At the altitude of 3710 m the sacred place of both Hindu and Buddhist is the solid example of how Nepal has maintained its harmony in terms of religion as number of pilgrims is Hindu while worship is conducted by a Buddhist monk. Muktinath lies in Mustang district one of the most remote and dry places in Nepal. Bordering with Tibetan plateau,Mustang is shelter for Annapurna range and Dhaulagiri range. En-route to muktinath you get chance to visit Beni Bazaar, Marfa, beautiful village sustained by agricultural activities which has traditional houses painted white where you will get pictures worth posting on your social sites. On the way to Jomsom you will also be able to enjoy the view of beautiful Rupse fall and deepest gorge in the world Called ‘kali gandaki gorge’ that separates Mt. Dhaulagiri on the west and Mt. Annapurna on the east. If time permits sightseeing to kusma suspension bridge the world’s longest suspension bridge and to Balgung Bazaar is spectacular choice to make.
‘Muktinath’ split into two words: ‘mukti’ refers to salvation while ‘nath’ refers to place. Therefore muktinath is the place for salvation. This place is the only place in the world where all the five elements- fire, water, earth, air and sky is present which is believed to create the universe as per both Hindu and Buddhist. Although the temple is Vhaisnav origin, it is also revered in Buddhism because of visit of Guru Padhmasabhava for meditation on his path to Tibet. The main temple is quite small and has statue of lord Vishnu which is made of gold is compare to be quite as tall as a man. The outer courtyard has 108 bull faced taps from where water is poured. The front side of the temple has two kunda, ponds filled with water. They are named as saraswati kunda and laxmi kunda. It is believed that anyone who bathe in these 108 taps and 2 kundas have successfully washed away all the sins and finally gained salvation. It is believed that bathing there would stop the process of birth and re-birth and finally would be at peace after death. Considering 108 water taps, number 108 has high significance in Hindu religion as there are 12 zodiac and 9 planets that gives the total of 108 as combination. Muktinath is also considered to be one from 108 sakhti peeths. Sakhti peeths are the the immense power created in certain areas by the body parts of Satidevi, wife of lord shiva which fell while lord shiva carried her dead body and wandered the world. The waterway downstream along flowing kali Gandaki is the source of saligrams, a smooth black stone that is a compulsion for establishing temple of Lord Vishnu.
Muktinath now has road access however to reach the main temple you have to hike for less than 30 Minutes. Pilgrims who faces difficulty in hiking uses horses and people to carry them to top. Enjoying the view of snow capped Annapurna range at south and the Tibetan plateau at north one can obtain peace of mind.
