Along the Kali Gandaki, Mustang, Nepal

Politically part of Nepal, the Kingdom of Mustang, is ethnically and culturally more closely aligned to its Northern neighbour, the Tibetan Autonomous Region (TAR) of China. In fact, Tibetan Buddhist traditions continue to thrive in Mustang, whereas in the TAR, Buddhist culture has been restricted by the Chinese authorities, and diluted by the growth of mainstream Chinese culture. The fact that the region has been open to tourists only since 1992, and even then in a regulated way, has helped to preserve Mustang’s cultural integrity where a traditional lifestyle, revolving around animal husbandry and trade persists.

Today, Mustang is an isolated Kingdom steeped in tradition, but historically it has served as a major trans-Himalayan trade route, connecting the Tibetan plateau with the tropical Indian plain. The road currently being constructed through the region will be the lowest drivable corridor between China and the Indian plateau and is likely to bring rapid change to a region until recently closed to the outside world.

Until the construction of the road, the main route through the Kingdom followed the Kali Gandaki River. Rising on the Tibetan border, the Kali Gandaki bisects Mustang, forming an important water source in this high altitude desert behind the Himalayan rain shadow. The trade routes ran parallel to the river bringing salt, wool, grain and spices across the mountains between Tibet and India. The Kali Gandaki spills out of Mustang through the Kali Gandaki Gorge, which lies between Dhaulagiri (8167m) and Annapurna I (8091m) making it one of the deepest gorges in the world.