Month: June 2023

Upper Mustang

We visited the Upper Mustang region of Nepal recently. Upper Mustang was the independent Lo Kingdom until the Kingdom of Nepal annexed it in the late 1700s, and the king of Lo continued to rule over the territory until 2008, when Nepal became a republic. Upper Mustang borders Tibet and it is isolated from the rest of the country—the government requires tourists to buy an expensive permit to enter the region, to keep it from becoming overdeveloped.

As a neighbor of Tibet, society is heavily influenced by that country. Moreover, Mustang looks like what you would imagine a Himalayan kingdom to look like.

Let’s start with the scenery, because there is a lot of amazing scenery. We were greeted at the airport by a view of Nilgiri mountain, which remained visible for most of our trek. Apart from the agricultural fields, which are irrigated by the river, the land is very dry.

Next: stupas.

More Janakpur

Janakpur is probably the dustiest city I’ve ever visited.

After roaming around and filling my lungs with particulate matter, I ended up at the railway station. I became intrigued watching people get on and off the trains.

Mithila art in the ticket hall.

Janakpur and Janaki Mandir

Back in December, I visited Janakpur, in the south of Nepal. Janakpur is famous for the Janaki Mandir, a temple dedicated to the Goddess Sita, who was consort of Lord Rama. The temple was built in 1910 on the site where, in 1657, a golden statue of the goddess was found. Sita is also known as Janaki, the adopted daughter of King Janak, who—according to legend—found her while he was ploughing in a ritual ceremony. The temple is an important destination for Hindu pilgrims.

By the day, it looks like this:

At night, however, it looks like this:

The temple is full of devotees day and night. Musicians have been playing continuously, 24 hours a day, for the past 20 years.

The pujas are amazingly crowded, with people straining to photograph the idols of the gods inside the sanctuary (despite the “Don’t take picture” signs). I, at least, used a long lens from outside the temple.

If you tour the museum on the temple grounds, you can see dioramas of the life of Sita. Here is a selection: the figure with the blue skin is Lord Rama.

One more set of photos:

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