It is believed that all miseries / sorrows are relieved once you visit this temple (Mukti=Nirvana, Nath=God). The main shrine is a pagoda shaped temple dedicated to Lord Vishnu. Set into the wall around it is 108 waterspouts from which pour holy water.
There are many stories which tell of Vishnu turning into stone and all of them are closely connected to the holy Kali Gandaki River. This river, also known as the Salagrami, is a few hours walking from Muktinath-Chumig Gyatsa.
In Muktinath some of the signs are its high mountain location and its headwaters site, and the presence of certain natural elements such as fossils and fires; these have tempted Man, in the search for god on earth, to create a supernatural field, a sacred world where Vishnu and other deities are believed to abide. At Muktinath, these include such wonders as fire burning on water and the fossils of primitive sea creatures (ammonites) found high in the mountains, many thousands of metres above sea level and thousands of kilometers from any contemporary ocean. It is safe to say that in the overall sacred environment, these natural-supernatural elements take on prime importance and are of considerable attraction to all pilgrims, Buddhist and Hindu alike. Alongside, the three natural elements at Muktinath -- the spring water, natural gas fires and fossils, there is also a sacred grove of popular trees of the species Populus ciliate, locally called lekh pipal or bhot pipal.
Location
Muktinath is situated on the upper part of the river Kali of Buri Gandaki on the north side of the main Himalayan range and south of Lo-Manthang or Mustang. Its precise location is 29° 11' N. latitude and 83° 53'E. longitude, at an elevation of 3,8000m (or approximately 12,500 ft) on the western slopes of the Damodar Himal, northern extension of the Annapurna Himalayan massif.
Muktinath is in the high Himalayan arid zone bordering China's Tibetan Autonomous Region (Xizang). This northern region of Nepal is often called Bhot (Tibet), and its inhabitants 'Bhotia'. Muktinath shrine is near the headwaters of the Jhong River, a tributary of the Kali Gandaki in the north-eastern corner of Thak Khola, a dry trans-Himalayan valley in Nepal's Mustang District.
PROGRAMS DETAILS FOR MUKTINATH DARSHAN BY HELICOPTER
Day 01 :
Arrive to Pokhara / O.N. hotel
Day 02 :
Pokhara- Muktinath- Pokhara by Helicopter. O.N. hotel
Day 03 :
Sight seeing in Pokhara. O.N. hotel
Day 04 :
Departure from Pokhara.