Upper Mustang
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Upper Mustang, formerly known as Kingdom of Lo, is the upper part (northern areas) of the Mustang District in the
Gandaki Province Gandaki Province ( ) ), is one of the seven federal provinces established by the current constitution of Nepal which was promulgated on 20 September 2015. Pokhara is the province's capital city. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region in Southw ...
of
Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...
. The ''Upper Mustang'' was a restricted kingdom until 1992 which makes it one of the most preserved regions in the world, with a majority of the population still speaking traditional
Tibetic languages The Tibetic languages form a well-defined group of languages descending from Old Tibetan.Tournadre, Nicolas. 2014. "The Tibetic languages and their classification." In ''Trans-Himalayan linguistics, historical and descriptive linguistics of the ...
. The ''Upper Mustang'' comprises the northern two-thirds of the Mustang District of
Gandaki Province Gandaki Province ( ) ), is one of the seven federal provinces established by the current constitution of Nepal which was promulgated on 20 September 2015. Pokhara is the province's capital city. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region in Southw ...
,
Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...
. It consists of three rural municipalities namely Lo Manthang, Lo-Ghekar Damodarkunda, and Varagung Muktichhetra. The southern third (lower Mustang) of the district is called Thak and is the homeland of the Thakali community, who speak the Thakali language and whose culture combines Tibetan and Nepalese elements.
Tibetan culture Tibet developed a distinct culture due to its geographic and climatic conditions. While influenced by neighboring cultures from China, India, and Nepal, the Himalayas, Himalayan region's remoteness and inaccessibility have preserved distinct ...
of the region has been preserved by the relative isolation of the region from the outside world. Life in Mustang revolves around tourism,
animal husbandry Animal husbandry is the branch of agriculture concerned with animals that are raised for meat, animal fiber, fibre, milk, or other products. It includes day-to-day care, management, production, nutrition, selective breeding, and the raising ...
, and trade. Mustang's status as a kingdom ended in 2008 when its
suzerain A suzerain (, from Old French "above" + "supreme, chief") is a person, state (polity)">state or polity who has supremacy and dominant influence over the foreign policy and economic relations of another subordinate party or polity, but allows i ...
Kingdom of Nepal The Kingdom of Nepal was a Hindu monarchy in South Asia, founded in 1768 through the unification of Nepal, expansion of the Gorkha Kingdom. The kingdom was also known as the Gorkha Empire and was sometimes called History of Asal Hindustan, ...
became a
republic A republic, based on the Latin phrase ''res publica'' ('public affair' or 'people's affair'), is a State (polity), state in which Power (social and political), political power rests with the public (people), typically through their Representat ...
. The influence of the outside world, especially
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
, is growing and contributing to rapid change in the lives of Mustang's people. Development work has increased in recent years.


History

Mustang was once an independent kingdom, although closely tied by language and culture to Tibet. From the 15th to the 17th century, its strategic location granted Mustang control over the trade between the
Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya ( ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the Earth's highest peaks, including the highest, Mount Everest. More than list of h ...
and
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
. At the end of the 18th century, the kingdom was annexed by
Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...
and became a dependency of the
Kingdom of Nepal The Kingdom of Nepal was a Hindu monarchy in South Asia, founded in 1768 through the unification of Nepal, expansion of the Gorkha Kingdom. The kingdom was also known as the Gorkha Empire and was sometimes called History of Asal Hindustan, ...
in 1795. The Kingdom of Lo Manthang supported Tibet and the
Qing Empire The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...
during the Sino-Nepalese War. Though still recognized by many Mustang residents, the
monarchy A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, reigns as head of state for the rest of their life, or until abdication. The extent of the authority of the monarch may vary from restricted and largely symbolic (constitutio ...
ceased to exist on October 7, 2008, by order of the Government of Nepal. The last official and later unofficial king (
raja Raja (; from , IAST ') is a noble or royal Sanskrit title historically used by some Indian subcontinent, Indian rulers and monarchs and highest-ranking nobles. The title was historically used in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. T ...
or ''gyelpo'') was Jigme Dorje Palbar Bista (1930–2016), who traced his lineage directly back to Ame Pal, the warrior who founded this
Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...
kingdom in 1380. Ame Pal oversaw the founding and building of much of the Lo and Mustang capital of Lo Manthang, a walled city that has changed little in appearance since that time period. In 2007, a shepherd in Mustang discovered a collection of 55 cave paintings depicting the life of
the Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha (),* * * was a śramaṇa, wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist lege ...
.


