Upper Mustang
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Upper Mustang, formerly known as Kingdom of Lo, is the upper part (northern areas) of the Mustang District in the Gandaki Province of Nepal. 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 Upper Mustang comprises the northern two-thirds of the Mustang District of Gandaki Province, Nepal. 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 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, and trade.
Mustang's status as a kingdom ended in 2008 when its suzerain Kingdom of Nepal became a republic. The influence of the outside world, especially China, is growing and contributing to rapid change in the lives of Mustang's people.<ref>Mustang: A Kingdom on the EdgeAl Jazeera Correspondent Template:Webarchive</ref> Development work has increased in recent years.
HistoryEdit
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 and India. At the end of the 18th century, the kingdom was annexed by Nepal and became a dependency of the Kingdom of Nepal in 1795.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
The Kingdom of Lo Manthang supported Tibet and the Qing Empire during the Sino-Nepalese War.
Though still recognized by many Mustang residents, the monarchy ceased to exist on October 7, 2008, by order of the Government of Nepal.<ref>China View news</ref> The last official and later unofficial king (raja or gyelpo) was Jigme Dorje Palbar Bista (1930–2016),<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> who traced his lineage directly back to Ame Pal, the warrior who founded this Buddhist kingdom in 1380.<ref>Wild, windy and harsh, yet stunningly beautiful; The Sunday Tribune; April 21, 2002</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
In 2007, a shepherd in Mustang discovered a collection of 55 cave paintings depicting the life of the Buddha.<ref>Shepherd leads experts to ancient Buddha cave paintings; Guardian Unlimited; May 4, 2007.</ref>
ClimateEdit
Upper Mustang has a trans-Himalayan climate which is cool and semi-arid with precipitation in the range of Template:Cvt. It is in the rain shadow of the Annapurna and Dhaulagiri ranges.
The Day and Night Temperature in Upper Mustang according to the months is shown below:
| Month | Day Temperature | Night Temperature |
|---|---|---|
| December, January, February | 0 to 5 °C
32 to 41 °F |
-25 to -20°C
-13 to -4 °F |
| March, April, May, June | 16 to 22 °C
61 to 72 °F |
-6 to -2°C
21 to 28 °F |
| July, August, September | 20 to 33 °C
68 to 73 °F |
-3 to 0 °C
27 to 32 °F |
| October, November | 12 to 20 °C
54 to 68 °F |
-8 to -4 °C
18 to 25 °F |
DemographicsEdit
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 or, in traditional Mustang, primarily Tibetan.
Most of the population of Mustang lives near the Kali Gandaki River, Template:Cvt 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 (Template:Convert 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.
GeographyEdit
- 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, bisecting Mustang. Routes paralleling the river once served as a major trade route between Tibet and India, especially for salt. 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 Template:Cvt north–south at its longest, Template:Cvt east–west at its widest and ranges from a low point of Template:Cvt above sea level on the Kali Gandaki River just north of Kagbeni to Template:Cvt at Khamjung Himal, a peak in southeast Mustang.
TransportEdit
Upper Mustang is on an ancient trade route between Nepal and Tibet exploiting the lowest Template:Convert pass Kora La through the Himalaya west of Sikkim. Kora La currently serves as one of the active border crossings between China and Nepal.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Mechanized access inside Nepal began with the opening of an airstrip 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 Template:Convert road from the international border to Lo Manthang.<ref> Template:Cite news</ref> Across the TAR border is Zhongba County of Shigatse Prefecture. China National Highway 219 follows the valley of the Yarlung Tsangpo River some Template:Convert 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 Template:Convert 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 to Lhasa—named Arniko Highway in Nepal and China National Highway 318 in the TAR—traverses a Template:Convert pass. This is some Template:Convert higher than Kora La.
TourismEdit
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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. <ref name="horizonguides.com">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> <ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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.<ref name="horizonguides.com"/> Over a thousand western 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.<ref>Mustang to Bar Tourists</ref>
Mustang is rich in Buddhist culture, similar to the area of the Tibet Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China. 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.<ref>Peissel, Michel [1967]. Mustang, a Lost Tibetan Kingdom, Books Faith, 2002</ref>
See alsoEdit
ReferencesEdit
BibliographyEdit
- 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. Template:ISBN.
- Peter Matthiessen (1996). East of Lo Monthang – In the Land of Mustang. Photography by Thomas Laird. Shambhala Publications, Berkeley, Cal.
DocumentariesEdit
- Lost Treasures of Tibet, 2003–2–18.
- The Last Lost Kingdom, a Feature Documentary by Larry Levene.