind
The trail winds across cliff faces above the Humla Karnali, cut into the rock in places and exposed in others. It is not technical and it does not need equipment, but it is high, narrow in sections, and the drop is real. In monsoon 2026 the surface on this stretch carried loose stone almost continuously, some of it recent.
The wind is the other thing nobody warns you about properly. From here north the valley funnels a wind that gets up through the middle of the day and does not let go until evening. It is why the villages are built the way they are, why nobody plans a long afternoon on an exposed section, and why an early start is worth more here than lower down.
Where the trees stop
The vegetation change on this stage is the most legible thing in the whole of upper Humla. Below Yalbang there is pine. Around Yangar it thins. By Muchu you are in juniper, thorn and scrub, and above that there is very little that is not rock, and the landscape reads as an extension of the Tibetan plateau rather than as the southern flank of the Himalaya.
| Point | Approximate elevation | What grows |
|---|---|---|
| Kermi | About 2,700 m | Mixed forest, terraced crops |
| Yalbang | About 3,000 m | Pine on the bluff, the last real forest |
| Yangar | About 3,600 m | Thinning trees, juniper appearing |
| Muchu | About 3,800 m | Juniper scrub, thorn, barley in walled plots |
| Yari | About 3,850 m | Scrub and grazing, no trees |
| Nara La (Nara Lagna) | 4,580 m | Bare rock and gravel |
The reason it matters practically is fuel and shelter. Where there are no trees there is no firewood, so cooking runs on what can be carried or on dried dung, and a lodge is heated modestly or not at all. It also means there is nothing to break the wind and nothing to stand under when weather arrives.
The permit checkpoint at Muchu
Muchu carries the middle of the three permit checks on the route north. Papers are looked at in Simikot, again here, and again at Hilsa on the border. A party whose documentation is not in order does not continue, and there is no arguing the point at 3,800 m.
The structure to know is that the whole area north of Simikot toward Limi and Hilsa is a restricted area, that the permit is charged per week rather than per day, that there is a two-person minimum, and that a registered Nepali guide is mandatory. No figure appears here on purpose, because rates change and a stale one is worse than none. Confirm the current position with the Department of Immigration or with an operator in Simikot. Our restricted area permits guide sets out the arrangement district by district.
Practical courtesy at a checkpoint: have the papers accessible rather than at the bottom of a pack, let the guide handle the conversation, and do not photograph the post or the personnel.
Living at 3,600 to 3,800 m
Barley in walled plots, yaks and dzo, goats, and long absences by the men who take animals to graze. The houses are flat-roofed and heavy-walled, built low against the wind, with the roof used for drying and storage. Everything about the architecture is an answer to the same two problems: cold and wind.
The animals set the calendar. Yaks and their crossbreeds go up to high grazing in the warm months and come down when the weather turns, and households move with them, so a village that looks half-empty in summer is not declining, it is at work somewhere higher. In winter a good many people leave for lower ground altogether, which is why an out-of-season visitor can find a settlement with smoke from three chimneys and no lodging at all.
Water is the constraint nobody plans for. The streams at this height run off snowmelt and are seasonal, and villages are sited where a channel can be relied on rather than where the view is. Carry more than you think between stages, because the map has more blue on it than the ground does.
This is also the country where the trade with Tibet has always been the other half of the household economy. Salt came south and grain went north across these passes for centuries, and the villages on this stretch were the ones doing it. Our guide to the trans-Himalayan salt trade routes covers that history, which is not incidental to why anybody lives here at all.
For the traveller the altitude is the governing fact. Between Yalbang and Muchu you gain the better part of eight hundred metres, and both villages are high enough that a poor night is common and a bad one is a signal. Sleep low if you can, take the stage in two rather than one if there is any doubt, and read the altitude and acclimatisation guide before you are somewhere it is difficult to act on it.
North from Muchu the route runs to Yari, the last settlement before the border zone, and then to the pass.
Before you travel. Humla is a restricted border district and conditions change without notice. Roads close, flights are cancelled, permit rules and fees are revised, and the Hilsa crossing opens and shuts to different categories of traveller. Confirm the current position with the District Administration Office in Simikot, the Department of Immigration, or a registered local operator before you commit to a route.
Frequently Asked Questions
How high are Yangar and Muchu?
Roughly 3,600 m at Yangar and about 3,800 m at Muchu, in Namkha Rural Municipality in upper Humla. Both sit between Yalbang and Yari on the route toward the Tibetan border.
Is there a permit checkpoint at Muchu?
Yes. Muchu is the second of three checks on the northern route, after Simikot and before Hilsa. The area is restricted, the permit is charged per week with a two-person minimum, and a registered Nepali guide is required. Confirm current conditions with the Department of Immigration or a Simikot operator.
Where does the tree line end in Humla?
Effectively between Yalbang and Muchu. Pine thins out above Yalbang at about 3,000 m, juniper and thorn take over around Yangar, and by Muchu there is nothing but scrub. Above that the ground is rock and gravel, which is why there is no firewood on the upper route.
Is there accommodation in Yangar and Muchu?
Simple household lodging and basic lodges, arranged on arrival. There is no booking, no shop with real choice and no dependable power. These are working villages rather than trekking stops, and everything you need should have left Simikot with you.
What is the trail between Yalbang and Muchu like?
It winds across cliff faces above the Humla Karnali, exposed in places and carrying loose stone. It needs no technical skill but it does need care, and the wind gets up through the middle of the day. Start early rather than late on this stage.