Lo Manthang, in fact is the full name of the 2,000 sq km (772 sq mile) kingdom of His Highness King Jigme Parwal Bista, founded in the fourteenth century by the Tiberan warlord Ama Pal, It lies on a barren valey floor at around 4,800 m (15,000 ft), snug against the Tibetan border on three sides and guarded by formidable 7,300 m high mountains pierced only by narrow passes. On the Nepal side, massive Dhaulagiri, at 8,167 m (26,795 ft) the world's seventh highest mountain, provides the defence which has sealed Lo from the outside world through centuries.

Fabled Mustang, as it's now known on the map, is only and "honorary" kingdom these days but each night King Jigme, the 25th monarch sonce the 1480s, orders the only gae of the mud-walled capital shut and barred to keep out invaders or intruders. Twelve dukes, 60 monks, 152 families and eight witches occupy the capital. King Jigme still owns serfs who plow his stony fields for grain crops. But Lo's treasures are many and priceless: a wealth of Tibetan art, monasteries - the name derives from the Tibetan phrase meaning "plain of prayers", mon thang - are carved into cliff faces. You climb ladder to reach them. Other wealth lies in the rocky hills: turquois, and tich deposits of alluvial gold on the beds of the rivers that course throught the land. But Lo's citizens consider the task of planning for this metal beneath their dignity.

The King's subjects - Lopas, who are Lamaist Buddhists - number around 8,000 and speak their own dialect of the Tibetan language. The women practice polyandry - often marrying two or three brothers. The king keeps his authority as a ruler by virtue of a 160 year old treat to King Birendra Shah's dynansty on payment to Nepal of 886 rupees a year and one horse. In return he holds the rank of Colonel in the Nepali Army.

So archaic is the kingdom, matches were unknown until few years ago and superstitious fears are rampant. The whole land goes to bed in terror of Lo's 416 demons of land, sky, fire, and water, and life is dedicated to warding off evil spirits which can cause Lo's 1,080 known diseases as well as five forms of violent death. Thus, for three days each year, King Jigme's subjects celebrate New Year by "chasing the demons": with the noise of cymbals, drums, and notes made by playing on human skull, filling the air.

Not a single tree grows in this arid and withered land. To supplement their monotonous diet of yak milk and sour cheese, they nurture fragile gardens. For trade, the Lopas deal in salt from Tibet. The trail they follow winds for 240 km (150 m) along the Kali Gandaki gorge between Dhaulagiri and Annapurna.

(From The Insider's guide to Nepal. by Brian Tetly)