Upper Mustang

Raja Jigme Dorje Palbar Bista.

Mustang was once an independent kingdom, although closely tied by language and culture to Tibet. From the 15th century to the 17th century, its strategic location granted Mustang control over the trade between the Himalayas and India. At the end of the 18th century the kingdom was annexed by Nepal and became a dependency of the Kingdom of Nepal since 1795.[3]

Kingdom of Lo Manthang supported Tibet and the Qing Empire during the Sino-Nepalese War.

Though still recognized by many Mustang residents, the monarchy ceased to exist on October 7, 2008, by order of the Government of Nepal.[4] The last official and later unofficial king (raja or gyelpo) was Jigme Dorje Palbar Bista (1930–2016),[5] who traced his lineage directly back to Ame Pal, the warrior who founded this Buddhist kingdom in 1380.[6] Ame Pal oversaw the founding and building of much of the Lo and Mustang capital of Lo Manthang, a walled city that has changed little in appearance since that time period.[7]

In 2007, a shepherd in Mustang discovered a collection of 55 cave paintings depicting the life of the Buddha.[8]

Upper Mustang has a trans-Himalayan climate which is cool and semi-arid with precipitation in the range of 250–400 mm (9.8–15.7 in). It is in the rain shadow of the Annapurna and Dhaulagiri ranges.

The Day and Night Temperature in Upper Mustang according to the months is shown below:

The population of the whole Mustang District in 2001 was 14,981, spread between three towns and approximately thirty smaller settlements. The inhabitants are either Thakalis, Gurung or, in traditional Mustang, primarily Tibetan.

Most of the population of Mustang lives near the Kali Gandaki River, 2,800 to 3,900 m (9,200 to 12,800 ft) above sea level. The tough conditions cause a large winter migration into lower regions of Nepal. The administrative center of Mustang District is at Jomsom (eight kilometres (5.0 mi) south of Kagbeni) which has had an airport since 1962 and has become the main tourist entry point since Mustang was opened to western tourism in 1992.

• 
  Tangbe village from above
• 
  Gyakar village across the gorge
• 
  Kali Gandaki riverbed in Nepal's Upper Mustang. View from Thsele down to the Kali Gandaki river and the fields of Chusang village, with Nilgiri's steep north face.

The main hydrographic feature of Mustang is the Gandaki River. The river runs southward towards Nepal Terai, bisecting Mustang. Routes paralleling the river once served as a major trade route between Tibet and India, especially for salt. Part of the river valley in the southern Mustang District forms the Kali Gandaki Gorge, by some measures the deepest gorge in the world.

Traditional Mustang (the Lo Kingdom) is 53 km (33 mi) north–south at its longest, 60 km (37 mi) east–west at its widest and ranges from a low point of 2,750 m (9,020 ft) above sea level on the Kali Gandaki River just north of Kagbeni to 6,700 m (22,000 ft) at Khamjung Himal, a peak in southeast Mustang.

Upper Mustang is on an ancient trade route between Nepal and Tibet exploiting the lowest 4,660-metre (15,300 ft) pass Kora La through the Himalaya west of Sikkim. This route remained in use until China's annexation of Tibet in 1950.

Mechanized access inside Nepal began with the opening of an airstrip at Jomsom at the approximate boundary between the southern Thak and northern Lo sections of the valley, which was in operation by the 1960s.

China eventually decided to revitalize trade and in 2001 completed a 20-kilometre (12 mi) road from the international border to Lo Manthang.[9] Across the TAR border is Zhongba County of Shigatse Prefecture. China National Highway 219 follows the valley of the Yarlung Tsangpo River some 50 kilometres (31 mi) north of the border.

Meanwhile, road-building from the south was inhibited by difficulties along the Kali Gandaki Gorge to the south, but proceeded incrementally. In 2010, a nine-kilometre (6 mi) gap remained but the road was completed before 2015 and is suitable for high clearance and four wheel drive vehicles.

Currently, the easiest and only widely used road corridor, from Kathmandu to Lhasa—named Arniko Highway in Nepal and China National Highway 318 in the TAR—traverses a 5,125-metre (16,810 ft) pass. This is some 465 metres (1,530 ft) higher than Kora La.

Rigsum Gönpo and Buddhist prayer flags at the entrance of Samar

Foreign visitors have been allowed to the region since 1992, but tourism to Upper Mustang is regulated. Foreigners need to obtain a special permit to enter, costing US$50 per day per person. Most tourists travel by foot over largely the same trade route used in the 15th century. Over a thousand western trekkers now visit each year, with over 7,000 between (mid-July 2018 to mid-July 2019). August and October are the peak visiting months. On August 27, 2010, local youth leaders in Mustang threatened to bar tourists beginning October 1, 2010 due to the refusal of the Nepalese government to provide any of the $50 per day fee to the local economy. Visitation, however, continued uninterrupted beyond that date.[10]

Mustang is rich in Buddhist culture, similar to the area of the Tibet Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China. It is an alternate way to experience the Tibetan culture and landscape to the tours provided by the Chinese government. The Tiji festival in Lo-Manthang is another popular destination for tourists in the area seeking to experience the native culture.

The first westerner in Mustang was Toni Hagen, Swiss explorer and geologist, who visited the Kingdom in 1952 during one of his travels across the Himalayas. French Michel Peissel is considered the first westerner to stay in Lo Manthang, during the first authorised exploration of Mustang in 1964.[11]

• Jomsom Airport
• Mustang Caves
• Sonam Lhundrup
• Tangbe
• Lo Manthang Palace

• Michel Peissel (1967). Mustang – A lost Tibetan Kingdom. Dutton, New York.
• Clara Marullo (1995). The Last Forbidden Kingdom, Mustang: Land of Tibetan Buddhism. Photographs by Vanessa Schuurbeque. Charles E. Tuttle Co., Ltd., Rutland, Vermont. ISBN 0-8048-3061-4.
• Peter Matthiessen (1996). East of Lo Monthang – In the Land of Mustang. Photography by Thomas Laird. Shambhala Publications, Berkeley, Cal.

• Lost Treasures of Tibet, 2003-2-18.
• The Last Lost Kingdom, a Feature Documentary by Larry Levene.

• Media related to Mustang Kingdom at Wikimedia Commons

29°05′N 83°55′E