“Namaste my friend, welcome to Moo-stung”, shouts a local.
The Kingdom of Lo in Upper Mustang is the last relatively untouched Tibetan vestige on our planet. The valleys amidst Mustang hide an amazing collection of treasures and ancient tales courtesy of the centuries-ago Buddhist migration that passed through the Kingdom’s lands from India to Lhasa in Tibet.
“...hide an amazing collection of treasures and ancient tales…”
Stupas appear randomly scattered throughout the bleak-barren landscape. The many monasteries, intricately carved into hillsides, house carefully kept wall paintings depicting the life of Buddha. Mustang’s rich red earth is fabled witness to battles between demons, where the expelled ‘bad’ demon’s blood spilled into the soil. Unscaleable cliff faces are adorned with cave villages so communities could take refuge against foreign raiders or during times of flood. Everywhere lies relics of a magical past - some are carefully displayed, some protected, many are kept secret and much still remains undiscovered.
The high altitude desert on the western flank of Nepal poignantly points, like one’s index finger, towards Tibet (which is currently governed by China). A while ago, road construction commenced to service commercial trade between China and Nepal. Much of the region, however, still remains inaccessible, but the lives of the Lobe communities face steady change as the road advances further and further into the Kingdom. Twice a week - when I visited - a lorry would deliver much needed supplies. In 2008 the Kingdom of Lo was dissolved. Now new beginnings await whilst the region’s legend wafts like incense into the future.
“…the region’s legend wafts like incense into the future”
The ‘Kingdom of Treasures‘ is my preferred description of Upper Mustang. For this high-altitude, cold, wind-blasted desert is still a kingdom of beauty, a valley of Buddhist treasure and home to the last generations from the Kingdom of Lo.
Mystical. Magical. Welcome to ‘Moo-stung’.
“Mystical. Magical. Welcome to Moo-stung!”
