Far East Travels Video Podcast

Kagbeni is one of the most interesting villages in all of Nepal with it’s take on Western shopping and food culture. But it’s much more than that. Ancient Bonn Animist beliefs, statues and a picturesque location in the Kala Gandaki, the world’s deepest gorge. Join me John Saboe for a special edition of Far East Adventure Travel Podcast on the Buddhist trail to the Upper Mustang-The Medieval village of Kagbeni, Nepal.

The Kag in Kagbeni was once Ghag, meaning center and it is, with the important Buddhist/Hindu pilgrimmage site Muktinath to the east and the town of Jomson to the south. The beni in Kagbeni means confluence of two rivers where the Kala Gandaki and Jhong Rivers meet is where the village sits.

It’s also the furthest north you can trek without a permit to the former Kingdom of Lo, the restricted Upper Mustang region.

It’s an enriching experience just walking through the village admiring its’ almost 600 year old Buddhist monastery and observing everyday life.

I wanted to get a deeper understanding of Kagbeni’s history and it’s ancient beliefs that still sculpt the life of the town today. So I asked Dara Tsepten, the managing director of the YakDonald’s Hotel and restaurant and a native of Kagbeni to give me some background and context to the town’s most significant sites.

It certainly explained this God’s appearance of being in a perpetual state of bliss and a village hungry for making babies.

Dara showed me the archway which contains two prayer wheels.

We then visited Dara’s grandparents home. This mask was once used by his grandfather for an almost forgotten village dance.

This is an ancient stone once used for grinding the grains that are grown in and around Kagbeni. Barley and Buckwheat are important staples to the diet of the local people.

We then visited the town water mill now used for grinding the grains and beans that villagers harvest.

According to legend, Chortens are the oldest of Buddhist religious monuments and at one time were just a simple mound of mud or clay to cover relics of the Buddha. Dara explained the structure of some of Kagbeni’s Chortens and their ability to remove ghosts and bad spirits as you enter and exit the village.

Finally I had to ask Dara, why he named his organic restaurant YakDonald’s?

It was a truly authentic experience meeting Dara and learning about Kagbeni and the sites that have held so much meaning for hundreds of years to the people of the village.

This crossroads to the Upper Mustang and Annapurna Circuit may hold the key to the future of tourism in Nepal. Ancient rituals and traditions carried on today with sustainable eco-friendly practises in a Himalayan Shangri La.

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