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10/30/2010 to 10/31/2010 | Himachal Pradesh , India  [View with PicLens] 12345► My final stop in the Chamba Valley, before I headed back to Delhi, was the regional capital of the same name. Set down in the valley its setting isn’t as impressive as Bharmour’s, but like Bharmour it has an array of impressive temples dating from the 10th to 19th [...] 10/27/2010 to 10/29/2010 | Himachal Pradesh , India  [View with PicLens] 1234► I had come to the Chamba Valley with the intention of trekking to Manimahesh Lake, a lake holy to Hindus set in the high Himalayas at 4,080 m (13,390 ft), and dominated by Manimahesh Kailash. I was hoping to add this Kailash to my Kailash collection, which now included the grand [...] 10/25/2010 to 10/26/2010 | Himachal Pradesh , India  [View with PicLens] 12345► After 3 years and 9 months to the day on the road in Asia, I had decided to return home to visit my family in California for a few months over Christmas. I cashed in my remaining frequent flyer miles, and booked my first international flight since I had [...] 8/27/2010 to 8/29/2010 | India , Jammu & Kashmir  [View with PicLens] 1234► With Tam and Kip’s departure by air that left me the sole guest remaining at the Tsavo Guesthouse. I was well looked after by Zangmo and Angchu but most of the restaurants and shops in Leh had closed early for the season due to the exodus of tourists following [...]  [View with PicLens] 1234…789► Tam and Kip had given up on a road exit from Ladakh and booked flights to Delhi. There departure date left them time for one last trip in Ladakh. We managed to hook up with a brother and sister from Britian and an Israeli girl to share a jeep [...]  [View with PicLens] 12► One of the reasons Tam and especially Kip had come to Ladakh was to do some trekking in the high mountains. The rains that brought such havoc on Leh had also washed away many trails and had swollen rivers to the point that they were impassable, not to mention [...]  [View with PicLens] 12► By the 14th of August the tourists in Leh had thinned out dramatically with most taking flights out town. The roads to Manali and Srinagar were still closed but the roads to some nearby villages especially to the south had opened and bus services had begun again. Having been [...]  [View with PicLens] 1234567► I first met Zangmo and Angchu when my Latvian friend Santa took me to one of the family style dinners held nightly at their Tsavo guesthouse when I was in Leh last year. I was impressed with the warm family atmosphere created by the Ladakhi couple in their guesthouse. [...] 4/2/2010 to 4/8/2010 | Nepal  [View with PicLens] 1234567► Sarah had wanted to do some trekking in the Nepal Himalaya. Given the limited amount of time I decided to take her to Langtang, which in my opinion is one of the best short treks in Nepal. In at as little as three days from Kathmandu you can be [...] 12/4/2009 to 12/5/2009 | Nepal  [View with PicLens] 123456► The day I had chosen to head back to Lukla from Deboche was an eventful day in the Khumbu. It was the day of the Everest Marathon for those who think marathons at sea level on well maintained roads are just too easy. The marathon follows a 26.2 mile [...] 11/29/2009 to 12/3/2009 | Nepal  [View with PicLens] 1234…101112► Essentially being thrown unexpectedly back up into the Everest Region I wasn’t really sure what to do. I did like the Gokyo Valley last time I was in the region (see original Gokyo post) so I had decided to return there, since there were still a few places in [...] 11/23/2009 to 11/28/2009 | Nepal  [View with PicLens] 1234…678► I woke up figuring it would be just like any other day in the past couple weeks, I’d go down to Kili’s office browse the internet, drink copious amounts of milk tea (chai), and do a bit of website work. Little did I know, I’d leave the ground that [...] 10/19/2009 to 10/23/2009 | Nepal  [View with PicLens] 12345► I arrived at the border town of Mahendranagar in the early afternoon. Everything was closed even many of the hotels. It was the last day of the Nepali celebration of Deepwali a slightly different timing than the Indian version. I eventually managed to find an acceptable room if a [...] 