Pilgrimage at 13,000 Elevation- Mukthinath Trip Nov. 2-5, 2019

Hello everyone! I just got back to Pokhara, Nepal from Muktinath, Nepal. I traveled up to northern Nepal with my Thangka Art Teacher Bibek Ghiseng for a few day adventure to a place sacred to both Hindus and Buddhists called Muktinath. 

Here are a few highlights from our days there. The temperature was a chilling 28 degrees at night. Most of the hotels including the one we stayed at do not have heat. Although we had a great time it was a relief to come back to the 75 degree temps here in Pokhara.

A simple but majestic black stone Buddha gazes peacefully towards the Himalayas. Buddha was actually born in southern Nepal in Lumbini.

Dhaulagiri Mountain- seventh highest in world (on far left) provides a beautiful background for this sacred land.

We flew to Jonsom, Nepal a 20 minute flight from Pokhara. The landscape dramatically changed to a desert like terrain. This is a very low rain area since the Himalaya block the rain.

Here is my young friend and art teacher Bibek as we arrived in Jonsom. It was his first plane ride and it was a noisy one in a small prop plane.  We had a lot of fun and he helped out with language and general support! He is a remarkable young man.

As we got out of the plane, we started to get a reality check on the temp!

The area was full of many beautiful shrines. Here is the Buddhist Guru Padmasambhava. Bibek and I studied and enjoyed the various examples of Buddhist art everywhere!

Horsemen from Upper Mustang, Nepal (near Tibet) transport pilgrims up to the temple for a fee. 

The main attraction is the Hindu Temple called Muktinath. It is devoted to Lord Vishnu the maintainer of the creation. Here is the entrance. Buddhist prayer wheels and prayer flags decorate the Hindu shrine inside and outside demonstrating the peaceful co-existence of Hinduism and Buddhism in Nepal.

108 taps or spigots continually pour famous, sacred, healing water from the Himalayas. Some pilgrims undress to minimum attire and run through the line up of taps hoping to wash away bad karma. The freezing cold weather made for an entertaining sight as people dashed under the taps.

Knowing my limits, I merely splashed water from each tap on my head.

Lines of devotees queue up outside the small pagoda shaped temple in the middle of the taps, to seek the blessings of Lord Vishnu

On the final day, I took my turn for blessings at the temple and got the big red tika or third eye blessing. 

On the second day we took a 10 mile hike to the small town of Kagbeni. By then we were doing a bit better with the altitude. Even Bibek -an 18 year old -was huffing and puffing at 13, 000 feet.

We saw wild horses....

Herds of yaks...wild and domesticated....

We made some balancing stone art along the way...

We marveled at the arid terrain with incredible geological wonders : Caves in striated rock cliffs, the Kala Gandaki River winding its way through deep canyons....

Incredibly powerful winds whipped our faces and bodies.

And behind us the lovely mountains of the Thorong La Pass 

When we finally reached Kagbeni, we toured some very old Buddhist Monasteries and discussed the art we saw inside (no photos allowed inside most  unfortunately)

I snuck one photo from outside the entrance looking in...

The Buddhist monuments we saw everywhere gave us the true feeling of an ancient culture and they looked so perfectly beautiful in the arid terrain.

The small town of Kagbeni transported us back to a different time and was a glimpse into Tibetan culture.

Last night we stayed overnight in Jomsom in order to catch the early flight back to Pokhara this AM. Due to intense winds the flights only go in early morning. A farewell shot of the mountains today. 

We are planning our next adventure to Upper Mustang, Nepal maybe in 5-6 months when I return for more art study and to select more paintings for my Sacred Art of Nepal art sale endeavor...