Pic:North east view of Mount Amadablam
Himalayan ("Abode of the Snow"), the word comes from Sanskrit “hima” means “snow” and “a-laya” means “receptacle, dwelling", is a mountain range which separates the plain of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. This range has the earth’s highest peak, Mt. Everest, and other mountains, including ten of the world’s 14ers. The Himalayan mountain range runs west-northwest to east-southeast in an arc 2,400 km (1,500 mi long), starting from Bhutan, Nepal, India, Tibet, and Pakistan. Its western anchor, Nanga Parbat, lies just south of the northernmost bend of the Indus river. Its eastern anchor, Namcha Barwa, is just west of the great bend of the YarlungTsangpo River (an upper stream of the Bramhaputra River).
Though Himalayan ranges touch the countries of Myanmar and Afghanistan (with the addition of Bangladesh) they are normally not included, but they are part of the great Hindu Kush Himalayan (HKH) river system.
Eight out of the 10 highest peaks of the world are in Nepal: Mt. Everest, Kanchanjunga, Lhotse, Makalu, Cho Oyu, Dhaulagiri-1, Manaslu, and Annapurna-2. The Great Himalayan Trail, which goes from east to west (or vice versa) gives a view of all of these majestic mountains. It is one of the hardest, most challenging, longest and most adventurous trails. It takes 120 days.
With these beautiful, majestic, and highest peaks comes diverse geography like glaciers, high altitude lakes (Tilicho, Rara, Gosaikunda, Surya Kunda, Panch Pokhari, etc), and the deepest gorge (Kala Gandaki Gorge). Additionally, cold deserts, alpine zones, rain forests, breathtaking waterfalls, rivers, beautiful valleys, Mahabharat ranges, and Chure ranges (which includes different species of flora and fauna) are all breathtaking views in the land of the Himalayas.
Some of the rare plants and animals found in this region are the red panda, snow leopard, Himalayan blue sheep, grey wolf, brown bear, Himalayan lynx, wild yak, spikenard (jatamasi), and cordyceps (yarsagumba). All these rare plants and animals are being protected under the Conversation Area, National Park, and Wildlife Reserve of Nepal.
The daily lifestyle of people is also highly influenced by their mountain home. Food, culture, dress, farming, and agriculture are uniquely different from the lifestyle of people from other geographical regions. Most people are Buddhist with their own mother tongue. Sherpa and Tamang people live in the mid-Himalayan region where it is possible. Tibetan refugees can also be found in different areas especially close to the Tibetian border.
Trekking through these beautiful and daring landscapes gives every individual a chance to learn culture and experience lifestyle there and also learn a few more local languages there. The best thing of all is the people you will meet when you venture into this Shangra la place called Nepal