The trek to Lo is through an almost treeless barren landscape. Srong winds usually in the afternoon, generally subsiding at night. Being in the rain shadow of the Himalaya, Lo has much less rain than the rest of Nepal, through the skies is cloudy and there is same rain during the monsoon. In the winnotepater there is usually snow, sometime as much as 30-40 centimeters on the ground. In the Lo itself the countryside is similar to the Tibetan plateau with its endless expenses of yellow and gray rolling hills eroded by wind. There is more rain in the lower part of upper Mustang and the hills tend to be great red fluted cliffs of tiny round stones cemented together by mud. Villages are several hours apart and appear in the distance almost as mirages; during the summer season, after the crops are planted, they are green oases in the desert- like landscape.

House and temple construction throughout the region uses some stone but mostly unbaked bricks of mud. Astonishing edifices, such as the city wall and the 4-story palace in Lo Manthang, are built in this manner. It is said that were once large forests in Lo, but now wood for construction is hauled all the way from Jomsom or pruned from poplar trees that are carefully planted in every village.

The people of upper Mustang call themselves Lobas. To be strictly correct, this word would be spelled “Lopa “, meaning “Lo people”, in the same way as Sherpa, which means “East people”,or Khampa, which means “Kham people”, The peopple of Lo, probably because regional dialect, pronounce the world with a definite “B” sound instead of the “P” sound that the Sherpas and Khampas use. At the Lo tradition and spell the word as it is pronounced: “Loba.”

Religion in Lo
The form of Tibetan Buddhism practiced in Mustang is primarily that of the Sakyapa sect. This sect was established at Sakya Monastry in Tibet and dated from 1073. The Sakyapa sect is more worldly and practical in outlook and is less concerned with metaphysics than the more predominant Nyingmpa and Gelugpa sects. Sakya Monastery is unique for its horizontal gray, white and yellow stripes on its red walls, an identifying feature of Sakyapa structures. Most chortens and gompas in Lo are printed in these colours that reflect the surrounding hills.

When to come?
The trekking season is from late March to early November. This trek does not go to really high elevation, but the cold, dust and very strong winds can make the trek less pleasant than other treks in Nepal.