Shangri-La: has it been found?

Shangri-La, the mystical mountain fastness and magnet for some unusual beliefs (including being the target of a Nazi expedition), but has it been found?



Climber Renan Ozturk watches a local Tibetan look at an illuminated manuscript found during an August 2008 expedition to remote Himalayan caves in the ancient kingdom of Mustang, today part of Nepal.

The folio is part of a treasure trove of 15th-century Tibetan art and manuscripts that could be linked to the real-world inspiration for Shangri-La, a fictional paradise described by British writer James Hilton in his popular 1930s novel Lost Horizon.

Until recently few have been able to explore the mysterious caves--carved high into sheer cliff faces--because Upper Mustang is a restricted area of Nepal that was long closed to outsiders. Today only a thousand foreigners a year are allowed into the region.

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