Lo Mustang

Lo Manthang is the walled capital of Lo, or Mustang, a Tibetan Buddhist kingdom on the northern side of the Himalayas. Its packed houses, monasteries and royal palace stand behind high walls of rammed earth. The town grew on a route linking Tibet with the Kali Gandaki valley, and became a centre of religious life as well as the seat of the kings of Lo.

The royal house descended from Ame Pal, grandson of a commander who had conquered Lo for the rulers of Gungthang. In the fifteenth century Ame Pal founded the fortified capital under the guidance of the Sakya scholar Ngorchen Kunga Zangpo. The sixteenth century brought internal struggles and pressure from neighbouring powers; in 1580 the king of Jumla asked a lama to mediate a conflict in Lo. The kingdom retained considerable autonomy until its incorporation into Nepal in 1789.