Mustang or Mun Tan means fertile plain. It is the former Kingdom of Lo, the place measures roughly 80 kilometers ling (north-south) and 45 kilometers at its widest. It is at an elevation of roughly over 2500m. Mustang is also called as Tibet. Mustang Kingdom survived the Chinese invasion back in 1951 and hence it was able to foster its original Tibetan Culture.

Currently, Mustang is politically part of Nepal. Mustang people do animal husbandry and trade as their source of income. The region is very accessible from Himalayas. Because of its strategic location, it has gone through many wars and sometimes even serves as a battle field. Various culture and religion practices and beliefs thrived in Mustang. The place is largely dry and arid due to its geographical location.

The people in Mustang Kingdom either belong to the Thakalis or Tibetan origin. Most people lived near the river. The site is roughly 2-3,000m above sea level but for tough conditions they are force to vacate and transfer to a lower region of Nepal. The kingdom opened its gate to the world in 1970s.

Even though foreigners have been currently allowed to enter the kingdom since 1991, tourism to the upper Mustang is still regulated. Foreigners need to secure a specific or special permit to enter the kingdom. It roughly costs five hundred U.S dollars for a person to stay in Mustang for ten days.

Mustang Kingdom was once a very independent kingdom. Language and culture are closely similar to the Tibet’s. Back in fifteenth century to seventeenth century, due to its strategic location, Mustang had an advantage to control trade between Himalayas and India. By the end of eighteenth century, the kingdom was controlled by Nepal already.

Back in 2007, a shepherd in Mustang discovered a collection of 55 cave paintings depicting the life of Buddha.

Lumbini is a Buddhist pilgrimage site located in Kapilavastu a district of Nepal. The area is situated near the Indian border. Queen Mayadevi was said to have given birth to Siddhartha Gautama in this particular place. Siddhartha Gautama was the one who gave birth to Buddhist tradition.

Lumbini lies at the foothills of the Himalaya where the Buddha is said to have lived until the age of 29. Lumbini has many temples. In Puskarini or Holy Pond is where the Buddha’s mother took her ritual bath prior to her delivery and Buddha himself had his first bath in that very place.

In Buddha’s time, Lumbini was known to be a park located between Kapilavastu and Devadaha. Buddha was born there and pillars are made to mark the very spot of Asoka’s visit and Asoka’s gift to Lumbini. The park was previously known as the Rummindei. In 1896, Nepalese archeologists discovered a great stone pillar at the very site, it was believed that this pillar was created in honor of Emperor Ashoka.

As of 1997, Lumbini is known as UNESCO World Heritage Site which was specifically nominated for the International World Heritage Program. The holy land of Lumbini is bordered and protected by a big monastic zone law. Which no shops, restaurant, bars or hotels can be build in the said zone only monasteries are allowed.
There are actually two monastic zones: the eastern zone known as the Theravadin monasteries and the western zone known to have both Mahayana and Vajrayana monasteries.

The holy place of Lumbini includes ruins of ancient monasteries such as the sacred tree called the Bodhi tree, the ancient bathing pond, the Asokan’s pillar and the Mayadevi temple. Mayadevi Temple is the precise birth place of the Buddha. From early morning to early evening, various people came and visit this place to perform their meditation.

Sagarmatha National Park is found in the eastern part of Nepal. It has both parts of the southern half of Mount Everest and of the Himalayas. The park was established July 19, 1976 and was inscribed as a National World Heritage Site in 1979. Sagarmatha originated from the Sanskrit word sagar which means sky and matha which means head or forehead. Currently, the famous Sagarmatha is known as the Mount Everest.

The area covers roughly around 1,148km square and ranges an elevation from its lowest peak of 2,845 at Jorsalle to 8,850m or 29,035 feet at the Everest Summit. Barren is a land 5,000m or 16,400feet. It is composed of 69% park, 28% grazing land and 3% forest. Because of the rising altitude, this park can be divided into four climate zones namely forested lower zone, alpine zone, the upper alpine zone which includes vegetation growth and the Arctic zone where no plants can live or survive.

The park visitor center is seen at the top of the hill located in Namche Bazaar the same place where Nepal Army is stationed to protect the park. The southern entrance can be found a few hundred meters north of Mondzo. Roughly around a day hike from Lukla.

Sagarmatha National Park is known to be the highest national park in the world. Located nearby are peaks of Lhotse, Thamerku, Ama Dablam, Kwangde, Pumori, cho Oyu, Kangtaiga and Gyachyung Kang. It was reported that more that 118 species of birds and 26 species of butterflies resides at this place. Among the endangered species that can be found or seen in this place are Wild Yak, Musk Deer, Snow Leopard, Red Panda and the Himalayan Black Deer. The best seasons to visit this place are during the month of October to November and December to February.

