Living in the Himalayan Mountains of Nepal not only means experiencing life in a natural environment, but also being closely exposed to the elements. Here very basic things matter, and strong winds or the lack of water can become a serious problem. While modern amenities are missing, living so connected to the land actually ensures that everything is organic, it comes from the earth and eventually goes back to it. But surviving under these harsh conditions also depends on having a good spirit and maintaining a strong sense of faith. And while the elements need to be dealt with, they are also deeply appreciated. If one were to be missing, life would not be able to flourish…
AIR
Buddhist Prayer Flags waving in the Mountain Winds of Nepal
The mountains of Nepal can be a tough place to be in. The location means that it gets really hot during the day, but the windy air is always freezing cold. In some areas the winds get really strong, making walking between villages only possible in the morning. During the afternoon hours, air-borne sand is blasted at everyone who tries to brave this free and fast-moving element. But the wind also does something good. It not only carries the much-needed oxygen for all living beings to breathe, it also lifts the Buddhist prayers from the waving flags and spreads their message into the air…
WATER
River Bed with Green Oasis in the High Altitude Desert of Nepal
No life is possible without water. This becomes especially obvious in the high altitude desert of Nepal, where almost nothing grows naturally. Only during the monsoon season, or when the snow melts, the entire valley gets flooded and becomes a huge riverbed. At other times, this constantly flowing element builds little organic-looking streams that cover the plains like the branches of a tree. Right there is where people decided to settle and build small villages with irrigated fields that look like green oases in the middle of the otherwise arid landscape. All of this is only possible because of the presence of water…
EARTH
Adobe Houses of a traditional Village in the Himalayas of Nepal
There is always immense beauty in simplicity. And a lifestyle as basic and connected to the earth as people still live in northern Nepal is extremely fascinating to foreign eyes. While westerners nowadays struggle to lead a more sustainable life and reduce their carbon footprint, here everything is as natural as it gets. All building materials come from the earth, with the result that the solid-looking adobe structures blend in perfectly with their natural environment. These houses not only provide shelter from the other elements, but eventually they will return naturally to where they came from, mother earth…
FIRE
Spinning Buddhist Prayer Wheels in the Himalayan Mountains of Nepal
Under harsh conditions people need hope. As no actual security exists when living in remote locations like the mountains of Nepal, the power of faith becomes really important. Buddhism fills this role. Like a low burning fire inside every person, Buddhism provides the warmth and comfort that people need to survive. But this fire not only smelters, it actually ignites into the full flames of passion in religious practice. The most infectious of these practices is probably the spinning of the prayer wheels since, with every rattling turn, another piece of wood is seemingly added to the internal fire…
– for enlarged views please click on the photos –
Travel Photoblogging Challenge
This post is part of the “Explore the Elements – Travel Photoblogging Challenge”, in which each element, air, water, earth and fire, need to be represented with an individual image. But rather than showing four random images, it was my personal choice to pick photos of the same area, in this case the Himalayan region of Nepal, and explore the elements within this specific context. Instead of actually submitting photos that tried to capture each element, it seemed more interesting to try to understand their significance in the lives and experiences of the people who inhabit the area.
The photo challenge ends on the March 16, 2015. All terms and conditions can be found here.
Nominations
Thank you very much to Jon Look from Life Part 2 for nominating me to participate in this challenge. As everyone needs to nominate five bloggers, these are my choices:
Margherita and Nick from The Crowded Planet
Marcela and Felipe from Fotostraße
Jenna and Micah from Wander The Map
Franca and Dale from Angloitalian Follow Us
Ivana and Gianni from Nomad is Beautiful
Have you been to the Himalayan Mountains of Nepal and experienced the elements there?
.
Beautiful images, they really are a great complement to the text.
Thank you very much Mayra! It is really great that you enjoy my interpretation of the elements in Nepal and it’s even better that you also appreciate the photos, covering the essence of life in the mountains…
Fantastic photos Dennis! Thank you so much for thinking of us two and nominate us
Franca recently posted…Five Pics and Tips for Edinburgh
Of course I thought of you with the nomination, Franca! And I am very happy to hear that you like my photo interpretation of the elements in the mountains of Nepal…
It’s amazing how things we take for granted every day: water, air, fire are essential to our existence. What a beautiful description of Nepal. Good luck with the contest!
Thank you so much Jessica! It’s really great to hear that you enjoyed the description of Nepal and the life with the elements in the Himalayan mountains. You are definitely right when you say that we take all of these things for granted and only if we care to stop and think about them, we realize how important they actually are…
Great job, Dennis. Very creative. I hope to go there someday.
Thank you very much John! I am very glad to hear that you like my elements from the mountains of Nepal. If you get the chance, you should definitely go, it’s such a beautiful place to visit…
Enjoyed your post Dennis. I trekked the Langtang Valley in Nepal last year. The flags are all over the place! Beautiful scenery. Wonderful people. Your post brought it all back. Namaste. Randy
Thanks a lot Randy! It’s great that you did the Langtang Trek as well and that you saw a lot of the flags, they really add to the scenery. By the way, I also get quite sentimental while looking at the photos from my time in the Himalayas. Nepal really is a special place. Namaste back…
Wow Dennis, you captured so great the mountains of Nepal…
Thank you so much for sharing them with us!
Such a different way of life there compared to the west … it’s such a compelling place as a result!
James recently posted…Experience the Luxury of Rome
Nepal looks like an amazing country … hope to visit sometime next year!
James recently posted…Top Tourist Attractions In Antioquia, Colombia
James, Nepal really is an amazing country and if you get the chance, definitely go and visit the mountains…
Hi Dennis, I found your post about Nepal very interesting. For me this is one of those “sacred” destinations that I wanted very much to experience when I was younger. I call it Sacred in the sense that it became a sort of a Mecca for the mountain climbing lovers and for those with adventurous spirits. Now it is a little to late to go to Nepal for me. I am not longer young, I have less energy and less disposition to accept very rudimentary conditions of lodging, and very little comfort. But I have to admit I still have a little regret in my heart for not being able to do this when I was in my 20s or 30s. You seemed to have had a blast there and as a man is always easier to travel to rough places like this one.
Anda recently posted…8 Sights You Shouldn’t Miss if You Visit Siena
Neapl is a special place … hope it has recovered after the earthquake they had last year!
Totally agreed Caroline! One the one hand Nepal with its amazing mountains truly is a special and on the other I too hope that it has recovered as best as possible from the devastation that happened. Let’s hope we will both be able to visit Nepal again sometime soon…