Trekking and Photography in the Himalaya: mustang

Showing posts with label mustang. Show all posts

Thursday, January 28, 2021

THE FANTASTICAL KINGDOM OF LO | Guest Post by Persis Anklesaria

Persis Anklesaria, is a veteran South Col trekker, keen photographer and gifted writer. In this post she recounts her journey to the once forbidden kingdom of Mustang - a fascinating part of the Himalayan rain shadow.

Wedged between the Himalayas and shuttered Tibet, lies an ancient Buddhist kingdom within the borders of Hindu Nepal.

The kingdom of Lo.

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In the year 1380, the warrior chieftain Ame Pal, gained control of the trade routes between India and Tibet, established a kingdom and built Lo Manthang --- a grand walled capital of palaces, monasteries and gompas.

Nothing much has changed since then. Sheltered behind 26,000 ft. high peaks, the Lobas continue to live a centuries old existence, farming, raising livestock and preserving their ancient faith. Today, this domain of approximately 13 settlements is the last bastion of pure Tibetan culture, its monasteries the finest example of Buddhist art, and Ame Pal’s capital the best-preserved medieval fortification in the world.

Till the 1950’s the only route into Mustang was on horseback via treacherous passes. Now, a Chinese road extends from Lhasa to Kathmandu, daily flights bring in a gaggle of tourists. Before a way of life disappears forever, eight Southcol Expedition trekkers including me, embark on a 7-day, 64km climb from Jomsom airstrip (9000 ft.), northwards to Lo Manthang (12,400ft.).

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As the Tara Air, 16-seater lifts off, Pokhara’s lake and green fields slip away, melting into puffy clouds. Within minutes the skies darken as we tunnel between the world’s two greatest mountain ranges at wingtip distance. The Annapurna Peak metamorphoses into her fabled fish tail, while across the aisle, the east face of Dhaulagiri, 26,000ft of dazzling beauty floats past the windows. Below us the light-speckled Kali Gandaki River, its plunging gorges, valleys and tributaries, bisect the terrain. Half-an-hour later we are in Jomsom, a brown, barren, rocky desert.

Mustang | Flowers and Plants in the Trans Himalaya

The rain shadow area of Mustang close to the Tibetan border is similar to the rest of the Trans-Himalaya and close to Tibet in topography and features.

One would expect that this desert like terrain where the winds howls up the Kali Gandaki river valley every day would not be conducive for plant life.

A South Col team trekked Mustang to Mustang twice in 2015 and again in 2016. We were very surprised to find so many flowers and plants in bloom.

Here are some photographs of the plants and flowers we saw:

For more information and photographs on Mustang do visit

http://www.sujoydas.com/Nepal-Himalaya/Mustang-In-the-Land-of-Lo/i-LMNdRDz

http://sujoyrdas.blogspot.in/2015/09/mustang-and-lo-manthang-itinerary-part-i.html

http://sujoyrdas.blogspot.in/2015/09/mustang-and-lo-manthang-itinerary-part.html

Friday, March 16, 2018

Himalayan Faces

Watching from the ruins of her home - Kaule Village - Nepal after the earthquake April 2015

On my treks over many years in the Himalaya, I have been fortunate enough to photograph the people living in these remote locations and villages. Some of the interesting faces of the Himalaya are in this post.

At Tashiding monastery Sikkim - March 1987

Porter in the Solu Khumbu April 2011

Boys from Photoksur village - Zanskar September 2007

Leh Ladakh September 2008

Samagaon - Manaslu region April 2017

Watching masked dances at Tabo, Spiti October 2011

For more photographs from the Himalaya please do visit www.sujoydas.com

Saturday, December 2, 2017

Mustang Nepal | The Trans Himalaya

Cultivated fields of Chuksang

Mustang (from the Tibetan möntang (Wylie: smon-thang), Nepali: मुस्तांग Mustāṃg "fertile plain"), formerly Kingdom of Lo, is a remote and isolated region of the Nepalese Himalayas. The Upper Mustang was a restricted demilitarized area 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. Tibetan culture has been preserved by the relative isolation of the region from the outside world.

