Lo Manthang (Upper Mustang) is a rugged region of north-central Nepal — an area of isolated villages and medieval forts that was once closed to tourists. For those looking for a physical challenge and exposure to the local culture, Myths and Mountains is offering an Aug. 8-26 expedition that includes three days at the Yartung Horse Festival, where colorfully decorated horses race and the locals celebrate. The tour starts with explorations of Kathmandu before flying into the interior and the trek that will lead to the horse festival. This isn’t a walk-in-the-park brand of trekking. As it develops, the trek will often be above 12,000 feet on sometimes rugged trails with camping in tents. But the rewards are many, from striking views of the Himalayas to ancient forts and villages, isolated tea houses and Buddhist monasteries. In addition to the horse festival, among the attractions of the town of Lo Manthang are the many gompas — religious structures — dating from the 14th century. The trip is priced from $6,995 per person, double occupancy, based on seven-10 people. That includes lodging, most meals, camping equipment and English-speaking guides. Internal air adds an additional $289, and horses for those who don’t want to hike are an additional $477. Info: http://tinyurl.com/y9xykx9s
Best beer bars
If your enthusiasm for beer matches your enthusiasm for travel, you’ll want to take a gander at CraftBeer.com’s Great American Beer Bars 2018. The folks at the website asked readers to nominate their favorite craft beer bars, and more than 7,000 responded. One was selected for each state, and interestingly half of the bars on the 2018 list weren’t on the 2017 list. Maybe some of the bars on last year’s list got lazy and didn’t rally their fans to vote. Lovers of draft beer should head to Baltimore, where Max’s Taphouse has 105, plus five hand pumps. Browse the list at https://bit.ly/2q7qzWY.
Family cruise in Europe
Uniworld, the boutique river cruise company, offers the Generations Collection, which adds features to some of its Europe cruises that are aimed at families looking for multigenerational travel. In addition to Uniworld’s all-inclusive amenities, these cruises offer things such as 25 percent off fares for ages 4-17 when traveling with an adult, onboard activities for kids, shore excursions aimed at families and two dedicated “family hosts” who oversee activities for the kids. One of the Generations Collection offerings is the Delightful Danube and Prague cruise July 25. There’s the opportunity to visit the Hospital in the Rock in Budapest, Hungary. The underground hospital was established during World War II and later was a secret bomb shelter. Info on all of the Generations Collection cruises is at http://tinyurl.com/ybgkwkjd.
Phil Marty is a freelance reporter.
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