Today we are trying to get to Lomantang early so we can see the town and visit some ancient cave houses. It will be a short ride after we take the sting out of the trail in the 4x4s as we continue acclimatisation.
We head off up the valley to some amazing sights. The giant cliffs are scarred with canyons and fluted gullies everywhere. This area gets very little precipitation but when it comes, the water washes everything away including the roads.
The road for the past 2 days has been nothing but rocky gravel and yet this is a main route to china from Nepal. It’s incredible to see trucks and busses creating clouds of dust as they blast past.
We get to the jumping off point for cycling at the oldest Buddhist monastery in Nepal. It’s no longer occupied by monks but the caretaker lets us in. We have to take off our shoes to enter the temple a there are sandals provided. A chunk of ice falls out of one as we don them. Oddly serene atmosphere inside the temple. Very peaceful.
Time to jump on the bikes and we have 3 no shows who opt to stay in the wagon. The rest of us saddle up and after a quick descent down the side of a mini Grand Canyon, we start climbing. It’s a slog and one of our group has second thoughts and climbs into the wagon with the others.
We continue the grind and a headwind picks up. Chris legs decide enough is enough for today and then it’s just me and Usha our cycling guide. We slog up the mountain to the top and are rewarded with a fantastic view. It’s cold and windy so we don’t stay long.
Usha pulls off the road and dives down an ‘shortcut’ which turns out to be an amazing single track descent down to the village of Lomantang.
After a spot of lunch it’s off to see the cave houses so we jump in a jeep further up the valley towards china. These cave houses are carved into the cliff face and are not for the claustrophobic. Health and safety would definitely have a thing or two to say about letting tourists loose in there. These cave houses are ancient and some have been found to contain mummified remains 2000-3000 years old. Here’s a wiki page if you are interested https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mustang_Caves
It is low and dark and hard to see where there might be holes in the floor to other levels. It’s like a giant 3D snakes and ladders. We all come out filthy dusty but it was quite cool to see.
Outside there are these two tiny tots who run over and wrap them selves round my legs and offer me a bite of their chocolate bar. I politely decline but when I pick one up and throw her in the air, the other one wants it too. And so it goes on. Their mother is hawking drinks and souvenirs to tourists in the car park and seems quite content to see her offspring chucked about.
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