Deep in the remote Mustang valley of northwestern Nepal lies Lubra, home to 16 families who practice Bon, an ancient Tibetan religion. For centuries, the villagers have preserved unique beliefs, rituals, and social customs. But increasingly violent flash floods driven by climate change are now forcing families to abandon homes and eroding their farmland.
Lama Tsultrim, 76, the 20th-generation lama of the village, tells how the ancient walnut tree at the center of the village—planted by the monk Trashi Gyaltsen 20 generations ago—now sits perilously close to the riverbank after the river shifted course. His old home, mere meters from the tree, has been abandoned for two years due to flooding. “I left this house two years ago because of the floods,” he says.
According to residents, monsoon flash floods over the past decade have forced four families to leave their ancestral homes. The stone walls of terraced fields are collapsing into the mud; apple orchards—the village’s main source of income—along with potato and buckwheat crops, have been swept away.
Lubra is one of the oldest surviving Bon settlements in Nepal. The religion predates Buddhism in Tibet, with sacred symbols tied to the five elements of Tibetan cosmology. Colored prayer flags in the five elemental hues still flutter from rooftops, and sacred juniper branches are placed on house tops.
The floods are not only washing away homes and land but also threatening a cultural heritage that has weathered centuries of change. Lama Tsultrim says the story of the walnut tree is not just a local legend but part of an ancient tradition that still shapes life in Lubra.
