Nepal Highlights

The Masyangdi River Valley near the beginning of the Annapurna Circuit. The village there is Tal. The whole Annapurna trek lasted 22 days.
A Buddhist Temple in Bagarchap (very Tibetan).
Annapurna Circuit near Pisang. It snowed the night before. At about 3400 meters.
Above Manang at 13,000 feet. The mountains across the valley are twice as high.
A zoomed view of Annapurna II, 7937 meters.
Me visiting a Buddhist monk. He's 86 years old and lives at 13,000 feet.
An avalanche, the cloudy area in the middle.
Above Manang (bottom). There is a huge ice fall coming off of Gangapurna (7400+ meters).
A view south of Manang at sunrise.
Mountains in the morning.
Going up over the Thorung La Pass, the highest point of the Annapurna Circuit (over 17,000 feet). You can see the path and a couple of trekkers.
The same day, an alpine experience.
The trail climbs and climbs up to 5416 meters.
And there Suk (my guide) and I are. You can see the other side (Mustang Region).
The Mustang Region from above. It is a Tibetan, desert-like region.
The Kali Gandaki River Valley in Mustang (Annapurna Circuit).
Looking down the Kali Gandaki, over the historic town of Kagbeni.
Dauhlagiri (8167 meters) at sunrise.
The view from Poon Hill, a popular viewing point in the Annapurna region.
Rhodadendrens and mountains.
The view toward the Annapurna Sanctuary (the middle of the Annapurna range which I walked around). The mountain on the right is Machhapuchhare (Fish Tail) and is the most impressive in the region (6993 meters tall).
Sunrise in the same area.
Annapurna I, the first 8000+ meter mountain ever climbed. From Annapurna Base Camp at sunrise.
The terraced fields which are everywhere.
Back in Pokhara (the big city in the Annapurna Region). You can see Fish Tail above the powerlines.
Me climbing out of a cave.
Bats in a cave in Pokhara.
The view from Pokhara of the Annapurna Range. The tallest mountain is Fish Tail (about a 1000 meters shorter than a lot of the mountains but much closer).
A zoomed panoram.
A similar panorama from Sarangkot (a hill just north of Pokhara).
Now flying to Lukla in the Everest region for an 18 day trek.
The first view of Everest, the peak just behind the larger snow-covered mountain.
An impressive view.
A yak (mountain cow). This yak might be thinking about charging me.
From near Gokyo (Everest Region still) at sunset. Gokyo is a separate destination from the more famous Everest Base Camp with broader views of more mountains (I also went to Everest Base Camp).
A hike I took with my guide Suk north of Gokyo.
The impressive view from this region. Everst is visible here.
A similar view, but now focusing on the large Ngozomba Glacier below, the longest in the Himilayas.
Sunrise from Gokyo Ri (Gokyo Peak).
The view of some tall mountains, Everest (8850 m), Lohtse (85-- m), and Makalu (84-- m) from Gokyo Ri (5357 m). There's Suk.
The 360 degree-view from Gokyo Ri! The 1st, 4th, 5th, and 6th tallest mountains in the world are in view here. Also visible is the Ngozomba glacier and a variety of other mountains.
The Cho La Pass, 5420 meters. I crossed this pass to get to the Everest Base Camp trek from Gokyo. It was not an easy pass to cross, very rocky.
The view from Kala Pattar, the most famous viewpoint of Everest. Everest is the black pyramid. Suk and I climbed up here just before sunset and I took my best pictures here.
A panorama from Kala Pattar. The mountains to the right are farther away.
A view to the south. The impressive peak in the middle is Ama Dablam, just under 7000 meters and the most impressive peak in the region.
Again of Everst and Nuptse (78-- m), the white peak on the right (it's nearer than Everest). Notice the wind blowing off Everest to the left- it's the jet stream.
More pictures of the sunset.
The last sunlight on Everest.
Looking toward Ama Dablam.
This is my favorite picture.
Great colors!
We came down from Kala Pattar (5600 m0 to our lodge at Gorak Shep (5150 m) in the fading light.
The next day, walking toward Ama Dablam. It's much bigger now.
In the Chukung valley.
From Chukung, the massive rock wall is the Lohtse wall.
A panorama of the Chukung Valley. Makalu is the gray rock left of center.
Sunset from Tengboche, a wonderful village in the Everest Region with a huge gompa (Buddhist monastary).
The Tengboche gompa and Ama Dablam (right).
A picture a couple minutes later.
The next morning. This view is famous. Everest on left, Ama Dablam on right.
The gompa again.
Chortens, Buddhist monuments in Tengboche.
Another view.
A view from the Everest View Hotel (where rich people go to see Everest).
Looking south.
Namche Bazaar, the administrative center of Khumbu region (Everest region).