intersecting territories, the Silk Road also brought
about the exchange of ideas: scientific knowledge, craft
and architectural techniques, and the interchange
of religious views. The stories of explorers who
ventured along these routes were formative to the
discovery of sections of Asia that were once thought
to be completely inaccessible.
The Land the Road Forgot
One such place along the old salt road (and quite
possibly, owing to recent archaeological evidence,
along the old Silk Road) has, until recently, remained
relatively unreachable.
This is the district of Mustang, or the “Land
of Lo” – a rarely visited remote area located between
the Tibetan Plateau on the one side, and the Dolpa
and Manang Districts of Nepal on the other. The
ancient kingdom, which is now annexed to Nepal, is
occasionally mistaken as the mythical Shangri-La.
The walled capital, Lo Manthang, is widely considered
one of the most well-preserved historical fortresses on
Earth, and is currently being considered by UNESCO
as a candidate to be declared a World Heritage Site.CULTURE