Himalayas: Mountains of Joy

Trekking toward Mount Everest delivers jaw-dropping scenery with every step as Kris Madden discovers.

Leaving Everest glowing white on the horizon, our plane swoops down between the mountains

following the silhouettes of the valley, each dramatic tilt of the wings offering close-ups of mind-

bogglingly steep slopes and the swirling clouds around them.

Stretching for more than 2,500 kilometres across five countries, the offspring of two tectonic plates

crashing together, the Himalayas boast Earth’s tallest peaks, among them Mount Everest, the

highest point on the planet.

More than just scenery that makes you want to stand up and applaud, the ‘abode of snows’ (the

Himalaya’s Sanskrit meaning) are a natural miracle that has shaped the lives of those who live in

their shadow in untold ways: from their beliefs, to politics, to the clothes they wear. Our journey

will cover Tibet, Nepal and Bhutan – which we find are worlds apart in almost every respect.

We start our bone-rattling ride across Tibet in the capital, Lhasa. This city is everything I dreamed it

would be – shops full of lapis lazuli-coated artefacts (some real, some not); ancient temples with

spinning prayer wheels sending their blessings to the wind; and the original home of the Dalai Lama

- but all that is changing fast. By the time you finish this story, something else has most likely been

transformed in this Autonomous Region of China.

We aim to do a ‘kora’ (sacred pilgrimage) around Mount Kailash in western Tibet, regarded as

the most sacred mountain in the Himalayas by five religions, no less. To Buddhists, she is home to

the Buddha of Extreme Bliss; while to Hindus, this is where supreme gods Shiva and Parvati dwell.

To many, it’s the mythical Mount Meru - the centre of the universe, where heaven, earth and the

underworld overlap.

It’s not so much the trek that hurts, it’s the elevation. Until you’re acclimatised, every breath is a

struggle. Most of the time we’re above 4,000 metres; and to get here has taken two days by 4WD,

across some of the most alien landscapes on our planet. Don’t expect any luxury – or hot or running

water and western toilets. Again, this is changing, no doubt there will be some flashy Chinese-built

hotels alongside the new highway they are building across the plateau. Travel in Tibet is not easy,

you’ll need a licensed guided tour, a truckload of permits, and patience. But this is a true once-in-a-lifetime experience - one circuit of the mountain is said to erase the ‘sins of a lifetime’; 108 brings

instant enlightenment. Even for non-believers, that’s worth the effort.

Following the ‘Friendship Highway’ towards Nepal, the landscape begins to change from bone-dry

arid to lush green. Kathmandu is everything Tibet is not. It’s a crazy, chaotic, higgledy-piggledy

city - with bucket-loads of charm.

With eight of the world’s highest mountains, tourism and trekking is well organised here, they’ve

had decades to perfect it. For those wanting a holiday where most things go to plan, Nepal is it, with

still enough adventure to take your breath away. Literally. When I first visited Nepal in the 80s,

there were barely any cars, and most of the shops were tiny little carved wooden affairs with no glass. Today you’re likely to be caught in a multi-hour traffic jam in Kathmandu. However, it is still

a wonderfully enchanting place, with an Instagram moment around every corner, plus the best place

for views of Everest when trekking.

From Nepal, we fly to Bhutan, Land of the Thunder Dragon, and the most untouched of all the

Himalayan empires. Only opening its doors to the outside world in the 1970s, and then enforcing

strict numbers on how many tourists it would let in, Bhutan’s isolation has allowed it to preserve its

centuries-old culture better than anyone else. Buddhist museums and temples/fortresses (called

dzongs) contain some of the rarest antiquities from the faith - largely destroyed elsewhere.

Bhutan’s pin-up poster model is Taktsang Monastery (Tiger’s Nest), conveniently located in Paro,

and a natural must-visit. To travel to Bhutan, you must be on an organised itinerary and spend a

minimum of US$250 per person per day. They don’t want backpackers here. You can surround

yourself in luxury at resorts such as Uma Paro or Aman Resorts; but the government-run hotels on a

drive/tour across the country, are some of the cleanest and most pleasant you’ll find anywhere in

Asia. In fact, Bhutan is perfect. It’s like ‘Disneyland meets Switzerland in the Himalayas’ as my

partner jokes. Even the concept of Gross National Happiness is written into the country’s

constitution. You won’t find hordes of tourists here - often you’ll feel like you’re the first to ever

visit.

The realms of the Himalayas are all very different, but what they do share is the effect they have on

everyone of being forever life-changing.