Tiji Festival Trek 2011 Run By Nepal Visitors
Tiji Festival Trekking, The Tiji Festival in Lo Manthang is one of the most important and colorful festival trek in Mustang Region of Nepal.
- (1888PressRelease) December 30, 2010 - Mustang has a long, rich and complex history that masks it one of the most interesting place in Nepal. The early history of Lo is Surrounded in legend. Myth and mystery, But there are records of events in Lo as early as the 8th century. It is quite likely that the Tibetan poet Milarepa, who lived from 1040 to 1123, visited Lo. Upper Mustang was once part of Ngari, a name for far western Tibet. Ngari was not a true political entity, but rather a loose collection of feudal domains that also included parts of Dolpo. By the 14th Century, much of Ngari, as well as most of what today is western Nepal, was part of the Malla empire governed from the capital at Sinja, near Jumla. It is generally believed that Ame Pal (Ama-dpal in Tibetan ) founded Lo in 1380 and was its first king. The Ancestry of the present Mustang Raja can be traced 25 generations back to Ame Pal. Ame Pal, or perhaps his father, conquered a large part of the territory in the upper Kali Gandaki and was responsible for the development of the city of Lo Manthang and many gompas.
To the west, the Malla empire declined and split into numerous petty hill states. By the 18th century, Jumla had consolidated and reasserted its power. In an effort to develop their domain as a trading centre and to obtain Tibetan goods, the rulers of Jumla turned their attention eastward. In the mid-18th century they assumed control over Lo, from which they extracted as annual tribute. When he ascended the throne in 1762, prithvi Narayan Shah began to consolidated what is present-day nepal. At the time of his death, the kingdom extended from Gorkha eastward to the borders of Sikkim. His descendants directed their efforts westward and by 1789, Jumla had been annexed. The Gorkha armies never actually entered Lo; they recognized the rule of the Mustang Raja. Although Mustang became par of Nepal, the raja retained his title and Lo retained a certain amount of autonomy. Lo maintained its status as a separate principality until 1951. After the Rana rulers were overthrown and king Tribhuvan reestablished the rule of the Shah monarchs on 15 February 1951, Lo was more closely consolidated into Nepal. The raja was given the honorary rank of colonel in the Nepal army.
During the 1960s, after the Dalai lama had fled to India and Chiness armies established control over Tibet, Mustang was a centre for guerrilla operations against the Chinese. The soldiers were the Khampas, Tibet's most fearsome warriors, who were backed by the CIA (some Khampas were secretly trained in the USA). At the height of the fighting there were at least 6000khampas in Mustang and neighboring border areas. The CIA's support ended in the early 1970s when the USA, under Kissinger and Nixon, Initiated new and Better relations with the Chinese. The government of Nepal was pressed to take action against the guerrillas and, making use of internal divisions within the Khampa leadership, a bit of treachery and the Dalai Lama's taped advice for his citizens to lay down their arms, it managed to disband the resistance without committing to action the 10,000 Nepali troops that had been sent to the area.
Though Mustang was closed, the vovernment allowed a few researchers into the area.Toni hagen included Mustang in his survey of the entire kindom of Nepal, and the Italian scholar Giuseppe Tucci visited in the autumn of 1952. Professor David Snellgrove travelled to the gegion in 1956 but did not visit Lo Manthang. Longtime Nepal resident Barbara Adams travelled to Mustang during the autumn of 1963.The most complete description of the area is Mustang, the Forbidden Kingdom, written by Michel Peissel, who spent several months in the area in the spring of 1964, Dr Harka Bahadur Gurung also visited and wrote about Upper Mustang in October 1973. A number of groups legally travelled to upper Mustang during the 1980s by obtaining permission to climb Bhrikuti (6364), south-east of Lo Manthang. Other than a few special royal guests, the first legal trekkers were allowed into Mustang in March 1992 upon payment of a high fee for a special trekking permit.
Allegiance to the Phurba (Sa Phur) tradition i.e. invoking the wrathful deity of Dorje Shunu who is considered to banish all forms of obstacles has prevailed since the time of Lama Lowo Khenchen (1456-1532), the son of Lo's second King amgon Sangpo (1419-1482). This influence could be due to the visits of the great Sakyapa master Ngorchen Kunga Sangpo who was invited by Amedpal (1388-1447) the first ruler of Lo and was honoured as his chief religious preceptor. Lowo Khenchen was considered as one of the greatest Buddhist teachers of his time, and he played a major role in spreading Buddhism in Mustang.
Tiji is believed to have started around the time of Lowo khenchen and continued with great pomp and fervor in the few centuries thereafter. It thus became one of the main festivals of Lo. The country at that time was flourishing, food was plentiful, and Buddhist religion was practiced and followed by the Royal family as well as the lay people. Large monasteries were built and great teachers were born.
