Mustang Eco Museum and the sky-cave finds

The Mustang Eco Museum is about 15 minutes' walk from the airport. It is a modest place, but it explains much of what you will see further north. The cave room shows beads, bones and pendants recovered from the man-made caves in the cliffs of Upper Mustang, some of which were used as burial chambers more than 2,000 years ago. Later layers of the same caves hold the remains of homes and meditation cells, and the museum's finds help you picture who used them and how.

Other rooms cover daily life: costumes of the Loba and Thakali, household tools, ritual objects and a model of the walled city of Lo Manthang. A section on herbal medicine introduces the plants used by amchi, practitioners of Sowa Rigpa, the Tibetan medical tradition still practised in Mustang and Dolpo. The display of ritual masks and costumes is useful before Tiji in May, when the same kinds of figures dance in Lo Manthang's square. There is also material on Thakali trading families of the Kali Gandaki.

Visit in the afternoon when the wind makes walking unpleasant. Labels are short, so it helps to go with your guide, who can link what you see to the caves at Chhoser, the dzong at Tsarang and the gompas of Lo Manthang. Opening hours can be irregular in winter; check current status before you travel. Most visitors spend about an hour. Photography rules vary by room, so ask before you take pictures. The walk from the main bazaar is flat and short, which makes this an easy outing for older travellers too.