9/22/2009 to 10/16/2009 | India , Uttarakhand  [View with PicLens] 1234…789► Descending from Kinnaur via Shimla, I passed through Delhi, on my way back up to the mountains of western Uttarakhand. Not the most direct route when viewed on a map but the quickest and easiest when the topography of the region, roads, and bus quality is taken into account. [...] 9/17/2009 to 9/22/2009 | Himachal Pradesh , India  [View with PicLens] 1234…8910► “How will you know the way, the weather is bad, there is a lot of snow,” the senior officer said. “I’ve hiked all over the Himalayas, I hiked the Pin-Paravati pass in a snow storm,” I retorted. “Ok, I’ll give you the permission if you write a statement that [...] 9/7/2009 to 9/15/2009 | Himachal Pradesh , India  [View with PicLens] 123456► Is it possible to be simultaneously both jinxed and lucky? I think I may fall into that category with respect to my travels to Spiti and Kinnaur. Last year a the snow storm stranded me in Kaza for nine days and prevented my planned visit to Kinnaur, however I [...] 9/5/2010 to 9/6/2010 | Himachal Pradesh , India  [View with PicLens] 1234567► Leaving Mud and the Pin Valley behind I stopped for a day at Dhankar a beautifully set high above the Spiti Vally with a old Gompa perched on a rocky crag above the city. 9/1/2009 to 9/5/2009 | Himachal Pradesh , India  [View with PicLens] 1234567► I left Ladakh for the Spiti Valley for the second summer in a row; though this time I would go by bus rather than hike in as I had on my last trip. My previous trip to Spiti was ended by an early snow storm, I hoped this time [...]  [View with PicLens] 1234567► I returned to Leh in time to catch one of Dalai Lama’s public teachings, the last in a series of five. The teachings in Leh are held in a large outdoor ground in nearby Choklamsar home to large community of Tibetan refugees. The atmosphere the massive gathering reminded me [...]  [View with PicLens] 12► Arriving to Kargil in the early afternoon, gave me a half day to kill, since the bus to Leh departed early the next morning. Not a great town by any stretch, but mildly interesting for being much more like Kashmir than the rest of Ladakh. It is a heavily [...]  [View with PicLens] 1234…101112► I arrived in Panikhar from Sanko in time to hike up the ridge behind the village, catching the setting sun illuminate Nun and Kun for my first of what would many impressive views of the twin 7000 m peaks. I also found a nice family run guesthouse in Panikhar [...]  [View with PicLens] 1234► There is something satisfying about hopping off a bus full of tourists at a small little known village and walking off into the mountains on your own. In this case the bus was bound for Kargil nearly half of those on board were foreigners headed to see the Dalai [...]  [View with PicLens] 1234567► After a day of rest and recuperation in Korzok following my previous climb, I still had another day before the tri-monthly bus to Leh. The weather had improved over the last two days and I was eyeing the peak directly to the north of Korzok, marked 5098 m (20,000 [...]  [View with PicLens] 1234…789► There are several 6000 m peaks within easy striking range of Korzok. But when it came down to deciding which peak I would attempt first there was really no question, I had my sights set squarely on 6622 m (21,725 ft) Chhamser Kangri (also spelled Chamser Kangri). After all, [...]  [View with PicLens] 1234…789► We had arrived in Korzok for the annual monastic festival held at the local gompa. Another Tibeatan monastic festival with the requisite Cham dances, trumpets and drums. While the Cham masks were not as spectacular as others I’d seen, the main interest for me were the locals who flocked [...]  [View with PicLens] 1234…111213► After a week of rest in Leh, following the departure of Karin and Jeff, I returned to the trail. This time would be a new experience for me, as I would be accompanying a trekking group organized by my friend Mohan. I was going in the capacity of an [...]  [View with PicLens] 123456► I looked at the massive yellow duffle bag at my feet. “You’ve got to be kidding me,” I thought, “The thing is bigger than my backpack; maybe it’s not as heavy as it looks.” I lifted it into the waiting taxi. Nope, it was as heavy as it looked. [...]  [View with PicLens] 123456► The next morning we gave our legs a break and took a bus from Shang Sumdo to Hemis. The monastic festival of Hemis is the largest and most well known of the many monastic festivals that take place throughout Ladakh and Zanskar. Its fame, proximity to Leh, and timing [...]  [View with PicLens] 123456► I had already done the Markha Valley Trek on my previous trip to Ladakh but it is a good short trek and easy to do without camping equipment so it was the trek I decided to take Karin and Jeff on. In addition we would finish at Hemis in [...]  [View with PicLens] 1234…8910► I was excited to leave Delhi for Leh, not only for the obvious weather considerations, and I was certainly anxious to leave the heat of Delhi for the cool crisp mountain air of Ladakh, but rather to see sister, Karin, and brother-in-law, Jeff, who were coming to visit. I [...] 5/22/2009 to 6/2/2009 | Nepal  [View with PicLens] 1234…91011► Fifty hours on 4 different buses along the hot Bhramaputra Valley of Assam and the sweltering plains of Nepal’s Terai brought me at last to Kathmandu. I had trekked the Annapurna Region and the Everest Region on my previous visits to Nepal, this left Langtang as the last of [...] 5/4/2009 to 5/12/2009 | Arunachal Pradesh , India  [View with PicLens] 1234…678► The Mechuka valley sits nestled against the border with Tibet north of Along. Unreachable by road until very recently this region is still very untouched by mass tourism. The only place to stay is at the government power and water department rest-house. Although that is about to change, a [...] 4/15/2009 to 4/23/2009 | Arunachal Pradesh , India  [View with PicLens] 1234…131415► Tawang is the most visited region of the little visited state of Arunachal Pradesh. A state which is seldom visited not because it lacks attractions, but more for the bureaucratic hurtles involved in visiting the state. A very sensitive area for the Indians, ever since the Chinese routed them [...] 11/7/2008 to 11/11/2008 | India , Uttarakhand  [View with PicLens] 1234…678► legacy gallery with captions “Five Hundred?” I exclaimed in disbelief. “No booking, shared jeep.” I said. “No shared, only booking to Kausani,” the jeep driver retorted with an expression and mannerisms of a man who knew that the last bus for Kausani had already left and who thought he [...] 11/2/2008 to 11/7/2008 | India , Uttarakhand  [View with PicLens] 1234…789► legacy gallery with captions “I only take the Rajdhani, the other trains are no good, Rajdhani is good train.” Indian trains, hardly the first topic of conversation I would have expected from a holy man who lives most of the year in solitude at the inhospitable altitude of 3600 [...] October 2008 | India , Uttarakhand  [View with PicLens] 1234…161718► Legacy Gallery with Captions Having escaped the snows of Spiti, I headed for the neighboring Himalayan state of Uttarakhand, formally known as Uttaranchal. The state’s most famous destination for foreigners is the Meditation/Yoga/Asram/neo-Hippi meca of Rishikesh made famous by the Beatles’ stay in 1968. For Indians the state derives [...] 10/15/2008 to 10/17/2008 | India , Uttarakhand  [View with PicLens] 1234567► legacy gallery with captions I reached Joshimath in the evening after a long series of jeeps and buses from Wan, although relatively close geographically the poor roads and transport connections made it a long day of travel. My primary purpose of visiting Joshimath was to hike up to the [...] 10/10/2008 to 10/13/2008 | India , Uttarakhand  [View with PicLens] 123456► legacy gallery with captions The mysterious lake of Roop Kund sits below the towering 7120 m (23,350 ft) face of Trisul, on the western edge of the Nada Devi Sanctuary, mountainous region surrounding Nada Devi the highest peak solely contained within India. The lake draws its notoriety from the [...] 