Dudh Koshi Valley from Tengboche
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Dudh Koshi Valley from Tengboche |
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I mistook the trail to the right on exit from the monastry at Tangboche as the trail to the village lower down and stumbled upon this little patch of barren land on the side of the valley looking down at Dudh Koshi. Behind me are piles of rubbish waiting to be disposed of while right in front is the view of some of the landmarks of this part of the Himalayas, from left to right respectively are: Taboche, Nuptse, Everest (just the very tip), Lhotse and the thumb-like Ama Dablam.
At 3867m Tengboche Monastry is one of the highest Buddhist monastry in the region. Flanked by the thu...
It was nightfall already and I hadn't quite made it to Tengboche Monastry yet - my original plan as I...
There is an alternative steeper trail at the entrance to Pangboche that leads to a twin Stupas locate...
Pangboche is the first major settlement after the Monastry of Tengboche and is normally a convenient ...
This is the helicoptor pad outside the famed Everest View Hotel where each room is equipped with an o...
Without doubt this modest ho(s)tel boasts one of the best view in the world - situated above the now ...
Nepal lies between India and China and it contains Mt. Everest, the tallest mountain in the world. The Himalayas here are pretty rugged terrain.
The first civilizations here date to 600 BC in the Kathmandu valley, where the capital is now located. According to Buddhist tenets, the Buddha was born here in 563 BC, incarnating as Prince Siddhartha Gautama and leading the world to enlightenment through liberation from suffering. Many small temples and shrines like this one exist for Buddhists to stop and offer prayers.
Early support of Buddhism gradually gave way to Hinduism and today Nepal is the world's only Hindu monarchy. The kingdom of Nepal was united in 1768 by King Prithvi Narayan Shah, who fled the Moghul invasions of India. Soon after that there was a period of conflict with the British East India Company leading to a treaty recognizing the independence of Nepal -- in 1923!
After WWII Nepal was ruled by monarchy but it arrived at the 1990's split by an official ban on political parties. Intense protest by the pro-democracy movement and the Maoist guerrilla Communist movement led to free elections in 1991, only to be followed by violence between the Nepalese government and Maoist guerillas.
Since the turn of the millennium there have been several important steps taken in the peace process, including a new Constitution for Nepal and a cease fire agreement with the rebels. A compromise government was achieved whereby a Maoist was elected prime minister without his taking control of the armed forces of the country.
At the time of this writing it has been one week since the compromise government has collapsed. We offer our hopes that the citizens and government of this beautiful country will come to a peaceful agreement soon.
Text by Steve Smith.
