Because of its sensitive border location, Mustang was off-limits to foreigners until 1992.
Some of the caves appear almost impossible to reach even to experienced climbers.
Some caves were apparently used as burial chambers.
The several dozen bodies that were found in these caves were all more than 2,000 years old.
They lay on wooden beds and decorated with copper jewelry and glass beads.
Sky burial is still practiced in many remote regions in the Himalaya.
Archeologists believe that the caves in Mustang were used in three general periods.
They were first used some 3,000 years ago as burial chambers.
Luri Gompa is one of the most famous in Mustang.
Photo credit:nepaladvisor.com
Photo credit:David Rengel/Washington Post
Luri Gompa.
Photo credit:library.brown.edu
Sources:Nat Geo/library.brown.edu/www.oneworldtrekking.com
