Secretive and serene, the Gauri Shankar/Rolwaling trekking area offers an unspoilt, less visited, more authentic Himalayan experience. An inspirational array of climbing peaks lures ever more mountaineers. For some, crossing the Tashi Lapcha pass adds to the magic. The long-forgotten Lapche Valley is a fairytale wonderland, barely accessible on exciting trails that penetrate precipitous canyons and eerie, goblinesque forests. Yak herders, pilgrims, naturalists and curious trekkers are all mesmerised by this valley of the Tibetan sage, Milarepa. Picturesque houses, lush farming terraces, isolated Buddhist monasteries, remote hermitages, colourful Hindu festivals and mystical shaman rituals ensure that cultural interest abounds too. The deep furrows of the Gauri Shankar/Rolwaling region have kept their secrets hidden for long enough; these wild and rugged valleys promise an adventure without equal.With an in-depth description of the cultural wealth of the region, along with details of all the popular and not so well-known trekking trails and climbing peaks in the area, this new guidebook is an indispensable guide to all that the Rolwaling/Gauri Shankar region has to offer.
About the Author: Siân Pritchard-Jones and Bob Gibbons met in 1983, on a trek from Kashmir to Ladakh. By then Bob had already driven an ancient Land Rover from England to Kathmandu (in 1974), and overland trucks across Asia, Africa and South America. He had also lived in Kathmandu for two years, employed as a trekking company manager. Before they met, Siân worked in computer programming and systems analysis, but was drawn to the Himalaya en route from working in New Zealand. Since then they have been leading and organising treks in the Alps, Nepal and the Sahara, as well as driving a bus overland to Nepal. Journeys by a less ancient (only 30-year-old) Land Rover from England to South Africa provided the basis for several editions of the Bradt guide Africa Overland, including the sixth edition published in May 2014. In Kathmandu they previously worked with Pilgrims Publishing, producing cultural guides - Kathmandu: Valley of the Green-Eyed Yellow Idol and Ladakh: Land of Magical Monasteries - and a historical look at the Guge Kingdom, Kailash: Land of the Tantric Mountain. In 2007 they wrote the Cicerone guide to Mount Kailash and Western Tibet, as well updating the Grand Canyon guide. During 2011 they returned to Tibet, this time driving the same old Land Rover back from Kathmandu to the UK overland via Lhasa, through China, Kazakhstan, Russia and Western Europe. Their Annapurna trekking guide was published by Cicerone in January 2013, with the second edition in February 2017. For Himalayan Map House they are writing a series of trekking guidebooks (Himalayan Travel Guides) covering the newly developing Great Himalaya Trail. So far their publications include a guide to Manaslu and the Tsum Valley (second edition); Upper and Lower Dolpo; Ganesh Himal (Tamang Heritage Trail); Everest; Langtang, Gosainkund & Helambu (Tamang Heritage Trail); Rolwaling & Gauri Shankar (Lapche, Bigu & Tashi Lapcha); Mustang; Kanchenjunga; Makalu; and Nepal Himalaya, covering all of the above and most of the Himalayan range. A faithful hound named Kanchi followed them to Makalu Base Camp and wrote her own book entitled Kanchi's Tale, also in colour, B&W and Kindle. They were in Nepal in May 2015 and have also published an account of what happened (and didn't happen) after the earthquakes in Earthquake Diaries: Nepal 2015. Also available are their autobiography In Search of the Green-Eyed Yellow Idol, a pictorial guide to the Horn of Africa, and a trekking guide Australia: Red Centre Treks.