In Nepal, in the southern part of the province Mustang, lies the valley of Kali Gandaki. There is the most important road, crossing from North to South impregnable mountains of the Himalayan mountain range. Alpine valley close with the two sides cool "eight-thousanders" dhaulagiri and Annapurna, jealously keeps from strangers its secrets. In ancient times the inhabitants of the mountains has built numerous fortresses which protected the valley of Kali Gandaki from invasion intruders.

Archaeologists almost never had a chance to explore these remote remote areas of Nepal. To get from the local authorities a permission to conduct archaeological excavations quite difficult. Even harder to reach areas of the proposed operation, to carry on pack animals along mountain trails bulky equipment and months to live in primitive conditions, far from civilization.

Through the valley of Kali Gandaki for many centuries passed "salt road"connecting Tibet with flat areas of India. Historians have estimated that only one of the XIX century on the mountain trails carried about 10 thousand tons of salt. For the protection of important trade routes at short distances from each other powerful built fortifications. After closing in the 1950s, the Chinese border (Tibet is part of Chinese people's Republic) valley-distance trade has lost its significance.

In the upper part of the valley of Kali Gandaki lies Kagbeni is the most important high mountain settlement. In the centre of the village still stands dark building of the fortress, the construction of which was completed in the XV century. In Kagbeni are customs and border checkpoint, which passes each year more than 200 thousand tourists. Now, along the ancient trade trails conductors lead a group of foreign tourists. For local residents servicing foreign visitors is almost the only opportunity to earn a living.

In the high season in Kagbeni crowded and noisy. But ten kilometers from the village did not find a single living soul, but now and then comes his way ruins of dwellings, monasteries and fortresses, the neglected for several centuries ago. From Kali Gandaki walks away valley Machined, named after the most important Hindu Shrine. Valley Machined stretches for 10 km at 3,900 m; and there are also numerous stone towers, ancient fortifications, and ruins of abandoned villages, irrefutably prove that high in the mountains people also lived.

About medieval history little is known of the Himalayas

In the village Chinga, perched at an altitude of 3400 m, foreign archaeologists under the direction of the German Professor Hans-Georg Hotela 1990 and try to get the answer to the first of interest to scholars of questions : how could people live on such a high altitude?

However, it seems, is responsible nature itself. At that time, both in the lower part of the valley is almost no vegetation, only a stone desert, above the landscape strangely changed. The upper part of the valley looks like a green island among the clouds. On irrigated terraces ears of buckwheat and barley, bright green potato vines, on the lush green meadows with grazing sheep, goats and yaks. This is the village Chinga. There is now a hurry archaeologists from different countries, because in an oasis found "Himalayan Troy" is a hill on the outskirts of the village, hiding ancient ruins.

Until 1990 on ancient and medieval history of the Himalayas was almost nothing is known. The people of Nepal was keenly interested in the history of their region, and the Himalayan Troy produced in their country sensation. "Then, in July 1990, the first time I saw the hill China-Kalon: netropa mound climbed steeply over almost horizontal field at the Eastern outskirts Chingy. I looked at the hill and realized that this is my Troy," recalls Professor Hotel of his first meeting with extraordinary place.

The hill is shaped like an upturned up-side down oval bowls. It stretches to a length of 130 and has a width of about 80 meters by the first examination of the hill archaeologists are convinced that within it are multi-layered ruins. Rocky ground densely mixed with splinters and fragments of different subjects. The top layer of the hill are the ruins of a medieval village: among the dilapidated mud huts rise fragments of thick Adobe walls. Dense buildings suggests that there was a village populated. Judging by the nature and thickness of the surface layer, the village abandoned long ago. In several places archaeologists took a deep trial excavations, which showed that under these ruins are the ruins of other buildings, more ancient. In written sources about the mountain oasis Chinga very little information, and those that have, is fragmentary. The more important of the practical work of archaeologists during excavations of the hill.

Scientists are trying to find here confirmation of one folk legends. Deep beneath the hill China-Kalon, the legend says, is the fortress "Royal rider with a hundred horses, owner of three hundred houses". The name of the hill itself is meaningful: the word "Kalon" means "the ruins", or "empty place", and "China" means "Palace, or fortified castle". Maybe there really stood the Palace of the Governor - proud sovereign 100 horses and 300 homes? In 1995, the last day of the expedition hill China-Kalon gave archaeologists wonderful surprise: they had discovered the tomb was the remains of a decapitated people. The circumstances of burial headless corpses is not known. Detailed anthropological research skeletons might add some information and materials for thought.

Excavations in China-kalona began in 1991, and for the first six seasons, three months each, scientists revealed three distinct layers. Settlement Chinga based, in all probability, in the II century B.C. Archaeologists have found in him, not only human bones, but a great number of animal bones, including fragments of skeletons of not less than forty horses. On this disposal at a later time the fortress was built.

The study "Himalayan Troy" produces the Commission on General and comparative archaeology of the German archaeological Institute. In 1998 archeologists dug up a stone tombs are on the same level as the strengthening of the II-I century BC In the stone vault there were buried 25 people and 15 horses, besides, there were the remains of other animals - apparently, slaughterhouse waste.

Labour-intensive anthropological and Zoological research is not yet finished. Pottery and other objects found in the tomb, produced mainly in Central Asia and date back to the IV-II centuries BC

Three settlements in China-kalona existed in total for about 1600-1700 years. The first of them appeared in the second century B.C. and existed till III century A.D. the Second is based in the end of IV - beginning of V century BC and was abandoned in the early eighth century, the Third, the last, the village Chinga-Kalon proved the most durable: it was built in the late eighth century, and only in the beginning of XV century highland village completely empty.

In the center of these settlements were all the main buildings: the Palace of the Governor, the fortress, the temple. Two ancient settlements was a powerful fortress, protected under which people lived. In the last village of the majority of the population were peasants, and a considerable part of the territory occupied Buddhist monastery.

Scientists haven't managed to find out why people who settled in China-kalona, climbed so high in the mountains. There is a hypothesis that in ancient times in the Himalayas trees were growing at a much higher altitude than now. Now in the valley were only a small oasis, and before there were green with dense forests and wide meadows, which was attracted in the mountain shepherds and farmers.