Mustang

Upper Mustang (Lo Manthang) was closed to foreign visitors until 1992 and retains an extraordinary Tibetan character largely unchanged for centuries. The walled city of Lo Manthang, capital of the ancient Kingdom of Lo, contains the royal palace, three major gompas (monasteries), and whitewashed houses of the Lo-pa people. The landscape is otherworldly — ochre cliffs, eroded canyons in deep reds and yellows, and sky caves carved into vertical walls that contain ancient Buddhist murals and mummies. A special restricted area permit (USD 500 for 10 days) is required beyond Kagbeni. The classic approach is a domestic flight from Pokhara to Jomsom followed by a jeep or multi-day trek north through the Kali Gandaki valley.