Windows in the cliffs
Anyone who walks north from Kagbeni notices them within an hour. Above Tangbe and Chhusang, rows of dark rectangular openings dot the soft, layered cliffs, some just above the riverbank, others forty or fifty metres up a vertical face. Further north, around Tsarang, Dhakmar, Lo Manthang and Chhoser, they become so many that whole cliffs look like honeycomb. Local people simply call them caves, but outside Nepal they have become known as the sky caves of Mustang.
There are thought to be about ten thousand of them across Mustang, all dug by hand into conglomerate and sandstone that is easy to carve but slowly crumbles. That crumbling explains why so many now look impossible to reach. When they were dug, there were ledges, tunnels and connecting passages; erosion over centuries has stripped many of them away, leaving the openings stranded in the cliff.
Who dug them, and why
Archaeologists divide the history of the caves into broad phases, although the details are still being worked out. The oldest use that has been dated is for burial. From roughly three thousand years ago, communities in the valley placed their dead in caves high in the cliffs, sometimes in wooden coffins, with goods for the afterlife: beads, metal vessels, textiles and food.
Later, perhaps from around the 10th century, many caves were used as homes. Families dug multi-room dwellings with hearths, storage pits and passages between levels, likely for security in an unsettled period when the valley was contested. As villages grew on the valley floor from about the 15th century, the caves became storerooms, shelters for herders, and retreats for Buddhist meditators. Some were turned into chapels and libraries, painted with murals and filled with texts. A few are still used for meditation today.
What archaeologists have found
Systematic work began in the 1990s, when Nepali and German archaeologists excavated burial caves in the Kali Gandaki valley, including at Mebrak near Chhusang, and found human remains and grave goods that dated back more than two thousand years. From the late 2000s, teams that combined archaeologists with mountaineers, including the American climber Pete Athans and the archaeologist Mark Aldenderfer, used ropes to reach caves that no one had entered for centuries, in projects supported by National Geographic.
At Samdzong, near the border, they recorded a burial cave containing many individuals together with grave goods, among them a funerary mask of gold and silver, glass beads and metal vessels. Some bones from Mustang's caves carry cut marks that suggest the flesh was removed before burial, a practice some researchers see as an early form of the mortuary customs that later became Tibetan sky burial. In other caves, teams found Buddhist murals and fragments of manuscripts, evidence of the later religious use of the cliffs.
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What the bones tell us about the first people
In 2016 a team of geneticists published DNA analysis of individuals from Mustang cave burials dated to between about 3,150 and 1,250 years ago. Their study, in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, found that these early inhabitants were most closely related to East Asian populations, and genetically similar to present-day Tibetans and Sherpas. In other words, the high valleys of Mustang were settled early by people from the Tibetan plateau, and their descendants have stayed for thousands of years.
For visitors, this gives the caves a human scale. The families who farm barley below the cliffs today are, in a real sense, the heirs of the people who dug them. When you ask a Loba grandmother in Tsarang about the caves, she may tell you they were the homes of ancestors, or of demons, or simply that they have always been there.
Caves you can see and visit
Most of the caves are archaeological sites, many unreachable without ropes, and none should be entered without permission. A few are open to visitors, and many more can be seen from the trail. These are the ones we include on our Upper Mustang journeys.
| Site | Where | What you can do |
|---|---|---|
| Jhong cave | Chhoser, north of Lo Manthang | Enter with a local caretaker; climb ladders through several levels of rooms |
| Nyiphu and Garphu gompas | Chhoser valley | Visit cliff-side monasteries built against the caves |
| Chhusang and Tangbe cliffs | First day north of Kagbeni | View rows of caves from the trail and road |
| Tsarang and Dhakmar cliffs | Central Upper Mustang | View caves in red and grey cliffs, best in late light |
| Ghar Gompa area | Between Dhakmar and Lo Manthang | See caves on the trail to the monastery linked to Guru Rinpoche |
Inside the Jhong cave at Chhoser
The Jhong cave, also spelled Shija Jhong, is the best way to feel what life in the cliffs was like. It lies in the Chhoser valley, about two hours north of Lo Manthang by jeep or pony, near the Tibetan border. A caretaker from the village collects a small entry fee and opens the door. Inside, narrow passages and short wooden ladders link dozens of small rooms on several levels, some with niches for lamps, storage hollows and window openings that frame the valley below.
Bring a head torch and wear shoes with good grip, because the floors are uneven and some ladders are steep. The rooms are low, so taller visitors bend most of the time. Allow an hour inside. Afterwards, walk across the valley to Garphu monastery or along to Nyiphu, a gompa built into the cliff, to see how the old cave tradition flowed into Buddhist practice.
