Mustang The Walled Kingdom

Himalayan sights: Dhaulagiri 1- 8163m, Sita Chuchura 6611m, Nilgiri 6940m, Thapa Peak 6015m, Tukche Peak 6920m, Tilicho peak 7134m, Thorong Peak 6484m, Yakawa Kan 6482m, 7035m, Brikuti 6364m, Chuungian Chanma Himal 6165m. Mustang Himal 66234m. Arniko Chuli 6034m. And more snow capped mountains.

Culture/ Attraction: Different Community with majority of Thakali & Tibetan and Great Trans Himalayan landscape etc.

Lake: Damodar Kund (Holy Lake of Hindu religion)

The trek to upper Mustang is similar to trekking in Tibet. It is a geographic extension of the Tibetan plateau, a windswept land of mountains preserving the last authentic remains of Tibetan culture. The district of Mustang was, until 1950, a separate kingdom within the boundaries of Nepal. There is a palace of Mustangi King built centuries ago in Lo Manthang under the possession of Mustangi Raja. The Upper Mustang trek is not as difficult as the other treks in the remote part of Nepal as the highest elevation reached is only 3800 meters. Apart from ACAP Fee, a special permit is needed to enter the place that costs U'$ 500 per person for ten days.

Upper Mustang was an ideal base for Tibetan resistance to the Chinese (It is surrounded by Tibet on three sides); under pressure from Beijing, the government of Nepal proclaimed the region off-limits in the early 1950s. For years, persistent roomers circulated that this region of Nepal would be opened, and now at last it's happened.

In March, 1992, the government of Nepal declared Mustang open for trekkers. However, only a select few 200 trekkers in the first six month will be allowed to explore this culturally fascinating region that for several years has been so tantalizingly close (Only a few days trek from Jomsom).

The early history of Lo is shrouded in legend, myth and mystery, but there are records of events in Lo as early as the 8th century. It is quite likely that the Tibetan poet Milarepa, who lived from 1040 to 1123 visited Lo. Upper Mustang was once part of Ngari, a name for far Western Tibet. Ngari was not a true political entity, but rather a loose collection of feudal domains that also included parts of Dolpo. By the fourteen century much of Ngari, as well as most of what today is Western Nepal, was part of the Malla Empire governed from Sinja.

It is generally believed that Ame Pal (A-ma-dpal) was the founder king of Lo in 1380. The ancestry of the present Mustang Raja can be traced 25 generation back to Ame Pal. Ame Pal, or perhaps his father, conquered a large part of the territory in the upper Kali Gandaki and was responsible for the development of the city of Lo Manthang and many gompas (monasteries).