NEPAL Namche Bazaar -- Porters unpack a camp for trekkers at a lodge in Namche Bazaar, Nepal. Often, small groups of wealthy trekkers hire dozens of support staff for their camps and have lavish meals cooked for them during the trek -- Picture by Jon Mitchell / Lightroom Photos
NEPAL Namche Bazaar -- 16 Jun 2007 -- Market day (Saturday) in Namche Bazaar, the commercial capital of the Khumbu Himalaya region -- Picture by Jon Mitchell | Lightroom Photos
NEPAL Gokyo Peak -- Sep 2007 -- A Nepalese guide rests at the summit of Gokyo Peak in the Khumbu Himalaya (Everest region) of Nepal -- Picture by Jon Mitchell | Lightroom Photos
NEPAL Everest Region -- Trekker near the summit of Gokyo Peak (Gokyo Ri). Mount Taboche (right) and Mount Cholatse are visible in the background -- Picture by Jon Mitchell / Lightroom Photos
NEPAL Near Shyaphru Bensi -- May 2009 -- Nepali Tamangs walk along a Chinese-built road near Shyaphru Bensi about 80km from Kathmandu, which will connect roads in nearby Tibet to Nepal. China is seeking to build two new roads - this one and another through the Annapurna region - which are supposed to be for trade, though many analysts worry about their military use in the future. Aside from trade, the Chinese have been pressuring Nepal to clamp down on Tibetans living in Nepal who fled the country after a brutal invasion which culminated in 1959. The Chinese military are pressing for more access and control of northern Himalayan provinces (all full of Tibetan Buddhists, some of whom are followers of the exiled Dalai Lama) and it appears that Nepal is in the middle of a larger Great Game between India and China -- Picture by Jon Mitchell / Lightroom Photos
NEPAL Khumjung -- A Sherpa Tibetan Buddhist spins prayer wheels at a chorten (stupa) in Khumjung a village of the Khumbu Himal (Everest region) of Nepal. Spinning these prayer wheels with their mantra of Ou Mani Padme Oum (which loosely translates as - How beautiful is the heart of the lotus!) is regarded as a pious act by Tibetan Buddhists -- Picture by Jon Mitchell / Lightroom Photos
