Description
Mustang, the Forbidden Kingdom on the northern side of Nepal, is a remote area that opened recently for tourism has breathtaking sights like the Kali Gandaki Gorge, the mystical Mani Walls, ancient monasteries and temples, sky caves, barren landscapes, and farmlands.
Mustang, sharing the borders with the Tibetan Autonomous Region of China and sheltered by some of the world’s tallest peaks including 8000 meters high Annapurna and Dhaulagiri, was a separate kingdom known as the “Kingdom of Lo” ruled by local independent kings. The “Kingdom of Lo” was once a part of the Ngari area of Tibet and a loose collection of feudal estates. Their history is also tied to Tibetan religion and culture, geography, and politics. In the 18th century, it was annexed by the Kingdom of Nepal. Up until 2008, the Kingdom of Lo or Upper Mustang was an ethnic Tibetan kingdom and a suzerainty of the Kingdom of Nepal. It was only in the year 2008 when Nepal became a Republic, that Mustang became another district of Nepal.
Mustang thrived as an independent Kingdom closely tied to Tibetan religion, culture, and geography is still one of the most remote areas of Nepal yet full of natural beauty, cold desert, sky caves, ancient monasteries, and temples. One of the most mystical regions of Mustang – Upper Mustang was opened to Non-Nepali visitors only in 1992 and since then it has been attracting more and more tourists from all around the world.
Geographically, Mustang region can be divided into two – Lower Mustang and Upper Mustang.