Lower Mustang: Winding Through The Windy Valley

The holy lake of Dhumba offers a tranquil break from the rigors of trekking and the attached Katsetemba Gompa houses some curios relics.

The Thakali village of Tukuche was once a major stop on the salt route from Tibet and its splendid architecture speaks of faded glory.

The twin villages of Kobang and Larjung are the heartland of the Thakali people and home to a myriad of curious monuments.

Quick Tips:

In order to enter the Lower Mustang region you need a pass issued by the Annapurna Conservation Area Project (ACAP); these are available from their offices in Kathmandu and Pokhara for 2000NRs.

The cold wind from which the valley gets its nickname blows up the valley from 11am until well into the night so it is best to get your trekking done early.

Best Way To Get Around:

Trekking is the only way to get around this region and the popular Jomson Trek passes through here.

Jomson, at the upper end of the region, has its own airport, flights to/from here to Pokhara cost 50 US and take 25 minutes.

This beautiful lake is one of the holiest Buddhist sites in the valley and the attached gompa is the busiest in the region.

The lake is a tranquil body of water situated in a sweet smelling conifer forest and the area exudes peace and tranquility. The great guru Padmasambhava is said to have stopped here, and admired the lakes beauty, on his way to tame the Bon gods of Tibet. The stone upon which he left his footprints is housed in a small shrine in the grounds of the nearby gompa.

Because of the holy-man’s visit, the site is considered sacred by Buddhists and is administered by the Katsaptenga Gompa that sits high on the ridge overlooking the lake. The gompa has extensive grounds containing chortens and mani walls, funerals can often be witnessed taking place near the gates.

The working gompa is home to a large community of monks and the temple contains some unique relics. The "treasures of the bodily representation" for which it is famous, are a collection of five terracotta icons brought from Tibet. More curious is the Astu ("top of the skull") of a monk engraved with the Tibet letter A that was found there when he passed away after spending his life concentrating on the sound of the vowel.

The lake is a fantastic place to relax and meditate away from the rigors of the trail and the grounds of the little visited gompa offer fine views of the valley.

This peaceful village’s name is a corruption of the Tibetan word Dhuche that means "land of abundant grain" and this was once the center for the salt trade where salt from the Tibetan plateau was exchanged for grain from the lowland farms of Nepal.

The main part of town is clustered around the large square to the north of the settlement and it is here that you will find many of the old merchant houses with their intricately carved windows and balconies. On the eastern corner of the square is the cute little Gompa Samba ("New Monastery") built in the traditional Thakali style the Nyingmapa temple contains a statue of Padmasambhava and a fabulous mural of the sixteen disciples of Sakyamuni. Outside is a curious circular mani wall with a banyan tree in the center. Just off of the square is the Kyupar Gompa ("Monastery Between Two Rivers") this working Nyingmapa gompa was relocated here in 1984 and is home to a lama, a dozen monks and some fine murals.

The 200 year old house situated at the southern edge of town is the family home of the powerful Sherchan clan and served as the customs post from the 19th century when a member of the family was given the position of subha ("tax collector") by the government. It now houses the Tukuche Distillery where you can taste the apple, apricot, peach and carrot brandy churned out by the proprietress Kalpana Sherchan, and admire the beautiful carvings of this grand Thakali home. Next-door is a dilapidated gompa founded in the 15th century by the Kagyupa sect as the Tashe Cholin Gompa ("Isle of Blessing Monastery"). It was renovated in 1836 by Subara Prabha Devi Shah, the second wife of King Rana Bahadur Shah, from whom it takes its modern name Rani Gompa ("Queens Monastery"). It under went further restoration in 1963 by local villagers who converted it to Nyingmapa sect but it has since been allowed to fall into disrepair again.

Nearby is the Mahakala Gompa founded in 1930 and originally dedicated to the three Buddhas, this Nyingmapa temple is now dedicated to Mahakal, a Hindu deity who has been absorbed into the Mahayana pantheon as one of the eight terrible deities and the defender of law. He is traditionally portrayed as dark blue in colour, with long fangs and a pot belly, dressed in tiger skins and carrying a trident and a skull bowl, although whether this is true of the icon in this temple I don’t know as it is kept behind a curtain in the belief that any visitor who looks upon it will die.