9/19/2008 to 9/28/2008 | Himachal Pradesh , India  [View with PicLens] 1234…8910► legacy gallery with captions Day 1 (9/20/2009): I stared out of the window adjacent to my bed. The steady rain which had started early in the morning was now turning to fluttering white flakes of snow. Looking across at the gray skies which now isolated the white flat roofed [...]  [View with PicLens] 1234…91011► legacy gallery with captions We awoke in Korzok, the village nestled along the northwestern bank of the high altitude sailine lake of Tso Moriri, to a mass exodus. Anyone with any mode of transportation, horse, donkey, tractor, jeep, motorcycle, truck, anything that could move a person to some where [...]  [View with PicLens] 1234…202122► legacy gallery with captions I walked up Chanspa road in Leh towards the Sandwich Bar where a group was meeting to discuss the logistics for a self organized trek to Zanskar. I had planned on doing the Lamayuru to Darcha trek across the remote region of Zanskar, so when [...]  [View with PicLens] 123► The most common way to enter the Nubra Valley is via the 5602 m (18,375 ft) Khardong La which the Indians love to tout as the highest motorable road in the world, a title which is apparently somewhat debatable. In any case, I decided to hike in via the [...]  [View with PicLens] 12345► legacy gallery with captions Stok Kangri rises like a white sail above the Indus valley opposite Leh. Looking up at the snow covered peak watching the last rays of the setting sun bathe the white massif in a golden glow, I found it hard to believe I had stood [...]  [View with PicLens] 1234…91011► legacy gallery with captions As I slid down the glacier my speed increasing with every passing moment I struggled with all the might my oxygen starved lungs could muster to slow my acceleration, thrusting my trekking pole into the ice with as much success as one might have in [...] 5/28/2008 to 6/4/2008 | Nepal  [View with PicLens] 1234…678► The previous day’s phenomenal weather at Knobby View was not a fluke but rather the beginning of a trend. The sky was yet again spectacularly clear the morning we hiked westward over the Renjo La (5417m/17,772 ft pass) from Gokyo to the neighboring Bhote Valley. From the prayer flag [...] 5/24/2008 to 5/27/2008 | Nepal  [View with PicLens] 123456► Knobby View Panorama It snowed most of the day I hiked to Dzonglha, the last lodge before the 5420m/17,782 ft pass to the Gokyo Valley known as the Cho La. At the lodge in Dzonglha I met, Ben, an outdoor enthusiast from Minneapolis, Minnesota, with the accent to match. [...] 5/20/2008 to 5/23/2008 | Nepal  [View with PicLens] 1234…789► As I hiked towards Gorak Shep, at the foot of Kala Pattar, and the last lodge settlement on the route to Everest Base camp, I struck up a conversation with a friendly Nepali man, named Kili Sherpa (pronounced Kee-Lee). I ended up hiking with him and his cousin most [...] 5/16/2008 to 5/19/2008 | Nepal  [View with PicLens] 1234…678► My principal goal in Chukhung was to climb the near by peaks of Chukhung Ri (5559m/18,238 ft) and Chuckhung Tse (5857m/19,216 ft), the highest point in the area not requiring an expensive climbing permit. On my first day I climbed up Chukhung Ri to test my acclimatization and see [...] 5/6/2008 to 5/15/2008 | Nepal  [View with PicLens] 123456► Everest, it’s a mountain that has fascinated the western world ever since it was determined to be the highest point on the planet in the mid-19th century. It has drawn travelers and mountaineers to the region surrounding it, known as the Kumbu, ever since. Seeing Everest for the first [...]  [View with PicLens] 1234…121314► Sikkim is in northeast India and it sticks up like a little peninsula into the Himalayas. Bordered on the west by Nepal, the east by Bhutan, and the north by Tibet its culture and landscape is closer to these regions than most of the rest of India.. I was [...] 10/26/2007 to 11/3/2007 | Nepal  [View with PicLens] 123► I was happy to get back to Pokhara, rest, and eat, after 25 days of walking. My shoes were in tatters, my cloths stunk (even more than usual), and after all but sprinting down from the base camp in a mere one and a half days, my knees where [...] 