Mustang Caves

The Mustang Caves, also known as the Sky Caves of Nepal, are a collection of 10,000 man-made caves carved into the sides of valleys in Nepal's Mustang District. Several groups of archaeologists and scholars have examined these stacked caves and discovered partially mummified human corpses and skeletons dating from 2,000 to 3,000 years ago.

Conservators and archaeologists have discovered magnificent Buddhist paintings, sculptures, manuscripts, and countless objects dating from the 12th to 14th centuries during their explorations of these caverns. The caverns are located near the Kali Gandaki River in Upper Mustang, on the high valley cliffs. Researchers have continued to look into the caves, but no one has figured out who built them or why they were made. The site is currently listed as a UNESCO tentative site since 1996.

In the Mustang caves, explorers from the United States discovered ancient Buddhist decorative art and paintings, manuscripts, and pottery dating from the 13th century. In 2008, a second expedition unearthed many 600-year-old human remains as well as reams of valuable manuscripts, some of which had miniature drawings known as illuminations and contain a mix of Buddhist and Bon literature.

Location: Mustang, Nepal