Planning a cave day from Lo Manthang
Chhoser is an easy day out from Lo Manthang, and we build a full day for it into most of our Upper Mustang trips. Leave after breakfast, when the light is clear and the wind has not yet risen. By jeep, the drive takes about an hour each way on a dirt track; on a local pony, about two to two and a half hours, which is slower but closer to how Loba families have always travelled to the northern villages. Walking is possible for strong hikers who want a long day.
Plan on two to three hours in the Chhoser valley: an hour in the Jhong cave, then visits to Garphu and Nyiphu. Carry water, snacks, sunscreen and a windproof layer, because there is little shade and the afternoon wind is cold. You will be back in Lo Manthang in time for tea and the evening prayers at Chode monastery, a fitting end to a day spent among the oldest traces of life in the valley.
How to visit respectfully
The caves are part of Nepal's protected heritage. Looting has been a problem in the past: objects and manuscripts have been removed from caves and sold, which destroys the information archaeologists need. As a visitor, you can help by staying out of caves that are not open, by never removing anything, not even a bead or a bone fragment, and by reporting anything that looks like recent digging to your guide.
Climbing into caves without equipment is also dangerous. The rock is soft conglomerate that breaks without warning, and people have been badly hurt. Enjoy the caves from the trail, visit the ones that are open, and leave the rest to the people whose ancestors dug them.
- Enter only caves that are open to visitors, with a caretaker or guide
- Do not touch murals or carvings, and do not use flash inside
- Never remove objects, bones or fragments from any cave
- Do not fly drones near caves or monasteries without permission
- Pay entry fees and leave a donation where a caretaker opens a site
Questions
What are the sky caves of Mustang?
They are man-made caves dug into the cliffs of Mustang, an estimated 10,000 in total, many of them high above the valley floor. People used them over thousands of years: first for burials, later as homes and storerooms, and later still for Buddhist meditation and libraries. Erosion has made many unreachable today.
How old are the Mustang caves?
The oldest dated uses are burials from about three thousand years ago. Many caves were dug or enlarged later, with heavy use as dwellings from around the 10th century, and Buddhist use continuing for centuries after that. Different caves have very different ages, and archaeologists are still dating many of them.
Can tourists go inside the Mustang caves?
A few, yes. The Jhong cave at Chhoser, north of Lo Manthang, is open to visitors with a local caretaker and has ladders and passages through several levels of rooms. Some cave monasteries can also be visited. Most other caves are protected archaeological sites or simply too dangerous to reach, and should be seen only from outside.
Do I need a permit to visit the sky caves?
The best-known caves are inside Upper Mustang, so you need the restricted-area permit, USD 500 for the first 10 days as we understand it, and the Annapurna Conservation Area permit. Caves near Kagbeni and Chhusang lie at the edge of the restricted area. Individual sites like Jhong cave charge a small entry fee. Check current status before you travel.
How did people reach the caves?
When they were dug, many caves were reached by tunnels from the clifftop, by ledges cut into the rock, by notched logs used as ladders, or by internal passages connecting several levels. Over centuries, erosion of the soft cliffs removed many of these routes. That is why many caves now look impossible to reach without ropes.
Who discovered the caves?
Local people have always known about them. Scientific study started with Nepali and German archaeologists in the 1990s, who excavated burial caves in the Kali Gandaki valley. From the late 2000s, teams led by mountaineer Pete Athans and archaeologist Mark Aldenderfer, supported by National Geographic, reached high caves using climbing techniques and documented burials, murals and manuscripts.
What was found in the Mustang caves?
Finds include human remains and grave goods from ancient burials, such as wooden coffins, beads, metal vessels and a gold and silver funerary mask from Samdzong. Some bones show cut marks suggesting the flesh was removed before burial. Other caves held Buddhist murals and manuscripts from later centuries. DNA from burials links early inhabitants to Tibetan populations.
Where is the best place to see sky caves?
Chhoser, north of Lo Manthang, is the best single place, with the visitable Jhong cave and cliff monasteries. On the way north, the cliffs at Chhusang and Tangbe show hundreds of cave openings, and the red cliffs at Dhakmar are spectacular at sunset. All three are on our Upper Mustang trek and jeep journeys.
Are the Mustang caves on the UNESCO list?
The caves are protected under Nepal's heritage laws, and they have attracted international research and attention. We do not list them as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, because they are not inscribed as one at the time of writing. If that changes, we will update this guide. Check current status before you travel.
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