![]() Sanggee had been there for coming up to a year, and we were the first people to visit the cave within the last three months as it had been winter in Mustang meaning very few locals and no tourism. We were however in luck we met Sangee a Tibetan who had moved to Nepal as a refugee in 1992, he had immaculate English, so was able to talk with me for a couple of hours about his life, and a small history of the cave – initially found in around 800AD by an Indian Lama (Monk), and had over the centuries had different elements added to it. A lot of these caves have had Monks live in them at some point in time, but the vast majority are not occupied. I wasn’t too sure what to expect but the guide had explained that there were a lot of these caves across Nepal/Mustang and how it is fairly common for Buddhist Monks to go off and find solitude as the Buddha once did to practice meditation. ![]() On the 3rd day when trekking from Chele to Syangmochen we saw on the map a little detour to a Buddhist cave, so made the effort to go visit. I started off my trip by taking a small 16 seater plane from Pokhara to Jomsom, a small town in Lower Mustang where we me and my guide Kipa, would start our trek. The aim of the project was to visit the area, learn more about their culture, tradition, Buddhist religion, history, education, and document how all of this is being affected by better transportation, western influence and tourism. I knew there was limited electricity, simple accommodation and no internet to me that triggers excitement! I wanted to see and experience Mustang now, before the area changed and had a lot of influence from western culture as a much of the world has now I wanted to get off the grid. I was aware that within the past few years a road had connected Mustang to the rest of Nepal, prior to that there was a path (which was the route I took) however wide enough and suitable for a family, and their Yaks or Horses…and possibly a motor bike, certainly no jeeps or such like. They lived a simple life, very rich in Tibetan Buddhist culture, which has been preserved well, and to my understanding you could almost experience what Tibet would have been like prior to Chinese invasion in 1950. ![]() The people of area were of Tibetan ancestry and were known as ‘Lhobas’. I first heard about Mustang about 6 months ago a lost Kingdom, hidden in the Himalayas, part of Nepal, bordering with Tibet. However this most recent trip was different I set out with a plan, I had researched the area of Mustang, Nepal extensively, had learnt about its history and thought I had a somewhat clear idea of what to expect when I arrived how wrong I was! I’ve travelled a fair amount before, and for the vast majority have always had a camera at my side documenting the various trips. ![]()
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