It was said that nothing can match the walker’s sense of thrill and excitement when they explore Sagarmatha National Park by foot.

Kathmandu Valley is located in Nepal. The valley consists of Kathmandu Metropolitan City, Lalitpur Submetropolitan City, Bhaktapur Municipality, Madhyapur Thimi Municipality and several other villages. The valley is known to be a political and a cultural hub of Nepal.

Here are some tourist’s attractions in Kathmandu Valley. Durbar Square is located opposite to the old royal palace. It was severely damaged by an earthquake back in 1934. Originally, ninety nine courtyards were attached to this place but now only six of them remains.

Patan is a place located on the elevated part of Kathmandu Valley. The city was said to be initially designed in the shape of a Buddhist Dharma Chakra or wheel of Righteous. The most important monument of this place is the Patan Durbur Square.

Chabahil is known to be as one of the most important place in Kathmandu Valley. Nepal is famous for Licchavi stupa which is known as Charumati Vihara. According to the inscriptions found in stupa, the famous Indian Princess Charumati was the one who built the stupa.

Changu Narayan is the name of the deity in the Changu Narayan Temple. The temple was said to be one of the oldest Hindu temples in the valley. Changu Narayan is the name of the Vishnu or their supreme God.

Kathmandu Valley was said to have been inhabited for as early as 300BCE. The oldest object found in the valley was dated a few hundred years back from BCE and the oldest inscription found was said to be 185CE.

According to the myth of Swyambhu Puran, the Kathmandu Valley was once a lake. Another claims that their God Manjusri uses a sword called the Chandrahrasha to cut a gorge at the place known as Kashapaal which later was known as Chobhar and drained all the water making the place fit for living.

Kathmandu is the biggest city and the official capital of Nepal. It is located in Kathmandu Valley, which has two other cities called Lalitpur and Bhaktapur. One is the old city and the other is the new city of Kathmandu Valley. The language spoken in Nepal is Napali. Kathmandu city has a total population of 700,000 and it is the only developed and modern city in the entire Nepal.

The view from the Airport is so breathtaking as it is covered from hills all over and has untapped natural beauty and greenery all over. The main religion followed in Kathmandu is Hinduism. It is present in the center of the Himalayas and some of the peaks of the Himalayas are clearly visible.

Kathmandu has a very famous temple that is called Kaasthamandap, which was built in 1567 AD. It is also called Marusthal and is entirely made of wood. It is now rules by the government, but once, it was ruled by the royal house.

Swayambhunath and Boudhanath are two famous stupas within Kathmandu. It also has a famous Hindu shrine, called Pashupatinath. Kathmandu city, throughout the year, has honeymoon visitors visiting mostly from India. The city has a small thickly populated place where you will find monks in abundance. The city has seven most prominent groups of monuments that are rich in culture and heritage, which speak volumes about the city historic past. Durbar Square and Changu Narayan temple are very unique, which is worth a visit.

Kathmandu has some of the best five star hotels in the main city and gambling in the casino is legal.

Mount Everest is said to be the tallest mountain on Earth. It literally means the top or the head of the sky. Mount Everest touches the borders of China, Tibet, and Nepal and is a part of the Himalayan Range… Its total height above sea level is 29,029 ft. During 1856, the name of Mount Everest was Peak XV. Its official name was given by the Geographical Society.

Despite the fact it is the highest peak in the world, hikers from all over the world come and climb this mountain despite all difficulties. A whole team of climbers can help both armature and novice climbers climb the peak. If one follows the standard route to climb, it is quite safe to climb the mountains. However, the problem in the Himalayas are faced with bad weather, fast wind and low breathing that can happen due to high altitude.

Aerial View of Mount Everest from the south
Photo by: Kerem Barut, Creative Commons

Climbers must pay heavy amount of money to climb the mountain, which acts as a continuous source of income to Nepal. However, an equal amount has to be raised to get license and permit of $25,000 to climb the Mount Everest. Till 2007, 210 people have lost their lives while climbing Mount Everest due to high storm.

There are two main routes for climbing Mt. Everest. One is from the Southeast of Nepal and the other is from the North of Tibet. The most preferred route out of the two is the Southeast that starts from Nepal. The best time to start climbing is during May, before the summer monsoon, as the direction of the wind is quite favorable during that time.

View from Tingri, a small village on the Tibetan plateau
at around 4050m above sea level.
Photo by: Joe Hastings, Creative Commons

Beautiful shot of Mount Everest
Photo by: utpala ॐ, Creative Commons