Electricity is available in all major villages and teahouses along the Upper Mustang trek, though availability and reliability vary. The region uses a mix of the national grid, local micro-hydropower, and solar power.
Lower villages may have outlets in rooms, but most teahouses, especially near Lo Manthang, provide charging only in communal dining halls. Charging usually costs NPR 100 to 500 (about $1–$4 USD) per device, with higher fees at higher altitudes, though some lodges offer free charging.
Nepal uses Type C and Type D plugs, so a universal adapter is recommended. Power is generally more reliable than on other remote treks, but outages can occur during cloudy weather affecting solar panels. It’s therefore essential to carry a high-capacity power bank and a headlamp with spare batteries.
Some useful tips:
- To save the batteries from dying fast, avoid looking in the screens, turn the brightness down, and make sure you switch GPS and Wi-Fi options off.
- Furthermore, there’s a high possibility that batteries will drain quickly or gadgets will damage due to cold. You can avoid this by wrapping up the unused devices warmly inside your backpack when not in use.
- For phones and spares batteries that you carry, you can keep them inside the pocket of your down jacket.