Climate

Upper Mustang has a ''trans-Himalayan climate'' which is cool and semi-arid with
precipitation In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls from clouds due to gravitational pull. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, rain and snow mixed ("sleet" in Commonwe ...
in the range of . It is in the
rain shadow A rain shadow is an area of significantly reduced rainfall behind a mountainous region, on the side facing away from prevailing winds, known as its leeward side. Evaporated moisture from body of water, bodies of water (such as oceans and larg ...
of the Annapurna and Dhaulagiri ranges. The Day and Night Temperature in Upper Mustang according to the months is shown below:


Demographics

The population of the whole Mustang District in 2001 was 14,981, spread between three towns and approximately thirty smaller settlements. The inhabitants are either Thakalis,
Gurung Gurung (exonym; ) or Tamu (endonym; Gurung language, Gurung: ) are a Tibetan people, Tibetan ethnic group living in the hills and mountains of Gandaki Province of Nepal. Gurungs speak Tamu kyi which is a Sino-Tibetan language derived from the ...
or, in traditional Mustang, primarily Tibetan. Most of the population of Mustang lives near the Kali Gandaki River, above sea level. The tough conditions cause a large winter migration into lower regions of Nepal. The administrative center of Mustang District is at Jomsom ( south of Kagbeni) which has had an airport since 1962 and has become the main tourist entry point since Mustang was opened to western tourism in 1992.


Geography

Tangbe, Upper Mustang.jpg, Tangbe village from above View on Gyakar (edited).jpg, Gyakar village across the gorge Kali Gandaki riverbed in Nepal's Upper Mustang.jpg, Kali Gandaki riverbed in Nepal's Upper Mustang. View from Thsele down to the Kali Gandaki river and the fields of Chusang village, with Nilgiri's steep north face. The main hydrographic feature of Mustang is the Gandaki River. The river runs southward towards Nepal
Terai The Terai or Tarai is a lowland region in parts of southern Nepal and northern India that lies to the south of the outer foothills of the Himalayas, the Sivalik Hills and north of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. This lowland belt is characterised by ...
, bisecting Mustang. Routes paralleling the river once served as a major trade route between Tibet and
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
, especially for
salt In common usage, salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl). When used in food, especially in granulated form, it is more formally called table salt. In the form of a natural crystalline mineral, salt is also known as r ...
. Part of the river valley in the southern Mustang District forms the Kali Gandaki Gorge, by some measures the deepest gorge in the world. Traditional Mustang (the Lo Kingdom) is north–south at its longest, east–west at its widest and ranges from a low point of above sea level on the Kali Gandaki River just north of Kagbeni to at Khamjung Himal, a peak in southeast Mustang.


