The small former kingdom, which lies north of the Tibetan border, politically belongs to Nepal. The desert-like high plateau is located behind the mountain ranges of Annapurna and Dhaulagiri, which stand more than 8,000 metres high. The plateau, which lies at a height of 3,000 metres, receives its character from the river Kali Gandaki and its tributaries. Once, the river had been the Tibetans' main trading route for transporting salt to Nepal. To viewers the treeless landscape gives an impression of endless vastness: Nothing but sand-coloured mountains, as far as the eye can see; paths you can only travel with the assistance of persistent and tough helpers like donkeys. Here, time seems to stand still. The capital Lo Manthang also looks like it belonged to another time. Surrounding caves, monasteries and Stupas give insight into the culture of Mustang's people who are very close to Tibetans regarding culture and language. The kingdom has been welcoming tourists since 1992, when Mustang opened its borders for sustainable tourism. In spite of this new economic sector, agriculture remains the inhabitants' most important source of income. With the quite exhaustive journey and the high fees for visiting the kingdom only few foreign visitors travel into this region.

The Lopa, the about 6,000 inhabitants of Mustang, are very close to the Tibetans regarding culture, language and religion.In the 8th century, Buddhism had been brought to Mustang by the Indian Buddhist master Padmasambhava and the inhabitants adopted this religion as their own.  During the centuries, though, many Buddhist teachers, Tibetan lamas and monks left the country. Lately, old deserted monasteries have been renovated with the help of the local population and are in use again.

The language of Mustang's population, called Lopa or Lowa, is a Tibetan dialect. In Mustang you also find other Tibetan dialects as well as Nepali. Most of the Lopa live in the vicinity of the river Kali Gandaki. With the changing seasons, large parts of the population have to move to Nepal's lower regions, since the rough climate makes agriculture and therefore survival impossible.