Lamjung Himalaya, Nepal

Sundar Kharka is one of the great finds of my Himalayan adventures. A lonely shelf on a high ridge, surrounded by a sea of mountains and clouds, scattered about with wind whipped trees and primitive kharkas. The word kharka means "shelter" and the area is used for pasture in the rainy months when the animals go up high. It was dry as a bone and deserted when we passed through in the winter of 2009.

On the horizon to the right lies the Manaslu Himalaya, to the left are the two hills we climbed to get a better look at it. I feel a deep gratitude to Purna and Ramesh for keeping the flame alive and working hard with me to find this place. I hope to always be finding more like it.