Mukti (Salvation) holds a great significance for all spiritual people in the South Asian subcontinent be it Hindus, Buddhists, Jains or of any other religion. To attain salvation is the ultimate aim of all. For salvation people carry out pilgrimages, take ablutions in holy rivers, observe fasts, give away gifts to Brahmins, perform yajnas and pujas and many other rituals as mentioned in their holy scripts.

Muktinath (the provider of salvation) or in the larger sense, Muktishetra the region of salvation, has been one such holy site, where thousands of devotees flock for attaining the much sought after Moksha. For centuries this area has been the must reach destination for devout Hindus and Buddhists alike. Lately, the spectacular natural magnificence of the region has been able to attract the attention of adventure tourists from all over the world as well.

Muktinath is located in the western slope of the Damodar (Muktinath) Himal, at the elevation of 3749m directly north of Mt. Dhaulagiri, the world's fifth highest mountain. Muktinath's fame and religious importance dates back too, as early as three thousands years ago. Some religious texts of Hinduism, such as the Ramayana, the Mahabharata and the Puranas have mentioned the religious sanctity of Muktichhetra as a great Tirthasthan, or a pilgrimage area.

The Muktinath temple is situated about 18 kilometers north east of Jomsom at an altitude of about 3749m. There are two ways to get to Muktinath. The first way is to take a direct flight to Jomsom and hike for 6/7 hours on a horse via Eklobhatti or Kagbeni. The other is to trek all the way from Pokhara. Actually Pokhara is the starting point for trekking to Jomsom and it takes about 13 to 15 days (two ways). There are some restricted areas, but this is considered one of the most exciting treks in Nepal, though a tough one.

When Buddhism penetrated Tibet around 8th AD, the animistic population of Mustang Bhot too came under the Buddhist belief system. Before this, the local people used to call this holy place as Chhy-mi-ghyarcha meaning "Place of hundred springs". Probably due to the presence of as many water torrents near the main shrine they named the place in the literal manner. They must have considered the sacred complex as a "natural shrine" because of certain miraculous supernatural attributes, particularly natural gas fires, ammonite fossils, water springs and other natural features found here and which are important to Asian religions.

Once the local population came under Buddhist influence, they saw it as an incarnation of Buddha. The Buddhist considered the main idol of the Muktinath temple, which the Hindus revere as Lord Vishnu, to be Chenter-sign (Avalokiteshwor in popular parlance). An important feature of Buddhists belief regarding Muktinath is a legend that Padmasambhava, the "precious teacher" and sage who first introduced Buddhism to Tibet, visited here in the 8th century AD.

The Hindu attribution attached to this area undoubtedly predates those of Buddhism. However, because of their belief and high respect to the shrine, the Buddhist folk of neighboring areas might have gradually ventured to the sacred complex. It was, therefore natural that the local Buddhists began to take care of the sacred complex, built Gompas and Chortens, added colourful prayer flags and erected prayer wheels. But now as the accessibility has improved, Hindu pilgrims are also flocking here from various parts of Nepal and India. The sacred area of Muktinath has now become like a melting pot of two religions and a unique amalgamation of two cultures.

As the local parable goes, ages ago some shepherds of Khinga and Jharkot, while grazing their sheep, discovered the burning flame and the statue of Muktinath. Since they were the first discoverers, these two villages claimed the customary rights to the place

Gompas including the main Muktinath temple is looked after by two villages under the spiritual leadership of the Head Lama of Sakya Rigdol Funchhokling Gompa of Jharkot.