MuktiNath, Mustang district, Dhaulagiri zone
Muktinath temple is a popular pilgrimage for Nepalese. It is at the foot of the Thorong La mountain pass (part of the Himalayas) at an altitude of 3,710 meters and Jomsom serves as a gateway.
Almost 2 hours of picturesque drive from Kagbeni and we were at the bottom, from where we had to walk uphill for about 20 minutes or so. There were moterbike services for all those who couldn't walk.
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| Welcoming-The Entrance |
I was expecting this place to be snow-white as I have seen in the photos. To my disappointment, there wasnt much of a snow on the mountains; I didnt realise it's summer, but it was foggy.
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| Flag Mountain |
Inside the main temple and I was quite surprised to see a monk priest although I was carrying khata (silk scarf) myself. To my knowledge, Muktinath is a HIndu temple but came to know it's pilgrimage site for both Buddhists and Hindus. It is a great example of a sacred place shared in harmony by two religions.
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| Bells unwanted |
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| Salvation |
Behind the temple, there were 108 Dhara (waterspouts) called “Muktidhara”. Those who visit the temple take a shower in each of these spouts in a belief that it brings them salvation (Mukti-Salvation, Nath-God). We did too. I'm not sure if running (we did run) under those ice cold water spouts would bring salvation but we had fun.
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| My Castle |
We went around for about an hour, followed a security from the temple. 'Jwalamai' temple was amazing; there were two flames continuously burning, fed by natural gas. Later we had mid-day breakfast and we headed our way back to Jomson. Perhaps the driver was in a hurry, we needed a seatbelt tight & across all over the body. We still enjoyed the views all the way. Breathtaking!
Some more photos-
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| Prayer Bells |
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| Gompa |
