page_title: Mustang District
section_title: Thak Satsae
hierarchical_section_title: Mustang District / Divisions / Thak Khola / Thak Satsae
caption_attribution_description: English: Shamba/ Shmabha/ Tsamba gompa (Kamtsang Dargye Choekhorling Monastery), Tukuche, Mustang, Nepal
context_page_description: Mustang District is one of the seventy-seven districts of Nepal. It covers an area of 3,573 km² and has a population of 13,452. The headquarters is Jomsom.
  The district is in Dhawalagiri Zone and part of Gandaki Pradesh in northern Nepal, straddles the Himalayas and extends northward onto the Tibetan Plateau. The district is one of the remotest areas in Nepal and is second in terms of the sparsity of population. The elevation ranges from 1,372 to 8,167 meters, with several peaks above 7,000 meters.
  Mustang was an ancient forbidden kingdom, bordered by the Tibetan Plateau and sheltered by some of world's tallest peaks, including 8000-meter tall Annapurna and Dhaulagiri. Strict regulations of tourists here have aided in maintaining Tibetan traditions. Upper Mustang was a restricted demilitarized area until 1992, which makes it one of the most preserved regions in the world due to its relative isolation from the outside world, with a majority of the population still speaking traditional Tibetic languages. The name "Mustang" is derived from the Tibetan word meaning, "Plain of Aspiration." Upper Mustang was only opened to foreigners in 1992.
context_section_description: Thak Satsae (“Seven Hundred Thak”) is the most southerly sub-region of Mustang. The sub-region extends from the village of Ghasa in the south to the trading town of Tukuche in the north, bordering Jomsom (the district headquarter). Traditionally believed to have 700 households, the sub-region encompasses 13 villages along Thak Khaki, a segment of the Kali Gandaki located south of Jomsom (also called Tehragaon or "thirteen villages"): Ghasa, Taglung, Dhamphu, Kunjo, Titi, Sauru Khanti, Lete, Kobang, Nakung, Naurikot, Bhurjungkot, Larjung and Tukuche. They were distributed across four VDCs: Lete, Kowang, Kunjo and Tukuche
  Thak Satsae Area or Thak Khola is home to Tamang people, the largest group of Thakalis in Mustang, who are known to outsiders as just Thakkalis. The Thakkalis of Mustang, known for their enterprising skills as traders, innkeepers and hoteliers, are divided into four clans: Khuki (Bhattachan), Choki (Gauchan), Dinjen (Sherchan) and Salki (Tulachan). The introduction of horticulture and tourism has made this region prosperous. Various kinds of liquor, Jam and Jelly made up of apple, apricot and plum are very popular commodities of this area.
caption: Tsampa gompa at Tukuche
exif: {"Image Make": "Canon", "Image Model": "Canon EOS 20D", "Image XResolution": "240", "Image YResolution": "240", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 4.4 (Windows)", "Image DateTime": "2013:06:01 15:18:32", "Image ExifOffset": "206", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "664", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "7928", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/60", "EXIF FNumber": "28/5", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Landscape Mode", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "100", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0230", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2013:05:08 15:22:41", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2013:05:08 15:22:41", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "5906891/1000000", "EXIF ApertureValue": "2485427/500000", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "17", "EXIF SubSecTimeOriginal": "00", "EXIF FocalPlaneXResolution": "31750/11", "EXIF FocalPlaneYResolution": "2704000/937", "EXIF FocalPlaneResolutionUnit": "2", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard"}