My muscles were burning, my bag twice as heavy as it should have been, my energy so low I could barely take another step. But I was happy. In my first week in Nepal, I did the Annapurna Base Camp trek (ABC) in six days. This is very challenging. Walking

The five-day trek to Gosaikunda, a frozen lake in the Langtang Himalaya region, is a great challenging (but not too challenging!) trek. Here are my recommendations for an itinerary and places you should not miss. But before you start planning your trek to Gosainkunda, there are some practical things you

Tsang is Tibet’s most well-travelled region. Traditionally known as Ü-Tsang, this southwestern part of Tibet juts up against the highest Himalayan peaks and Nepal. The road from Lhasa to Everest, the Friendship Highway (the G318), passes straight through Tsang, zipping up over soaring mountain passes and by pristine lakes on

Trekkers in Nepal who don’t have the luxury of time—or the luxury of a budget that allows them to charter a helicopter deep into the mountains—have many options for shorter Himalayan treks that get right into the mountains and off the beaten path. However, finding information on these can be

The Gurez Valley, tucked between the belligerent sides of Nanga Parbat, is a tiny part of a region known as Dardistan. The ancient land of the Dardic Aryan tribe stretches across both Pakistan and India, and its capital, the village of Dawar, is situated in the Gurez Valley. In the

The bus ran along the route between Kathmandu and Syabru Besi, the starting point for several treks in the Langtang region. I could see bottomless ravines that opened deep down the valley, while the rudimentary coach we were traveling in slowly braved the tight bends of the road. At one

The crystal clear still water of Gosaikunda Lake in Langtang National Park is a well known destination in Rasuwa District for trekkers and pilgrims alike. Gosaikunda, “Holy Lake of the Lord of Senses.” A ‘kunda’ is not any kind of lake, but actually refers to the holy dipping tank at

The monks’ faces show traces of exhaustion. They have spent days preparing for Losar, sitting for hours molding torma, intricate statues made of butter and wax. I stare at the large figure of Mahakala, one of the Buddhist deities sculpted out of the same waxy clay and painted black. At

I couldn’t sleep at all. It often happened before a big ascent. I was too excited. Only about a year earlier I was summiting my first 4000 metre peak, and learned that the only limits are the ones we set for ourselves. I decided to push them further every time.

The Annapurna Circuit is one of the most popular trekking routes in the world. In 2017, a total of 158,000 international tourists visited the Annapurna Conservation Area, including a record 27,000 foreign trekkers. However, semi-arid Lubra village (also called Ludak), nestled deep in the Panda Khola gorge of Lower Mustang