Explore the mysterious cave kingdom in the Himalayas

Hidden inside Nepal's Himalaya mountains, thousands of artificial caves, located 47 meters from the ground of the ancient Mustang kingdom, form one of the world's largest archaeological mysteries.

It is estimated that 10,000 special caves are found in central and northern Nepal. Surprisingly, some of the caves dug deep into the cliffs in the canyon, while others were dug into the tunnel from above.

Thousands of holes formed on the cliffs and fragile cliffs, located nearly 50 meters from the valley floor, give viewers the impression of a giant sand castle. So far, the scientific world is not clear who is the author of these thousands of year-old caves or what they built them.

People have discovered up to 10,000 caves deep into the cliff . (Photo: NatGeo)

Adventurous photographer Cory Richards joined mountain climbers Pete Athans, archaeologist Mark Aldenderfer and an expedition team to unearth the hidden remains of the ancient and remote caves of the Mustang kingdom.

Photographer Richards said: "I saw caves carved into rocks and now they are completely inaccessible. As I go deep inside, I begin to see the magic of what is approaching, the culture. and a 12th-century village beneath the caves they once lived in. These caves are now forgotten. "

. and located 50 meters from the valley floor.(Photo: Daily Mail)

Currently, most caves in this place are empty. However, archaeologists have discovered evidence such as stoves, seed containers, sleeping chambers, etc. referring to where people once lived. In 2010, some experts also found skulls, teeth, and limbs of people as well as some funeral items such as coffins here.

According to Richards, it is not easy to climb into "heavenly caves" due to the ease of falling rocks, posing a real danger to the expedition. The adventurer himself lost his balance, fell and broke his back. During another trip to Mustang, cinematographer Lincoln Else was once hit by a rock that hit him, causing the skull to crack up to 21cm long.

All the difficulties and obstacles caused the adventurers' group to wonder, how did the inhabitants of the ancient Mustang kingdom climb into the caves. They are still trying to decipher the mystery of this strange, unique cave.

These unique caves are difficult to access because they are located in a dangerous location.(Photo: Daily Mail)

Aldenderfer archaeologist makes the assumption that the history of caves consists of three periods: 3,000 years ago, they were used to bury the dead. Until about 1,000 years ago, they became the habitat of Mustang families, because the winter here was very warm. Only in the 13th century did people begin to migrate to traditional villages in the valley.

Slapping all the caves owned by the kingdom of Mustang. Previously, this kingdom was on the mission path from India to China, so it became a large Buddhist center with beautiful temples and monasteries. However, the heyday of this place ended in the 17th century. The neighboring kingdoms gradually grew and ruled the Mustang lands.

Due to its relatively dangerous geographical location, the 'heavenly caves' and the Mustang kingdom were truly forgotten until they were rediscovered by adventurers in 1981. The Kingdom of Mustang currently thought to be the best conservation example of traditional Tibetan life in the world.