A Millennium-Old Cliffside Mystery: Who Hid Bodies and Shrines in These Sky Caves? (14 Photos)

Deep within the Himalayas lies a place that remained largely sealed off from the outside world until recently. Its sheer cliff faces are honeycombed with thousands of man-made caves—an estimated 10,000 in total.





Some perch more than 150 feet above the valley floor. No one knows who carved these caves, or how people managed to scale the near-vertical rock face to reach them. Even seasoned rock climbers find some of the entrances virtually inaccessible.



This is Mustang—an ancient Buddhist kingdom bordering Tibet and one of the most remote corners of the Nepalese Himalayas. Once an independent realm, it was annexed by Nepal in the late 18th century, yet retained its status as a distinct kingdom until the 1950s.





Owing to its sensitive border location, Mustang remained strictly off-limits to foreigners until 1992. It was precisely this isolation that helped preserve its ancient culture, which is far closer to Tibet than to Nepal.



While most of the caves are now empty, others still bear signs of daily life: hearths, granaries, and sleeping quarters. Some clearly served as burial chambers, with dozens of bodies discovered inside dating back over two thousand years.



Laid out on wooden beds, the human remains were adorned with copper jewelry and glass beads. In other caves, skeletons dating from the 3rd to 8th centuries—predating the arrival of Buddhism in Mustang—bore cut marks on their bones. These were likely left by the practice of sky burial, where bodies are exposed to scavengers. The ritual is still practiced in remote regions of the Himalayas today.



Luri Gompa

Archaeologists believe the Mustang caves were used across three distinct eras. Around 3,000 years ago, they served primarily as burial vaults. Then, roughly a millennium ago, they became living quarters—likely offering refuge from conflicts and invasions sweeping through the valley.



Chungsi

By the 1400s, most residents had moved to traditional villages, transforming the caves into sacred spaces for meditation. Some evolved into monasteries—such as Luri Gompa, Chungsi Cave Monastery, and Nyiphuk Cave Monastery—all built around and inside the rock faces.



Nyiphuk

Luri Gompa is among the most famous of these sanctuaries. Perched on a ledge at least 100 meters above the ground, it sits atop one of many natural sandstone pillars. A winding trail climbs from the valley floor to a single entrance opening into two interconnected chambers.



The outer chamber houses a shrine, while the inner chamber—Luri Gompa's crown jewel—is adorned with a series of murals depicting Indian mahasiddhas: enlightened masters believed to have attained siddhi, or spiritual powers, through meditation.



No historical records relating to this enigmatic gompa have ever been found, but the murals appear to date back to the 14th century, or perhaps even earlier.



After Mustang opened to outsiders in 1992, archaeological expeditions and tourists began pouring in. Yet not all the caves received proper care; for decades, the delicate murals of Luri Gompa suffered from exposure to harsh winds and a lack of maintenance.



Their alarming condition has led experts to call for urgent preservation efforts. Meanwhile, other caves across Mustang are gradually drawing renewed attention and support, helped by local media coverage and tourism revenue.



Local communities now use entry fee proceeds to maintain the monasteries and preserve the caves. But who were the first people to lay their dead to rest high in the cliffs, and what drove them to scale such daunting heights? Those questions remain unanswered.