Treks: Mustang

The Forbidden Kingdom of Mustang … even the name conjures up a place of mystery and magic to enliven the imagination. The reality is even more special a Tibetan culture set in a wild and stunning landscape. Mustang lies behind the great mountains of Annupurna and Dhaulagiri and geographically forms part of the Tibetan plateau. The Kingdom was forbidden to foreigners until 1992 when the Government of Nepal allowed the first trekkers access. The Nepalese now grant special permits to trek in Mustang and the experience is a very special one.

Also known as the Kingdom of Lo, Mustang existed as an independent state as early as the 5th Century AD but was absorbed into Tibet in the 7th Century. Later it achieved a degree of independence becoming an important centre of the Lamaistic Sakvapa sect. After the disintegration of Gumthang in the early 15th Century, Gyalpo Ame Pal (1380-1450) founded a dynasty that has survived until the present day. The present king, Jigme Palbar Bista, the 25th after Gyalpo Ame Pal, was born in 1930. The present population of Mustang is about 6,000 inhabitants.

Our route will take us across the vast Kali Gandaki riverbed, up over windswept passes at 14,000 ft. and across the 'Plain of Aspirations' to the walled capital city of Lo Manthang. All this through a landscape of indescribable vastness and beauty, home to the infamous snow leopard, the endangered bharal (blue sheep), and the mythical mehti (abominable snowman). Rimmed by 20,000+ snow capped peaks and bathed in hues of orange and red rocks with sporadic fields of vibrant green, yellow and red of barley, maize, and buckwheat, Mustang is a step back to a simpler time.

This tour co-incides with the festival of the Teeji one of the most authentic of all the Himalayan festivals. This is the last festival before the road from China comes into operation in 2008.