The first Westerner to arrive in Mustang was the
Swiss geologist and explorer Toni Hagen, who in 1952
made a brief visit to the kingdom during one of his
trips to the Himalayas. The Frenchman Michel Peissel
is thought to be the first foreigner to spend the night
in the capital. During the course of his 1964 expedition,
he was given permission to visit the kingdom. He
subsequently wrote a bestselling book, Mustang:
A Lost Tibetan Kingdom, published in 1967.
For various reasons, Mustang was forbidden to
Westerners until 1992 – in part due to the district’s
proximity to the Tibetan border. Today, the old
commercial routes have given way to tourist tracks,
driving a contemporary economic revival of the older
trading territories. It remains a restricted region that is
difficult to access, however; a maximum of 1,000 visitors
are allowed in each year, and each tourist requires a
permit, for which the fee is high.
If you do not have a special reason for visiting
the former kingdom, you are restricted to a limited
number of days. These limitations have ensured that
the ancient traditions of the Loba people have remained
unchanged. Today, the Kingdom of Mustang is largely
considered to be one of the purest strongholds of
traditional Tibetan culture.
The way to Mustang has traditionally been either on
foot or horseback along much of the same trade route
that was used in the 15th century. It is estimated that
there are around 10,000 inhabitants in this area.
The water run-off from the surrounding mountains
combined with the monsoon rains in summer provides
the people of the area with their agricultural livelihood.
With the onset of winter, parts of the population
migrate to the lower regions of Nepal to escape the
harsh conditions. Most houses have flat roofs, built with
adobe, wood and stone. Sheep horns are placed on the
doors of homes to ward off evil spirits.
Today, the old commercial routes
have given way to tourist tracks,
driving a contemporary economic
revival of the older trading territories
left Goats are herded
inside Lo Manthang. Goat
and yak meat are two of
the main foods in the area
CULTURE