The village oozes faded glory with its crumbling gompas and regal dwellings and is well worth breaking your journey for on the way through.

The efficient little village of Marpha has one of the regions best-developed backpacker ghettos and is only a one-hour trek from the airport, making it a popular alternative to Jomson.

The main street of Marpha is a paved thoroughfare lined with lodges, restaurants, book swaps, bakeries, and all the other facilities a trekker needs. For all the things a trekker doesn’t need there are a huge number of souvenir stalls run by Tibetans from the nearby refugee villages of Chharro and Chhimang making this the ideal place to stock up on useless knickknacks and presents for family and friends back home. There is even a public toilet here, although I wouldn’t recommend it unless you are really desperate.

Up a long flight of steps, in the centre of the village, you will find the rapidly expanding Solmi Gompa. The altar of this Nyingma-Pa temple has a fine statue of Avalokiteswara flanked by Amitablia and Padmasambhava. The flourishing gompa’s real treasure however is a 100 year old giant prayer-wheel that was brought from Tibet. The old temple, around the back, has been converted into a meditation hall where the monks are happy for you to while away a couple of hours chanting to yourself or contemplating your navel. If you want some real peace then higher still you will find a large stupa, used as a monks retreat, which dominates the entire village.

Just outside the southern outskirts of the village you will find the Marpha Horticultural Research Station. This was set up in 1966 to introduce new crops into the region. It was here that the apple, which has become so important to local agriculture (not to mention baking), was first grown in the region. It is open to the public daily from 9am to 4pm as, perhaps more importantly, is the attached distillery so pop along for an educational tasting.

Marpha’s strict village council makes sure that the village is kept clean and it does make a pleasant alternative to the dirty modern ‘metropolis’ of Jomsom but somehow it all feels a little bit antiseptic.

These twin villages are where the Thakali people first settled when they came down from the Tibetan plateau and they are now considered sacred places by their descendents the Tamangs.

Kobang is a tightly packed collection of flat-roofed stone houses. The main thoroughfare of which was once just one long tunnel. Although this has long since been opened up. At the centre of the village are the Maki La Khang Gompa (Monestery at the Bottom of the Region), founded in the 15th century by the Nyingmapa sect, and the Kangyar Gompa (Library Monastery), housed in the former home of the village Subha (tax collector) and containing an extensive collection of holy texts brought from Tibet. Larjung is more spread out and has a more rural feel by comparison. There are no gompas but the best lodges are to be found here along the riverbank.

Every twelve years the villages play host to the Lha Phewa (Appearance of the Gods Festival) when the four masks that represent the presiding deities of the four clans are paraded around for 15 days. If however you don’t happen time your visit to fall on one of these days then you have little chance of seeing the masks. For the rest of the year they are kept safely locked away in small temples. The Gauchan (Elephant) and Taluchan (Dragon) masks are in the red and green temples on the hill above Larjung and the Sherchan (Lioness) and Bhattan (Yak) in the white and black temples on the hill above Kobang). You can climb the hills to visit these temples but apart from seeing some finely carved roof spouts they are fairly plain and there is little to see.

The forested river valley between the two hills are dotted with hundred of Khimis. These are small shrines erected by the Tamangs as memorials to their ancestors and house the Astu (top of the skull) of the deceased. They vary greatly in style from simple cairns and niches in trees to more elaborate constructions but are always painted white. You can also see the Ghopra Caves, a derelict collection of Buddhist meditation caves set into the cliff face some of which have small houses built into them, in the hill above Larjung. Up on the hill itself are the small villages of Nakung and Neurikot that are well off the tourist track and relatively unspoiled. Neurikot even has a decrepit Bon-Po gompa that now seems to be mainly used as a grain store.

Larjung has a couple of very pleasant little lodges and a side-trip up into the hills is a great way to get out of the windy valley for an afternoon.