Pokhara to Korala Border in a Tata Punch EV: Upper Mustang Road Trip

Can you take an EV into Upper Mustang? I wanted a clear answer — not range estimates from a brochure, so I drove my Tata Punch EV from Pokhara to Korala Border and kept a stop-by-stop charge log.

This is the trip: early starts, Kali Gandaki gorge views, charging in Lete and Charang, a night in Lo Manthang, photos at the Nepal–China border, a side stop at Dhumba Lake, and a wet night drive back into Pokhara. If you are planning the same route in an EV, the battery numbers below are what I wish I had before leaving.

Gallery

Trip at a Glance

Why Upper Mustang in an EV?

Upper Mustang is high, dry, and far from dense charging networks. Most people assume a petrol jeep is the only practical option. Driving an EV here is about planning charge stops, not chasing range anxiety after the fact.

What worked for us:

• Leaving Pokhara on a full charge before sunrise
• Treating Lete as the first reliable top-up on the way up
• Accepting that Charang charging is available — but expensive
• Not trying to poke at Korala and return to Pokhara the same day once work in Charang ran late

The scenery does the rest: waterfall spray at Rupse, wind-carved cliffs toward Jomsom, and the open plateau feel once you climb into Upper Mustang.

Day 1: Pokhara to Lo Manthang

We rolled out of Pokhara at 4:00 am with the Punch at 100%. The highway through Hemja, Kushma, and Beni is familiar if you have driven toward Myagdi or Mustang before — quieter in the dark, then steadily more dramatic as the gorge closes in.

Charge log — Pokhara to Lete

By Lete we were at 22% — still rolling, but not a margin I would stretch further into Upper Mustang. We charged to 97% and restarted the “range maths” from there.

Charge log — Lete to Lo Manthang

Jomsom felt comfortable at 83%. The bigger jump was Charang at 29% after almost 246 km from Pokhara — that stretch from Jomsom into Upper Mustang is where you feel altitude, wind, and fewer backups if something goes wrong.

Charang has a charging station, so we topped up to 100%. It was the most expensive plug of the trip: Rs 25 per percent. Worth it for peace of mind, but budget for it if you rely on Charang as your Upper Mustang hub.

Between herds on the road, eroded desert hills, and quiet chortens with prayer flags, Upper Mustang already feels like a different country from the green gorge below Jomsom.

We finished work in Charang too late for a same-day return, so we overnighted in Lo Manthang — only another ~13 km, and we arrived with 83% remaining. Night in the walled capital of Upper Mustang is its own reward after a long EV day.

Day 2: Korala Border, then home via Jomsom

Day 2 started at 6:00 am. The goal was simple: reach Korala Border, take it in, then reverse south toward Pokhara.

The road north is properly rough in places — loose rock, steep dirt track, and dust packing into every body panel of the Punch.

Korala Border

Korala sits at the Nepal–China frontier — a stark plateau landmark and the natural turnaround for this route. We spent time on photos and video, then started back.

Charge and stops on the return

Back in Charang, we charged again — this time to 98% — and grabbed snacks while the Punch topped up. From there we pointed toward Jomsom.

In Jomsom we detoured to Dhumba Lake (2,830 m), a calm turquoise stop that breaks up the long southbound grind. After the lake we charged again in Lete, had lunch, and continued toward Pokhara.

The last leg was hard work for a different reason: heavy rain on the highway. We still rolled into Pokhara around 10:00 pm — a full circle from the 4:00 am start the morning before.

Charging costs & battery reality

A few takeaways from the logs:

• Pokhara → Lete (~130 km) used roughly 78% of the battery on the first leg. Plan a Lete charge; do not gamble on reaching Upper Mustang on residual charge alone.
• Lete → Charang (after the top-up) dropped us from 97% to 29%. That is the stretch that forces a Charang stop if you are continuing to Lo Manthang / Korala.
• Charang charging at Rs 25/% adds up fast. A jump from 29% → 100% is 71% × 25 = Rs 1,775. Useful — not cheap.
• Lo Manthang ↔ Korala was light on the battery (~14% used to the border from Lo Manthang levels), which makes the border day feel comfortable if you charged overnight / in Charang first.
• Rain and night driving on the return matter more for safety and timing than for battery maths — leave buffer so you are not doing wet mountain highways exhausted.

Exact % will vary with AC use, load, tyre pressure, and how hard you climb — treat this as a real trip log, not a warranty chart.

Practical tips for EV drivers

1. Leave Pokhara early — we started at 4:00 am and still needed a night in Lo Manthang. Korala as a day trip from Pokhara is unrealistic in this car without heroic hours.
2. Treat Lete as mandatory on the way up — arriving around 20–25% is fine if you charge there.
3. Budget Charang charging — expect high per-% rates; carry cash.
4. Overnight in Lo Manthang if you reach Charang late — it makes Korala a calm morning objective instead of a rushed race.
5. Build return flexibility — rain, traffic, and second charges in Charang / Lete easily push arrival back toward late evening.
6. Permits — Upper Mustang requires the usual restricted-area paperwork (TIMS / ACAP / Upper Mustang permit as applicable). Sort this before you treat the border drive as a spontaneous weekend plan.
7. Carry offline maps and a power bank — network and services thin out as you climb past Jomsom.

Suggested 2-day EV itinerary

If you want a slower trip, add a night in Jomsom or Charang and drop Korala to a half-day without packing both directions into one marathon return.

Is a Punch EV enough for Korala?

For us: yes — with planned charges at Lete and Charang, a night in Lo Manthang, and no attempt to bluff the whole loop on one battery. The Punch handled the climb and the plateau fine; the constraint is charging access and cost, not whether the car can physically get there.

If you are already in Pokhara and weighing jeep hire vs driving your own EV into Mustang, this route is doable. Just copy the charge-stop pattern more than the odometer flex.

Planning a Pokhara-based Himalaya trip around this drive? Start with Pokhara, browse tours, or pair the road trip with quieter lake time after you return — like stand-up paddleboarding on Phewa Lake.