Transport

Upper Mustang is on an ancient trade route between Nepal and Tibet exploiting the lowest pass Kora La through the
Himalaya The Himalayas, or Himalaya ( ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the Earth's highest peaks, including the highest, Mount Everest. More than 100 pea ...
west of
Sikkim Sikkim ( ; ) is a States and union territories of India, state in northeastern India. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China in the north and northeast, Bhutan in the east, Koshi Province of Nepal in the west, and West Bengal in the ...
. Kora La currently serves as one of the active border crossings between China and Nepal. Mechanized access inside Nepal began with the opening of an
airstrip An aerodrome, airfield, or airstrip is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for public or private use. Aerodromes in ...
at Jomsom at the approximate boundary between the southern ''Thak'' and northern ''Lo'' sections of the valley, which was in operation by the 1960s. China eventually decided to revitalize trade and in 2001 completed a road from the international border to Lo Manthang. Across the TAR border is Zhongba County of Shigatse Prefecture. China National Highway 219 follows the valley of the Yarlung Tsangpo River some north of the border. Meanwhile, road-building from the south was inhibited by difficulties along the Kali Gandaki Gorge to the south, but proceeded incrementally. In 2010, a gap remained but the road was completed before 2015 and is suitable for high clearance and four wheel drive vehicles. Currently, the easiest and only widely used road corridor, from
Kathmandu Kathmandu () is the capital and largest city of Nepal, situated in the central part of the country within the Kathmandu Valley. As per the 2021 Nepal census, it has a population of 845,767 residing in 105,649 households, with approximately 4 mi ...
to
Lhasa Lhasa, officially the Chengguan District of Lhasa City, is the inner urban district of Lhasa (city), Lhasa City, Tibet Autonomous Region, Southwestern China. Lhasa is the second most populous urban area on the Tibetan Plateau after Xining ...
—named Arniko Highway in Nepal and China National Highway 318 in the TAR—traverses a pass. This is some higher than Kora La.


Tourism

Foreign visitors have been allowed to the region since 1992, but tourism to Upper Mustang is regulated. Foreigners need to obtain a special permit to enter, costing $500 for ten days, followed by $50 per day. Most tourists visit for the region's trekking trails, which largely follow the same trade route used in the 15th century, although road construction is beginning to impact the areas trekking routes. Over a thousand
western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...
trekkers now visit each year, with over 7,000 between (mid-July 2018 to mid-July 2019). August and October are the peak visiting months. On August 27, 2010, local youth leaders in Mustang threatened to bar tourists beginning October 1, 2010 due to the refusal of the Nepalese government to provide any of the $50 per day fee to the local economy. Visitation, however, continued uninterrupted beyond that date. Mustang is rich in Buddhist culture, similar to the area of the
Tibet Autonomous Region The Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR), often shortened to Tibet in English or Xizang in Pinyin, Hanyu Pinyin, is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the China, People's Republic of China. It was established in 1965 to replace the ...
of the
People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
. It is an alternate way to experience the Tibetan culture and landscape to the tours provided by the Chinese government. The Tiji festival in Lo-Manthang is another popular destination for tourists in the area seeking to experience the native culture. The first westerner in Mustang was Toni Hagen, Swiss explorer and geologist, who visited the Kingdom in 1952 during one of his travels across the Himalayas. French Michel Peissel is considered the first westerner to stay in Lo Manthang, during the first authorised exploration of Mustang in 1964. Peissel, Michel 967 ''Mustang, a Lost Tibetan Kingdom'', Books Faith, 2002


See also

* Jomsom Airport * Mustang Caves * Sonam Lhundrup * Tangbe * Lo Manthang Palace


References


Bibliography

* Michel Peissel (1967). ''Mustang – A lost Tibetan Kingdom''. Dutton, New York. * Clara Marullo (1995). ''The Last Forbidden Kingdom, Mustang: Land of Tibetan Buddhism''. Photographs by Vanessa Schuurbeque. Charles E. Tuttle Co., Ltd., Rutland, Vermont. . *
Peter Matthiessen Peter Matthiessen (May 22, 1927 – April 5, 2014) was an American novelist, naturalist, wilderness writer, zen teacher and onetime CIA agent. A co-founder of the literary magazine ''The Paris Review'', he is the only writer to have won the Nat ...
(1996). ''East of Lo Monthang – In the Land of Mustang''. Photography by Thomas Laird. Shambhala Publications, Berkeley, Cal.


Documentaries


Lost Treasures of Tibet
2003–2–18. * ''The Last Lost Kingdom'', a Feature Documentary by Larry Levene.


External links

* {{Coord, 29, 05, N, 83, 55, E, region:NP_source:dewiki, display=title Former monarchies of Asia Former monarchies of Nepal Tibetan Buddhist places Unification of Nepal Hill stations in Nepal 1380 establishments 2008 disestablishments in Nepal