Paintings, scripts and artefacts, some of which may date as far back as the 13th century, have been found inside a newly discovered series of caves located 125 kilometres northwest of the Nepalese capital, Kathmandu.

A team of climbers, scholars, archaeologists and explorers from the USA, Italy and Nepal made the discovery while examining 12 cave systems set inside a sheer cliff in the Himalaya at an altitude of 4,300 metres. The team had to use ropes and ice axes to gain access to the caves, each of which had around 20 openings.

The caves, near the medieval walled city of Lo Manthang in the Mustang district, contained stupas (religious monuments), paintings depicting Buddha and Newari murals. “The findings underscore the richness of the Tibetan Buddhist religious tradition of this area, stretching back nearly a millennium, as well as the artistic beauty and wide geographical reach of Newari artists,” said Broughton Coburn, a US member of the survey team and an expert in Himalayan conservation and development. “For Nepal, and for the Lobas, the people of northern Mustang, these are national treasures, and they need to be preserved and protected,” he said.