Asie - Mustang, Nepal (24) Images supplémentaires...
Belgian photographer Bernard Castelein has travelled extensively in Nepal, particularly in the kingdom of Mustang. Straddling the border between north east Nepal and Tibet, Mustang is an ancient and starkly beautiful land - rough, eroded and barren yet extremely colourful with yellow, grey and red cliffs dotted with painted houses and chortens. Treks through the Kali Ghandaki river valley in lower Mustang pass through unspoilt villages and Buddhist gompas, set against the impressive Annapurna and Dhaulagiri massifs and the snowcapped peaks of Nilgiri and Tilicho.

So enthralled was Bernard when he trekked the famous "Annapurna circuit" in Lower Mustang, that he decided to return soon after and explore the northern district as well; "A phenomenal bonus of my trip was the Duk-Chu festival in Upper Mustang's capital, Lo-Manthang. After three days of praying the monks walk out of the Chhodde Gompa and dance for a prosperous New Year. Being agle to take pictures of the monks blowing Lawa's, the long trumpets, on top of the Gompa was the photographic highlight".

Mustang is the most restricted area of Nepal and visiting it requires an expensive permit from an approved tour organisation (the annual permit quota is one thousand). Trekking here is physically demanding, with high altitudes and low temperatures combined with long distances to cover and camping equipment to carry.

"The counterpoint of all these inconveniences", says Bernard, "is that one is rewarded with all the best trekking in Nepal can provide; a real feeling of being in the wild, an unmatched natural beauty and, at the same time, the discrete but ubiquitous presence of Buddhism and Tibetan culture".

For more information and images, contact timaldred@naturepl.com.

Bernard Castelein, photographer, in Mustang district, Himalayas, Nepal November 2004
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Bernard Castelein / Bernard Castelein, photographer, in Mustang district, Himalayas, Nepal November 2004
Khatung Kang, after sunset, Mustang, Nepal
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Bernard Castelein / Khatung Kang, after sunset, Mustang, Nepal
Water flowing down Dhakmar Khola with Red cliffs of Dhakmar in background, Mustang, Nepal
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Bernard Castelein / Water flowing down Dhakmar Khola with Red cliffs of Dhakmar in background, Mustang, Nepal
Tilicho Peak with Annapurna I in background, at sunrise, viewed from Syangboche, Lower Mustang, Nepal
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Bernard Castelein / Tilicho Peak with Annapurna I in background, at sunrise, viewed from Syangboche, Lower Mustang, Nepal
Chortens with rock formations in background, near Tetang, Mustang, Nepal
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Bernard Castelein / Chortens with rock formations in background, near Tetang, Mustang, Nepal
Chorten with rocky landscape, Ghami, Mustang, Nepal
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Bernard Castelein / Chorten with rocky landscape, Ghami, Mustang, Nepal
Chorten, western edge of Jharkot, Lower Mustang, Nepal.
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Bernard Castelein / Chorten, western edge of Jharkot, Lower Mustang, Nepal.
Prayer flags, Poonhill, Ghorepani, Annapurna region, Nepal.
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Bernard Castelein / Prayer flags, Poonhill, Ghorepani, Annapurna region, Nepal.
Arrid mountains of Mustang with peak of Nilgiri range visible in background, Lower Mustang, Nepal. November 2004
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Bernard Castelein / Arrid mountains of Mustang with peak of Nilgiri range visible in background, Lower Mustang, Nepal. November 2004
Horsemen riding in Kali Gandaki riverbed, between Jomosom and Eklobhatti, Lower Mustang, Nepal
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Bernard Castelein / Horsemen riding in Kali Gandaki riverbed, between Jomosom and Eklobhatti, Lower Mustang, Nepal
Exposed 'Saligram' Ammonite fossil lying in Kali Gandaki riverbed, Lower Mustang, Nepal
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Bernard Castelein / Exposed 'Saligram' Ammonite fossil lying in Kali Gandaki riverbed, Lower Mustang, Nepal
Reflection of clouds in water next to the Kali Ghandaki river, Nilgiri range, Chhusang, Lower Mustang, Nepal
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Bernard Castelein / Reflection of clouds in water next to the Kali Ghandaki river, Nilgiri range, Chhusang, Lower Mustang, Nepal