MUSTANG, Oct 14: Mustang’s mountain goat trade, linked to the ancient Silk Road, has continued for generations. The tradition of bringing Himalayan goats to market during Dashain preserves the legacy of routes once used to trade wool and salt across the mountains.
Niraj Thakali, a mountain goat trader from Thini in Gharapjhong Rural Municipality Ward 5, said the ancient Silk Road, Mustang’s goats and Dashain celebrations in the Pokhara region shared a relationship stretching back thousands of years.
“Although the salt and wool trade along the Silk Road has become history, the practice of bringing Mustang’s mountain goats to market during Dashain has kept its legacy alive,” he said. “Pilgrims visiting Muktinath helped spread the reputation of Mustang goat meat across the country.”
From Mustang’s highland pastures, the goats reach markets in Myagdi, Parbat, Baglung, Chitwan, Kathmandu, Pokhara, Butwal, Syangja, Nuwakot and other parts of Nepal.
Gyan Kumar Shrestha, founding president of the Nepal Livestock Trade Service Association, said the trade continued to connect mountain communities with urban centers in a region once known for exchanging goods and cultures.
“The old wool and salt trade has faded, but the tradition of bringing Mustang’s goats to market for Dashain continues,” he said. “It brings together mountain life, the local economy and Dashain celebrations in Pokhara.”
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The arrival of flocks of Himalayan sheep and goats signals the approach of Dashain. Angyal Gurung, from Chhoser in Lo Manthang Rural Municipality Ward 1, has brought 700 mountain goats to market for this year’s festival.
“I have continued the trade practiced by my ancestors,” he said. “Buying goats from farmers and bringing them to market during Dashain, along with those raised in our own herds, is an old tradition.”
Raising mountain goats remains a traditional occupation and a major source of income for farmers in Upper Mustang. Pemba Gurung, from Tetang in Baragung Muktichhetra Rural Municipality Ward 1, has traded goats for 30 years. His business, buying animals from farmers and selling them during Dashain, has continued for generations.
Shrestha has also spent six decades in the trade, carrying on the business his father started. This year, he brought 1,000 mountain goats from Mustang to Baisari in Raghuganga Rural Municipality Ward 2, Myagdi, after a seven-day journey on foot. The goats are destined for Kathmandu. His business has provided seasonal employment to 16 people.
According to Shrestha, preparations are underway to take 3,000 mountain goats to Kathmandu this year. With the Korala border crossing with China closed, the goats reaching the market this season are all domestically raised. Traders traveled to highland pastures a month earlier to collect animals from Namgyal, Chhoser, Yara, Ghara and surrounding areas.
Mountain goats currently cost Rs 40,000 to Rs 50,000 each. Shrestha said their meat had previously sold for Rs 1,350 to Rs 1,400 per kilogram.
Shridatta Gautam, from Darbang in Malika Rural Municipality Ward 6, said the meat was nutritious because the goats fed on herbs found in Himalayan pastures. Traders say meat from goats raised for five years is particularly flavorful. Their fine undercoat is also used as a raw material for pashmina.
However, the number of farmers raising mountain goats is declining. Angyal Gurung, who also raises goats, said Chhoser once had 25 goat herds but now had only five.
Local residents say the traditional occupation faces several challenges: protecting goats from snow leopards, shortages of pasture and fodder in winter, difficulty finding herders and increasing migration of young people for overseas employment.
According to Mustang’s Agriculture and Livestock Development Office, 13,817 sheep and mountain goats have been transported out of the district this year. Office chief Lalmani Aryal said health examinations had been conducted and transport permits issued for 11,700 mountain goats and 2,215 sheep.
The office allows only healthy animals to leave the district following examinations. Last year, 18,000 sheep and mountain goats were transported out of Mustang.
Around 50,000 mountain goats are raised across Baragung Muktichhetra, Gharapjhong, Lo Ghekar Damodarkunda and Lo Manthang rural municipalities. A principal source of income for Upper Mustang farmers, goat farming supports both the local economy and a tradition passed down through generations.
Floods and landslides have damaged roads this year, making it harder for traders to bring goats to market. Traders said roads that were accessible when they traveled to buy animals had deteriorated by their return, forcing them to make risky journeys through some stretches.
Extensive damage along the Myagdi section of the Beni–Jomsom road complicated transportation. Traders said the road’s prompt reopening had brought considerable relief.