Evidence of this golden age of religion and prosperity can still be seen in most villages in the form of monasteries, dzongs, large houses and private chapels. Dear readers this is the copyright contain by nepalvisitors.com. During the reign of the 15th King of Mustang, Ahang Jamba Dadul, (enthronement approx 1816, died 1837) the country of Lo witnessed unrest and economic downfall. The Queen was also unable to bear a son, so to appease the gods and remove obstacles to the Buddhist religious traditions, Ngachen Ngawang Kunga Sonam, a great Sakyapa master from Tibet, was invited to visit Lo. At the festival of Tiji this master is said to have performed the masked dances as the main dancer, or tsowo. Folklore describes a mound outside the city walls of Lo Manthang where the arrow used by the great master to drive away the demons is said to have been buried, and left an indent upon the mound. This place is known as Sa Kawo or the "White Land", and exists to this very day. Following Ngachen Ngawang Kunga Sonam's visit to Lo, the festival regained its popularity and prior glory.
However, towards the mid 19th century, political changes in Nepal affected Mustang, and many age-old traditions were abolished including Tiji. Although the main ceremony in the city's square no longer took place, Choede Gompa, the central monastery of Lo Manthang, continued to celebrate the festival with the monastery without economic support from the people. This has been practiced since 1963, and still continues today, despite the main festival having being revived.
An intriguing story behind the most recent revival of Tiji denotes that an apparition appeared to Pemba, a layman from Lo Manthang, and it was prophesized that if the Tiji festival was not practiced, great evil and suffering would befall Lo. Epidemics would plague the area and there would be death, suffering and poverty everywhere. So the present King, now 25th in the lineage, Jigme Dadul Palbar Bista met with the late Khempo (Head Lama) Tashi Tenzin of Lo Manthang's Choede Gompa, the representatives of Lo Tso Dun and high officials to discuss the matter.
It was then decided that the festival would be restarted, and by the 1970s the main festival in the square (in front of the King's Palace), within the high city walls, was again celebrated with great enthusiasm. It can thus be said that despite much antagonism (both political and economic), the tradition and continuity of Tiji was never really broken, and continues in its original form to this day.
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Trip Facts:
Trekking Destination : Mustang Tiji Festival
Minimum altitude : 2810m.
Maximum altitude : 4,100m. (Ghar Gumba)
Grade : 3 and Festival Trek
Season : May -June
Accommodation : Tented Camp
Duration : 20 Days
Minimum group size: 2 pax
Cost:
2 persons = USD 2299
3-6 persons=USD 2099
7-10 persons=USD 1899
11-15 persons= USD 1599
16- Above persons= USD 1455
Tiji Festival Trekking Itinerary.
20 May 2011 Day 01: Arrival Kathmandu and transfer to Hotel.
21 May 2011 Day 02: Kathmandu full day sightseeing with german speaking guide ( Boudhanath, Pasupatinath and Soyambunath)
21 May 2011: Day 03: Drive to Pokhara, trancefer to Hotel.
22 May 2011: Day 04: flight to Jomson & Trek to Kagbeni
Restricted area Enter:
23 May 2011: Day 05: Kagbeni - Chele - Camping
24 May 2011: Day 06: Chele - Gilling - Camping ( Via chungse Gompa )
25 May 2011: Day 07: Gilling - Dakmar - Camping
26 May 2011: Day 08: Dakmar - Tsarang - Camping ( via lho-gekar , Ghar Gompa )
27 May 2011: Day 09: Tsarang - Lo-Manthang - Camping
28 May 2011: Day 10: Lo-Manthang Day hiking ( Choksar, Chonup, Namgyal by hourse (upper restricted area) - Camping (Start Tiji Festival)
29 May 2011: Day 11: Lo-Manthang - Tiji Festival
30 May 2011: Day 12: Lo- Manthang - Tiji Festival Ends
31 May 2011: Day 13: Lo-manthang - Yara - Camping
01 June 2011: Day 14: Yara - Tange - Camping
02 June 2011: Day 15: Tange - Tetang - Camping
03 June 2011: Day 16: Tetang - Muktinath - Camping
Exit Restricted Area:
04 June 2011: Day 17: Muktinath - Jomsom Stay in Hotel
05 June 2011: Day 18: Jomsom - Pokhara ( Day :Pokhara Sightseeing )
06 June 2011: Day 19: Drive to Kathmandu tranfer to Hotel
07 June 2011: Day 20: Final depart to your own destination.
Only camping trek allowed:
Completely closed to foreign trekkers until 1991, Mustang is an ancient Himalayan Kingdom. Inside the walled city of Lo Manthang are some of the largest Tibetan Buddhist gompas in Nepal. A difficult trek because of high altitude, exposed terrain and continual Strong winds.
The company "Nepal Visitors" recommended by Tripadviser.com and our official reviews on the UK's Trusted travellers website please follow the link:
http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction_Review-g293890-d1627477-Reviews-Nepal_Visitors-Kathmandu.html
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