The Upper Mustang comprise the northern two-thirds of Mustang District of Dhawalagiri Zone, Nepal. The southern third of the district is called Thak and is the homeland of the Thakali, who speak the Thakali language, and whose culture combines Tibetan and Nepalese elements. 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. from Wikipedia

Some images from Mustang are below:

Monastery Tsarang

Ploughing the fields outside Drakmar village

Entrance of Drakmar

Man made plantations Gheling

Pass of Mui La 4170 m on the road to Ghar Gompa

Village of Geling

North of Lo Manthang

Friday, November 24, 2017

The Himalayan | November 25th 2017 Kolkata

OF HIMALAYAN CLIMBS ,TRAVELS & TECHNOLOGY –
A program hosted by ‘THE HIMALAYAN’ 25th November (Saturday) at the Gorky Sadan, 6pm.

THE HIMALAYAN’ was conceived in 2017, to attract like-minded people in the promotion of the Himalaya through lore and its preservation, through Travel, Expeditions, Explorations, and Adventure, and support of its Nature, Ecology, Culture, as well as the well-being of its people.

The primary inspiration has been a vision that encompasses the incorporation of a balanced, incisive as well as interactive dissemination platform for the reporting of Himalayan Activity–Of Climbing, Science, Literature and the yonder, in a manner befit to stimulate the Intellectual yearning of the erudite mountain lover, as well as to kindle the fertile mind of the incorrigibly romantic young mountaineer.

‘The Himalayan News’ is the flagship Newsletter that is being globally distributed. We, take great pleasure in providing to you novel features and reports on the latest happenings, viewpoints and insights by our Editorial team as well as renowned contributors, in an unfettered and unbiased metre and form. We further plan to organise regular & novel lectures by experienced speakers, hold seminars and exhibitions on Himalayan and allied matters, arrange expeditions into the high altitudes, and much more.

Mustang, formerly Kingdom of Lo, is a remote and isolated region of the Nepalese Himalaya. The Upper Mustang was a restricted demilitarised area until 1992 which makes it one of the most preserved regions in the world, with a majority of the population still speaking traditional Tibetan languages. Tibetan culture has been preserved by the relative isolation of the region from the outside world. Renowned photographer and veteran Himalayan traveller Sri Sujoy Das will take us on a journey through his lens of this rarely travelled area and much less seen by Kolkatans. His talk, ‘Mustang – A lost kingdom would be followed by a presentation by AVM (Retd) Apurba Bhattacharyya , veteran mountaineer entitled ‘To the Top of Everest ‘ – 1856 to 2017’ - a rare presentation that would reflect how Everest mountaineering has evolved over the years in terms of Technology, Techniques and philosophy, since the beginning.

We solicit your presence to this program

Regards
Priyadarshi Gupta , President , THE HIMALAYAN
9830808958

Friday, October 21, 2016

Mustang & Lo Manthang Trek | Peakfinder Screenshots

Evening Ghar Gompa

South Col Expeditions trekked to Mustang and Lo Manthang for the second successive year. In 2015 the South Col team had just come out of the monasteries of Lo Manthang and entered a painters studio when the Nepal earthquake struck. This September 2016 there were no mishaps and the team made the trek without any problems.

These Peakfinder screen shots identify the mountains from different locations on the trek

Pokhara - from the south side of the Annapurnas

Jomsom View

Kagbeni entrance of Mustang

Yamdo La view above Shyanmochen

The view from the Choser Caves north of Lo Manthang

For more information and photographs on Mustang do visit

http://www.sujoydas.com/Nepal-Himalaya/Mustang-In-the-Land-of-Lo/i-LMNdRDz

http://sujoyrdas.blogspot.in/2015/09/mustang-and-lo-manthang-itinerary-part-i.html

http://sujoyrdas.blogspot.in/2015/09/mustang-and-lo-manthang-itinerary-part.html

Sunday, April 24, 2016

Nepal Earthquake | One Year After

Kaule village, Nuwakot district, May 2015

On 25^th April 2015 at around 11- 56 am, I was standing inside a “tankha” painter’s studio in Lo Manthang, the capital of Mustang district in the rain shadow of the Himalayas. All of a sudden, I noticed that the bowls of paint in little cups were vibrating and this began to increase rapidly. As I watched in amazement the colours began to spill onto the floor which was also shaking and we then realized it was an earthquake. We ran out onto the street and looking up I found the walls of a nearby building shaking dangerously. Each time I thought it was going to collapse it miraculously straightened up again. At that time I had no idea of the enormity of the disaster which was unfolding in Nepal.