10/23/2007-10/26/2007 - | Nepal  [View with PicLens] 123456► After Poon Hill I was trekking on my own, heading off towards Annapurna Base Camp. In the area right around Poon Hill there had been muggings in the past, and not wanting to have a repeat of my episode in Tibet I kind of hung around other groups during [...] 10/19/2007 to 10/23/2007 | Nepal  [View with PicLens] 1234► We moved a little slower through this section not because of weather this time but because Tom developed blisters on his feet. The slower pace was not a problem as it allowed us to spend a little longer in Tukuche sampling the various brandy flavors at the local distillery [...] 10/17/2007 to 10/18/2007 | Nepal  [View with PicLens] 12345► Arriving in Muktinath was a welcome change after two days at the rather rustic High Camp. Noting on our arrival that there was a lodge in town called Hotel Bob Marley, there was really no other place to stay given that my Canadian trekking companion was even sporting the [...] 10/14/2007 to 10/17/2007 | Nepal  [View with PicLens] 12345► From Manang, the second time (courtesy of my snow blindness and need for sunglasses), we took two days to hike up almost 1500 m to High Camp at nearly 5000 m {16,500 ft}. High camp is a couple of lodges at the foot of the Thorung La pass the [...] 10/10/2007 to 10/13/2007 | Nepal  [View with PicLens] 12345► From Manang we deviated off the typical circuit route to visit Tilicho Lake. At 4914 m (over 16,200 ft), and depending on your definition of a lake, it qualifies as the highest lake in the world, a title which seems to be clamed by a number of high altitude [...] 10/3/2007 to 10/9/2007 | Nepal  [View with PicLens] 123456► For the longest time, I had wanted to come to Nepal and hike the famed Annapurna circuit. When planning my journey I had tried to time my arrival in Nepal for the best possible time to do the trek, just after the monsoon when the air is clear and [...] 9/22/2007 to 9/24/2007 | Tibet  [View with PicLens] 1234► After living on instant noodle soup and going without a shower for 10 days, arriving in the town of Saga with a choice of restaurants and most importantly public pay hot showers, was a welcome sight despite its grubby Chinese buildings. We had no trouble with the authorities this [...] 9/19/2007 to 9/21/2007 | Tibet  [View with PicLens] 1234► After the Kailash kora, we went to Tirthapuri hot springs and monastery associated with Padmasambava, the Indian guru who brought Buddhism to Tibet. Traditionally it is were pilgrims bath after the kora, my travel companions had visions of soaking in a warm pool fed by the springs, I was [...] 9/17/2007 to 9/19/2007 | Tibet  [View with PicLens] 1234► According to Tibetan Buddhists completing the kora (walking) around the sacred Mt. Kailash rids one’s self of the sins (negative karma) accumulated over a lifetime. It’s a bit tougher than walking in to a confessional at your local Catholic Church, but then again Tibetan Buddhism is not a religion [...] 9/13/2007 to 9/16/2007 | Tibet  [View with PicLens] 12345► I decided to play by the rules for my journey out to western Tibet and the sacred Mout Kailash, home to the Hindu gods, a pilgrimage destination for Hindus, Tibetan Buddhists, and tourists alike. The Chinese government tries its best to make the pilgrimage to this most sacred of [...] 9/9/2007 to 9/10/2007 | Tibet  [View with PicLens] 1234► Eager to begin the trek and not knowing how long the first day would take us we left Ganden with out really exploring the monastery. However, it was one of the only major monasteries in the area that I did not visit on my first trip and having seen [...] 9/5/2007 to 9/9/2007 | Tibet  [View with PicLens] 1234► As of September 1st “the powers that be” here in Tibet (i.e. the Chinese Government) decided that it would now take 10 days to get a permit for Mount Kailash instead of the previous 3 days. Having been to most of the attractions around Lhasa on my pervious trip [...] | ||||
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