Lo Manthang, the capital of The Last Forbidden Kingdom is way more Tibetan than Tibet. Apart from the monastery, the major highlights of Lo are it’s ancient cliff cave. There are many artistic ancient caves few explored and many are still in mystery. Recently, after the earthquake, I had made a short road trip all the way to Lo Manthang. It was a trip on motorbike instead of the trek.
My friend and I we had hired a horse in Lo Manthan and make a day trip to Chooser Cave. Entry fee is USD 1 for Nepali and USD 10 for foreigner. Do it for next to nothing, it is worth 10 boxes. You have to pay extra USD 1 to take a picture inside the cave. You will also get a local free local guide inside cave. It is a fort to defend Tibetan Warrior in the past. A headlamp on your head will be more convenient. There are four different levels in the cave and they are accessible via wooden ladder. There are several rooms inside cave and locals said their ancestor used to live inside before the village was set. There are some small opening and you can see a wide valley out. Be careful you might fall down, if you lean outside. All road leads to Rome. Inside the cave there are also several ways.
Proof of settlement is black ceiling. It remains of cooking’s smoke. Don’t forget to take your camera. Renting a horse is not even expensive. For a round trip from Lo Manthang it costs around USD 20 per person. Apart from cave, there are monasteries nearby. Go explore Upper Mustang Cave’s in their golden age. There are many caves within the barren landscape of Upper Mustang. Some even say it you can’t make to Grand Canyon go Lo Manthan. There are many of those caves and majority of them are mysterious. It’s over the cliff, almost one hundred to one hundred fifty feet above the Kaligandaki River. Without ladder we can’t access those caves now a day. Caves from Upper Mustang are a great archeological mystery of the 21st century.
Every caves has unique design and has unique significant importance. While, exploring the caves, it feels like it was built with extremely hard work. There are small rooms inside the cave. The ladder will takes you to the another floor. You can explore the outside scene from the small hole from the cave. Make sure to carry the head lamp, It will be easier to go inside the cave. If you are adventurous person, try to go towards the edge of the each corner. The unique antique material present in the cave gives you the feeling of ancient civilization.