ImagesA pond in Tiri, Upper Mustang, Nepal....

Seen during a day off from the Annapurna Circuit. This is actually taken with my selfie camera as I busted the lens of my phone's better camera a few days into the trek.

Upper Mustang is one of the least seen areas of the world, having been closed to foreigners until 1992. It's culturally Tibetan Buddhist with shades of animism and Bon influence
. It is a restricted area, only accessible with expensive permits (that we cannot afford).

There are a few exceptions that allow a trav
eler without a permit to cross during only the daytime from the Mustang village of Kagbeni - walking to Tiri, the nearest village, about fifteen minutes away;
climbing the hill opposite the river for an Upper Mustang view; and taking the nearest northern road to Muktinath. We crossed to Tiri where we explored the village, climbed to the nearby gompa, and visited this beautiful pond