A Look Across Time In Mustang

Updates from the remote region of Mus­tang in Nepal are on their way in! Here is anoth­er dis­patch from MM Guide Deana Zabal­do as the team got ready to begin their Mus­tang Trek this month.

“Our jour­ney began in Pokhara, a lake­side town with sweep­ing views of the Anna­pur­na range, where we had the rare oppor­tu­ni­ty to speak with Ngawang, an old Tibetan Kham­pa warrior.

Our local guide Oang­di and his father Ngawang, a Tibetan gueril­la fight­er based in Mus­tang in the 1960s. Deana Zabal­do photo

In the 1960’s, Mus­tang was the base for Tibetan fight­ers resist­ing the Chi­nese inva­sion. We heard sto­ries of life as a monk-turned-guer­ril­la fight­er, receiv­ing Amer­i­can CIA train­ing, and excur­sions over the bor­der to attack Chi­nese police. A decade lat­er, the resis­tance end­ed, and the Tibetans who have lived in exile since then have tak­en wives from Mus­tang and set­tled in Nepal.

Our group with Ngawang and Oang­di. Deana Zabal­do photo

Our local guide for the trip is the son of this old Tibetan war­rior, and we’ve got­ten a great pre­view of the Mus­tang cul­ture and his­to­ry to come.

Inter­na­tion­al Moun­tain Muse­um in Pokhara. Deana Zabal­do photo

“A vis­it to the Inter­na­tion­al Moun­tain Muse­um in Pokhara, a deli­cious din­ner, and an ear­ly morn­ing flight to Jom­son to begin our trek…”

~ MM Guide Deana Zabaldo

Tak­ing off to the moun­tains. Deana Zabal­do photo