Mustang in march

SPIN MASTER: A villager spins yarn using a traditional drop spindle in Lower Mustang.

There are many obscure villages in Lower Mustang that are mystical and can be reached on a day’s hike from Jomsom.

When construction for the road from Beni to Lo Manthang was completed last year, many speculated that it would bring an end to Mustang’s mystery. After all, it was its inaccessibility and ‘forbidden’ status that attracted many searchers of Shangri-La to pay high entry permit fees and visit a region nestled on Nepal’s northern border with Tibet.