Secrets of Shangri-La

Since the fifth century, when a Chinese poet wrote of a hidden utopia for faithful Buddhists, people have fantasized about those magical places where people live long lives in health and harmony—and adventurers have sought to find them.


Mountaineer Peter Athans
Photograph by Robert Mackinlay

In 2007 Peter Athans, renowned mountaineer and veteran of seven Mount Everest summits, joined forces with fellow climber Broughton Coburn to explore a series of caves in the remote Himalayan kingdom of Mustang, an area that had previously been off-limits to outsiders. In a subterranean chamber, 14,000 feet up, they found a gigantic 55-panel mural from the 13th century depicting important Buddhist sages and 11th century Tibetan manuscripts, suggesting a gathering place for a large religious community—perhaps the sort of meditative, self-sufficient community that inspired the myth of Shangri-la.

News accounts of the discovery spread quickly, generating an estimated 800 articles worldwide. Concerned that the attention they had brought to this previously inaccessible valley might pose a threat to its masterpieces, Athans and Coburn returned in 2008 with a multidisciplinary team to properly document, study, and begin to preserve the treasures.

Explore this remarkable Tibetan site that is shedding light on the spread of Buddhism through the Himalaya.