MUSTANG TOURIST PLACE

                       TREKKING IN NEPAL

Trekking in Nepal is also changing. Many assume walking in the Himalayas is only for rugged types who enjoy roughing it. That was true in 1953, when Everest was first climbed and Nepal trekking didn't exist. Now there are new ways to experience the Himalayas: luxury lodges for those looking to take in the views with a bit of comfort; treks that focus as much on culture as scenery; and new lodges and homestays for those who want to relax and get beneath the surface of Himalayan life. Our travel experts have not only researched but also lived and breathed most destinations around Nepal. We know how best to avoid tourist traps and go beyond run-of-the-mill experiences. Travel is about inspiration. Your travel dreams inspire us to plan and design a unique experience just for you. All you need is an idea, we’ll take care of the rest.

Q1. Why Upper Mustang Trek ?

Upper Mustang is a restricted area and up till 1992 it was forbidden for foreign visitors to enter the kingdom. Nowadays foreigners are welcome to Upper Mustang for a permit fee of US$ 500 (to be arranged through a trekking agency and valid for 10 days, each additional day costs US$ 50).

TripAdvisor

The Mustang region of northern-central Nepal is unlike any other place in the country, it is characterized by its barren, windswept humps of mountain desert earth, all shades of pink, purple, brown, and gray. Travel to Upper Mustang, Mustang’s cultural and political center, is exceptionally more difficult. The Upper Mustang trek brings you into the hidden world of the old Buddhist kingdom of Mustang, also called Lo. Lo used to be part of the Tibetan empire and is therefore closely tied to Tibet in culture, language and geography.

To trek in Upper Mustang is a rare privilege. Here you will experience the way of life of true mountain people, who were not much in touch with the rest of Nepal for hundreds of years, and even until recent times had an officially recognized king. In many ways, a trek into Upper Mustang is similar to trekking in Tibet, as geographically it is a part of the Tibetan plateau. The district of Mustang was, until 1950, a separate kingdom within the boundaries of Nepal. The last king, the Raja of Mustang, still has his home in the ancient capital known as Lo Manthang.

Upper Mustang lies in the rain shadow of the Himalaya, making it a great monsoon trek and open year-round for trekking. The main consideration is the winter, when most residents leave the capital to avoid the cold and snow. Generally, the best time to visit Upper Mustang is from March to early November. As with other treks in Nepal, teahouses are available along the entire trek in Upper Mustang. Teahouses are simple houses, often the home of the family that runs them, and offer basic meals in a communal eating hall along with bedrooms, usually with two single beds.

Q2. Where is Mustang?

Explorers such as Professor David Snellgrove and the Italian scholar Guiseppi Tucci and Michel Peissel visited Mustang in the 1950’s and it has largely been their tales of a Tibetan-like arid region locked off from the outside world that has fuelled interest in the area.

Mustang District ( in Nepali: मुस्ताङ जिल्ला ), a part of Dhaulagiri Zone, is one of the seventy-five districts of Nepal, a landlocked country of South Asia. The district, with Jomsom as its headquarters, covers an area of 3,573 km² and has a population (2001) of 14,981. The district straddles the Himalayas and extends northward onto the Tibetan plateau. Upper Mustang, the former Lo Kingdom comprises the northern two-thirds of the district. This kingdom was a dependency of the Kingdom of Nepal but was abolished by the republican Government of Nepal on October 7, 2008.

Mustang is a remote sub-kingdom within the Himalayan region of north-central Nepal. The people of Mustang are ethnically Tibetan; the population is only about 15,000 total. Most live along the banks of the Kali Gandaki River, once a major trade route through this mountainous region. There is no Potala Palace or Drepung Monastery in Mustang, but this arid ancient land tucked away in the far north of Nepal, beyond the snowy Himalayas, is like a flashback to the Tibet of the 1950s and before, when the Dalai Lama still reigned in Lhasa. Untouched by modern civilisation, isolated in its rugged mountain terrain, a way of life persists here in Mustang that is fast disappearing in Tibet proper. And unlike Tibet proper - overrun by China in the 1950s - Mustang’s ancient Buddhist monasteries haven’t been desecrated or destroyed and religious leaders haven’t been thrown into prison.

In addition to trekking routes through the Lo Kingdom ("Upper Mustang") and along the Annapurna Circuit in lower Mustang, the district is famous for the springs and village of Muktinath (a popular Hindu and Buddhist pilgrimage site), apples, and Marpha brandy. Mustang was a lost kingdom of Tibet where traditions may remain more Tibetan than in Tibet proper following its annexation by China.

