This was from a two-month trip to Nepal I took during June and July of 1999 while participating in the SMP program at Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois. We spent about three weeks in Kathmandu, two weeks in Pokhara, two weeks trekking up the Kali Gandaki towards Muktinath, and another week of small trips around the Kathmandu area.

Part of the time on the trek and in Kathmandu was spent doing some research on the Lopa ("People of Lo"; or "Loba") of what is officially the Mustang District of Nepal. Mustang is the section along the central portion of the Nepal-Tibet border that juts into Tibet on the high, desolate plateau beyond the Himilaya. The 14,500 inhabitants of Lo are a fairly isolated people practicing a combination of Tibetan Buddhism and ancient local religions.

Trek Journal: Click here to read the portion of my trip journal written during our trek in the Himilaya.

Tibetan Culture Preserved in Lo: Click here to read a paper about the isolated religion of the Lopa.