Trekking in Mustang Region

The Upper Mustang, is an exotic unspoiled Tibetan villages on the other side of Nepalese Himalaya bordering with Tibet. The main highlights of Mustang are ancient Tibetan villages, rare medieval Budhist arts, the exotic culture and the unique beauty of the Himalayan desert.

The medieval settlement of Upper Mustang and its capital Lo Manthang lie in the remote Himalayan desert behind the Annapurna and Dhaulagiri mountains. Foreigners were not allowed to enter Upper Mustang until 1992 . Upper Mustang is not much in contact with rest of Nepal, and keeps an aura of a remote, mysterious and unusual land, which is one of the unique charms of the Mustang trek. Geographically the land is an extension of the Tibetan plateau, characterized by windy and arid valleys, eroded canyons and unique stratified rock formations.

The people in Upper Mustang are of Tibetan origin, migrated from Tibet centuries ago, and belong to Bhotias and Loba communities. They practice Sakyapa school of Tibetan Buddhism. Upper Mustang is perhaps the only place to see Tibetan culture in completely undisturbed state.

The houses and monasteries in here have medieval look and unique local architecture. Mostly they are built with stone and sun baked mud bricks.People mostly grow potatoes, barley and buck wheat .It is a land covering about 2600 sq km in area and 6000 people. All their festivals are religious in nature, the Tiji festival being the biggest . This small medieval kingdom in the vast desert is ruled by a local king .The capital called Lo Manthang , a walled complex with the houses of local nobilities and monasteries will be one of the main attraction of your Mustang trek.

Recently in 2007, an international team of explorers have discovered invaluable objects of cultural and historical importance in Upper Mustang caves. In high caves requiring technical climbing they have discovered beautiful Buddhist murals, and historical objects, dating back, according to them around 800 years ago. The Mustang trekking will reward you with a rare visit to a plce perfectly untouched by modernity, preserving its ancient Buddhist culture, traditions and invaluable art objects in high Himalayan desert. Those having longer holiday can extend their Mustang trek beyond Lo Manthang and visit these caves and further explore the region visiting many of its ancient monasteries and cultural treasures.