A shepherd in a remote region of Nepal bordering Tibet has been instrumental in the discovery of an extraordinary art treasure that lay hidden for centuries: a collection of 55 exquisite cave paintings depicting the life of the Buddha. The 12th-century paintings - a large central mural flanked by smaller panels - were found last month in a partly collapsed cave last month in Mustang, a kingdom long forbidden to foreigners in the high Himalayas, 150 miles north-west of Kathmandu. "Finding the cave was almost like a miracle," said Italian art conservator Luigi Fieni, a member of the team of Italian, American and Nepalese art conservators, conservation architects and archaeologists. They used ice axes to cut their way to the cave, at 3,400 metres.

Mustang Map

Foreigners were permitted to enter Mustang only in 1992, and Mr Fieni's team began work there nine years ago, restoring spectacular wall paintings in a crumbling 15th-century Tibetan monastery. It was when they asked about other art treasures in the region that a villager remembered having seen, as a boy, a cave full of colourful paintings. "Unlike the murals in the monastery, the Mustang cave paintings do not reveal a Tibetan but a strong Indian influence, including the animals they depict - leopard, tiger, monkey and deer," said Mr Fieni. "In fact, the style evokes the fabulous cave paintings of Ajanta, which predate the Mustang caves by several centuries."

The simultaneous discovery of ancient Tibetan manuscripts in nearby caves has also led to speculation that the area might have been a teaching retreat, similar to the Buddhist university in Nalanda. Mustang is of significance to Buddhist scholars as perhaps the only region where Tibetan culture and religion have survived virtually untouched by time or the depredations of modern Chinese colonisation - although a road was recently opened to the capital, Lo Manthang.

Guru Gyaltsen, a Tibetan Lama, said: "The Mustang people are Tibetans. They speak the Tibetan language; their origin is in the Tibetan culture." For centuries, the region was part of Tibet, before being taken over by Nepal. The location of the cave has been kept a secret to deter smugglers. The explorers call it the Snow Leopard Cave, as the animal's footprints were found inside. "The cave paintings have been affected by wind and rain, and really need restoration," said Mr Fieni.

Planning the trek: The trek is a two-week affair and expensive. Individuals are not allowed; permits are given only to groups of 2 and above. Contact Adventure Connexion Office in Lazimpat, Kathmandu. The trekking agency will organise permits, which cost US $ 500 per person, and other formalities.

Culture and Peoples of Mustang

The Upper Mustang Trek is a great alternative for travelers who want to experience real Tibetan culture as it was in the past. The Loba (Lo Pa) people are ethnic Tibetan and practice a form of Buddhism from the Sakya lineage. There is also a sect of the rare Bon religion here. The Bon priests practice along with Tibetan lamas at local festival. For those who are interested in religion, anthropology, Asian studies, mythology, art or antiquity this is a great field study.

The People

The Loba, the about 6,000 inhabitants of Mustang, are very close to the Tibetans regarding culture, language and religion. In the 8th century, Buddhism had been brought to Mustang by the Indian Buddhist master Padmasambhava and the inhabitants adopted this religion as their own. During the centuries, though, many Buddhist teachers, Tibetan lamas and monks left the country. Lately, old deserted monasteries have been renovated with the help of the local population and are in use again.

The language of Mustang’s population, called Loba or Lowa, is a Tibetan dialect. In Mustang you also find other Tibetan dialects as well as Nepali. Most of the Loba live in the vicinity of the river Kali Gandaki. With the changing seasons, large parts of the population have to move to Nepal's lower regions, since the rough climate makes agriculture and therefore survival impossible.

Culture and Religions of Mustang

The origins of Buddhism go back to India to Gutama Buddha from the dynasty of Sakaya. In the eighth century, during the Yarlung Dynasty, Buddhism reached Tibet. Form Tibet it spread further to Mustang. In the highlands of Tibet a new form of Buddhism emerged as part of the Mahayana Buddhism in which the Lama (Guru) played the central role integrating many rituals and locale religious tradition.

In Buddhism the concept of Karma, the law of cause and effect and the belief in reincarnation are essential. All beings suffer and take part in the eternal circle of reincarnation. Thos who dedicate their lives to teaching and meditation can escape this circle and reach the Buddha status – the enlightenment. This way they reach Nirvana and redeemed. One special characteristic of the Mahayana Buddhism in the Kingdom of Mustang is the ideal of Bodhisattva. The Bodhisattva is an enlightened being that renounces to the last step of enlightment in order to provide the force of redemption to all creatures.

Like in all Buddhist parts of the Himalaya prayer flags are raised to spread blessings through the country.