Nature in Mustang

Muktinath, a temple dedicated to Lord Vishnu, is situated in the Mustang district of Nepal. The temple is situated at a height of three thousand eight hundred meters from sea level. On the way to the temple, there was a place known as Kagbeni, which is known for rituals done after the death of a person. Anyone can reach this temple by vehicle up to a certain distance, but there is a track of the last three kilometers with around six hundred stairs. Instead of trekking, some people were also using mules to go up.

On the way to the temple, there were many houses made of wood with the same architecture, each having a unique design. There was poor vegetation in that area, maybe due to low atmospheric pressure. Some people were fainting during the trek due to the low oxygen level. Many people were chewing cloves and smelling camphor to combat the low oxygen. There was a helipad too, but it was not in use.

There were small dummy houses made out of stones in the trekking area. These were made by people with the hope of having their own house. There was also a huge statue of Lord Buddha. Near the temple, there was a source of holy water coming from the mountain, and one hundred and eight gaumukhs were made to pour water. People were taking baths in the chilled water before going to the temple. Inside the temple, there was a statue of Lord Vishnu carved over black stones. Two shaligram stones were also kept with the statue (a shaligram stone is considered Lord Vishnu).

It is around six hundred kilometers from Varanasi and takes about twenty hours to reach there. The way to reach the temple is made on the sides of the Kaligandaki River. The river is known for the shaligram stones found in it. The water of the river seems blackish; that is why it is called Kaligandaki.

The area around Muktinath temple is covered with snow for six months, starting from November to April. Due to the snowfall, there was also poor vegetation on the way to Muktinath. But after reaching the temple, there were different kinds of trees, and proper vegetation was found only around the temple area. People in Mustang city used to grow wheat, corn, apples, millets, and some local vegetables.

The livelihood of people living there is based on tourism. That is why people used to build hotels, restaurants, and shops selling locally manufactured items to attract tourists, such as shawls of yak wool, local achar, sweets, and shaligram stones. From Mustang district, the China border is only four hours away.

A landslide is very common in the area, but the roads are repaired very quickly. Only vehicles with a powerful engine could go there because there are many steep points on the way. It is an amazing experience.

By Namish Rai

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