We at Embark believe that the best reason to travel is to experience other cultures. We think it promotes understanding among people, gives us perspectives on ourselves and the world, and — if done right — can even help the cultures we visit.

That’s why we love places like Mustang, a former Tibetan kingdom, now part of Nepal, that’s about a 12-day walk from anything like a road. And it’s why we dream of trekking in Mustang before modernization has a major effect.

Not that we’re against modernization. It’s just, as this article from Business Insider points out, there are risks: given more “exciting” options, young people can forget the old ways, and cultures can vanish.

So we applaud the Vanishing Cultures Project, a nonprofit dedicated to “assisting indigenous, traditional groups worldwide preserve their culture by documenting their lifestyle through photography, research, and media, educating the public about these groups, and funding indigenous preservation initiatives.”

They published a book about Mustang, filled with amazing photographs, and give the proceeds to grassroots efforts in the country to help support their culture-saving efforts. And when we say amazing photographs, we mean it; check out these amazing photos of Mustang!

So we encourage everyone who can to trek in Mustang; we can’t wait to start offering trips there as early as 2013. Meanwhile, let’s all buy the book, or some prints, support a great cause, and feed our dreams of visiting the lost Tibetan kingdom.