We cut short our trek and started our long journey back to Pokhara. The story of that journey has been told in http://sujoyrdas.blogspot.com/2015/09/mustang-and-lo-manthang-itinerary-part.html

The earthquake of 25th April 2015 was followed by a second major earthquake on 12^th May 2015 which further crippled Nepal.

Since the two earthquakes and the numerous aftershocks which have rocked this mountain kingdom, Nepal has been on the world map for the last one year.

The images and videos are by now all too familiar – rubble and shattered homes and buildings, cars smashed by rocks, large chunks of the hillside falling away into dust and ashes in a video, avalanches the size of large tidal waves sweeping up a camp, those familiar orange and blue shelters adorning the hillside shot by cameramen in helicopters, women trying to find their belongings in the rocks and bricks which were once their homes, and police and soldiers on their constant patrol trying to keep order in the world heritage monuments many of which are now lying in ruins.

Durbar Square Kathmandu soon after the earthquake

It is now the first anniversary of this calamity. What has happened in Nepal since then?

Very little really.

The earthquake in Nepal was followed an agitation by the Madhesi parties against the new constitution which resulted in a border blockade with India for six months and brought the country to its feet.

Fuel and cooking gas were being black marketed, costs of all essential commodities spiralled out of control, flights were not refuelled at Kathmandu airport, long lines of buses, cars and motor bikes stood daily outside fuel pumps which were dry and foreign countries like USA, UK, Australia issued advisory warnings against travelling to Nepal.

Haze and pollution over Kathmandu as seen from Swayambhunath, April 2016

Further, Kathmandu the capital is in a shambles. Very high pollution levels accompanied by a haze which sits over the valley has affected the health of many. Wearing a face mask while walking on the street is now the norm rather than the exception. The Nepal capital has been rated as the third most polluted city in the world. Along with this, electricity shortages to the tune of 12 to 14 hours per day have brought the city to its feet. And it does not look like the situation will improve in a hurry and neither does the Government have a plan in place to tackle these issues.

Roland Hunter of The Mountain Company at Everest Base Camp, September 2015 on a recce visit to assess the earthquake damage on the trekking trails to Everest

Tourists and trekkers who had planned to come for the autumn 2015 season put their plans on hold and Nepal tourism received another setback with virtually no business for two consecutive seasons.

The blockade was lifted in early 2016 but by then the damage was already done. However the trek agencies and hoteliers are optimistic that autumn 2016 will bring back the tourists if there is stability on the political front and not further agitation by the Madhesis.

But what of the reconstruction process?

One year later the Nepal Reconstruction Authority (NRA) is sitting with $4 billion dollars of aid to distribute to the people but due to the lack of proper infrastructure and systems for distribution these funds remain locked. In fact, after the Government announced relief schemes, the number of those claiming to have lost their homes shot up from about 5.70 lac houses to around 7.70 lac houses and the NRA was called upon to verify the data once more, further setting back the recovery timeline.

The villagers had also been promised Rs 2 lacs each to rebuild their homes in earthquake proof designs – none of this money has reached them either as no design has been approved by the Government. But in actual fact the cost of an earthquake proof house would be to the tune of Rs 5 lac at least so where will the rest of the money come from?

The prototype at Kaule almost completed

Various aid agencies have been rebuilding earthquake proof prototypes in different villages and have been applying to the DUDBC (Department of Urban Development and Building) for approval of the designs.

Building the roof of the prototype at Kaule

As a part of South Col Nepal Earthquake Support we have supported the building of one such prototype (www.thekauleprototype.blogspot.com) with indigenous materials in Kaule village, Nuwakot district and have also submitted the design for approval.