Articles
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NGARI TRIPTYCH PART 2 - KAILASH: AXIS OF THE WORLD
This is Part 2 of an unforgettable journey to three iconic locations in the Far West of Tibet I made in Autumn 2016: the Mount Kailash kora, the highest point of which is the Drolma-la. At 5630m, this is officially classified as ‘extreme altitude’: to put that in perspective, nowhere in the world is permanent human habitation to be found above 5400m due to oxygen levels being approximately half of those at sea level. And it was over the Drolma-la that, if my own strength and the spirits permitted, I was going.
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NGARI TRIPTYCH PART 1 - MANASAROVAR: LAKE CREATED IN THE MIND OF BRAHMA
Almost a decade ago, in the Autumn of 2016, I made an unforgettable journey to Lake Manasarovar, Mount Kailash, and the Guge Kingdom, Tibet, and subsequently wrote a blog, chronicling the core of that journey, entitled Ngari Triptych. Here is the introduction and first part, Manasarovar: Lake Created in the Mind of Brahma.
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KATHMANDU'S RIDGE OF THE RINPOCHES
A ridge in the northwest corner of the Kathmandu Valley, in aeons past a rocky islet and great lake respectively, could possibly lay claim to having the highest concentration of spirituality in all Nepal. Here, on a northeast-southwest axis not one kilometer in length sometimes referred to as Kopan Hill, are to be found four great monastic institutions, each intrinsically associated with an illustrious spiritual leader. To learn about—or, even better, visit—each of these places and great leaders is to go on a meaningful journey into the heart of Tibetan Buddhism and its place in the modern world.
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GEN-Z: WHEN ENOUGH IS ENOUGH IN NEPAL
On 8 September 2025, peaceful demonstrations against government corruption and nepotism were held all over Nepal, the focus of attention inevitably being that taking place in Kathmandu. The protestors were Gen-Z, social media savvy and dressed in school and college uniform to symbolise their status. But live ammunition was fired, violence broke out, and, over the course of the next few days, arson and looting were followed by the installation of a new interim government. Louisa Kamal watched the smoke and fires burning across the Kathmandu Valley: read her insightful article into what exactly happened.
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ROLWALING BEYUL & ANIMAL LIBERATION
For me, as a trekker, writer and photographer, one of Nepal’s most beautiful and captivating beyul—hidden sacred valleys—is Rolwaling in Dolakha District. The name’s two components—rolwa meaning ‘furrow’, and ling ‘place’ in Tibetan—graphically describe the nature of the deep, steep-sided Rolwaling Valley in its lower stages, running west-east parallel to the border with Tibet. Follow me as I trek up the beyul at the beginning of December, encountering snow in the uppermost village of Naa and find Tso Rolpa frozen, icy and enchanting.
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