In common usage, the name Mustang reffers to the arid, Tibet-like region, known to its inhabitants as Lo, at the northern end of the Kali Gandaki. Mustang is the name of the district along the Kali Gandaki River from the Tibetan border south to Ghasa. The capital of the Mustang district is Jomsom, the restricted area of Tibetan influence is north of Kagbeni, and is generally referred as Upper Mustang.

Upper Mustang consists of two distinct regions: the southern regioin, with five villages inhabited by people related to the Manangis; and the northern region (the ancient kingdom of Lo), where language, culture and tradition are almost purely Tibetan. The capital of Lo is named Mantang, which translates from the Tibetan as 'plain of aspiration'. Many texts refer to the capital as Lo Manthang.

As we traverse through the history of Lo Manthang shrouded in legend, myth and mystery but there are records of events in Lo as early as 8th century. It is likely that Tibetan Poet Milarepa, who lived from 1040 to 1123, visited Lo. Upper Mustang was part of Ngari, a name for far western Tibet which alos included some part of Dolpo.

The trek to Lo is through a barren, almost treeless landscape. Stong winds usually howl across the area in the afternoon, generally subsiding at night. Being in the rain shadow of the Himalaya, Lo receives much monsoon the skies are cloudy and there is some rain. In the winter there is usually snow, sometimes as much as 30 or 40 cm accumulates on the ground.

In Lo itself the countryside is similar to the Tibetan Plateau with its endless expanses or yellow grey rolling hills eroded by wind. Mustang and the hills tend to be great, red, together by mud. Villages are several hours apart and appear in the distance almost as mirages; during the summer season, after the crops are planted, they are green oases inthe desert-like landscape.

The people of upper Mustang call themselves 'Lobas'. Meaning 'Lo- People' and Khampa, 'Kham Peple'. This makes up 'People of Lo. House and Gompas are usually constructed with some stone but mostly sun-backed bricks of mud. Astonishing edifices, such as the city wall and the four-storey palace in Lo Manthang, are built in this manner.

The form of Tibetan Buddhism practised in Mustang is primarily that of the Sakyapa sect. This sect was established at Sakya monastery in Tibet and dates from 1073. The Sakyapa sect is more wordly and practical in outlook and less concerned with meta-physics, than the more predominant Nying-mapa and Gelugpa sects. Sakya monastery is unique for the horizontal grey, white and yellow stripes on its red walls, and identifying feature of Sakyapa structures.Most chortens and gompas in Lo are painted in these colours, which reflect those of the surrounding hills.