Mustang (from Tibetan Mun Tan (Wylie smon-thang) which means fertile plain) is the former Kingdom of Lo and now part of Nepal, in the north-east of that country, bordering China on the Central Asian plateau between the Nepalese provinces of Dolpo and Manang. It is roughly 80 km long (north-south) and 45 km at its widest, and is at an elevation of over 2500 m. Mustang is also known as a "Tibet outside the Tibetan Border" for it survived the Chinese invasion of 1951 and hence it fosters the original Tibetan culture, although it is now politically part of Nepal.

Life in Mustang revolves around animal husbandry and trade. The region is the easiest corridor through the Himalayas linking the Tibetan Plateau and Central Asia with the tropical Indian plains, and it enjoyed a trans-Himalayan trade. Because of its strategic importance it went through many wars, and hence various cultural and religious practices thrived in parallel in Mustang.

It is largely dry and arid (annual precipitation is in the range of 250-400 mm) due to its position in the rain shadow of the Annapurna massif towards the south. The population is around 9,000, spread between three towns and approximately thirty smaller settlements; the people are either Thakalis or Tibetan. Most of the population of Mustang live near the river, 2-3,000 m above sea level, but the tough conditions cause a large seasonal migration into lower regions of Nepal.

The administrative centre of the district is at Jomsom (Dzong Sampa), population 5,363 (1998), which has had an airport since 1962 and has become the main tourist centre since the area was opened to tourism in the 1970s.

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