Some of the 251 would-be Gurkhas start stretching the sinews. Only 44 will get to the next stage of testing.
Crossing the cable bridge at Dopali, having been forced to abandon Gurkha recruiting after Maoist guerrillas abducted Adrian and other senior officers.
The steep, stone steps out of Chomrung. They look helpful, but became slow torture.
Machhapuchhre, ‘Fish Tail Mountain’, is looking in much better shape than I am, as Wongchu (who has twice climbed Everest) hangs patiently behind me.
A mug of garlic soup as the afternoon mist comes down over Machhapuchhre, the sacred mountain they say has never been climbed.
A doorway in Patan shows the fine design and craftsmanship of the Newari people.
Durbar Square, Patan. Kunder Dixit, urbane, resourceful editor of the Nepali Times. A man does puja, a ritual offering to the gods at Krishna Mandir.
The view that makes it all worthwhile. The Annapurna Sanctuary, a 360-degree panorama with nine summits reaching 23,000 feet (7000 m).
With Pratima on a bridge over the Bagmati River at Pashupatinath, the most important Hindu temple complex in Nepal.
Male members of the family lay a deceased relative on the funeral pyre at the cremation ghats at Pashupatinath.
Sadhus, itinerants who have renounced all worldly possessions and dedicated their life to lord Shiva, at Pashupatinath.
The world’s most sociable hermits. These sadhus will do anything for you, including their Roy Wood and Wizzard impersonation.
Prayer flags flutter from the huge stupa at Boudhanath, the most important Buddhist site in Kathmandu and heart of the city’s Tibetan community.
Women are prominent in Nepali rural life. In the Himalayan foothills, a woman carries home scrub for cattle feed.
Shopkeeper in crimson sari on the road to the Tibetan border.
TIBET
Road-sweeping gang takes a breather in Nyalam.
A circle dance takes shape in a village on the way to Everest Base Camp. These folk get-togethers are an important time for matchmaking.
Man of the plateau. Sheepskin coat, earring and extended sleeves instead of gloves.
Chomolungma, ‘Goddess Mother of the Earth’. The best name westerners could come up with for the world’s highest mountain was Everest.
Everest Base Camp, just before Sunday lunch.
Tashilempo Monastery, Shigatse: boys are sent away to monasteries from the age of six, emulating the traditional English boarding-school approach to education.
The magnificent Potala Palace in Lhasa.
Walking with Migmar in the Barkor, one of the few areas of Lhasa where the traditional Tibetan houses are still preserved. In the foreground, a prostrating pilgrim.
Am I right? Monk makes his point in ritual debating at the Sera monastery.
Images of the gatekeepers, and other treasures, behind the altar in the Drepung Monastery, outside Lhasa.
Makeshift lutes.
The essence of bleakness. The grey, windswept waters of holy Namtso Lake, 15,500 feet (4570 m) above sea level. Prayer flags show that pilgrims come from all over Tibet to make the 18-day walk around it, or shorter walks around these towering rocks at Tashidor.
Yak herding on the summer pastures of Qinghai province.
Yak husbandry continued.
Sonam the yak farmer prepares a calf for shearing.
Meeting monks at the Festival. Later they inveigled me into a game of football.
Well-restored chortens at Gyanak Mani. They are symbolic of steps to enlightenment.
Tall in the saddle. Feet of horsemanship by the Kampas.
YUNNAN, CHINA
In Tiger Leaping Gorge. Behind me, Li Yuan, who we christened Mr Nice Man on account of his ineffable patience, leads the donkeys, keeps an eye on me and carries the sound boom.
Message in a bottle. Mr Feng’s connection with the outside world.
The end of Tiger Leaping Gorge. The Yangtze below me has fallen 700 feet (213 m) in a series of 21 lethal rapids. I’ve walked 20 miles along the edge of a cliff and I’m going to bed.
Luoshi, Sichuan. The jetty of Namu’s hotel.
Namu’s aunt is more concerned with hospitality than the interview.
Namu, the nicest narcissist.
Auto-rickshaw delivers me to Dr Ho’s clinic.
The Famous Dr Ho in trademark white coat.
Mrs Ho in the traditional costume of the Naxi, a minority people of Yunnan.
Xuan Ke, Lijiang’s local hero, takes his place in the front row of the Naxi Music Orchestra.
Sweet, beautifully played flute solo brings the concert to an end. Painted on the wall behind are black-necked cranes, a rare and sacred Himalayan bird.
Trainee snake charmer? No, local man shopping for walking stick.
Dongba checks the instructions during purification ritual.
Kunming, China. Girls in tribal costumes compare umbrella-opening techniques at the Yunnan Nationalities Villages.
Elephant basketball at the Nationalities Villages.
Nagaland. An old warrior, with fern accoutrements.
NAGALAND AND ASSAM
Belly up. Konyak Naga head-hunter outdoes me in stomach decoration. Nor are my Paul Smith belt and Craghopper trousers any match for his hornbill feather, wild boar’s teeth and neck-chain showing he’s taken five heads.
Shingwong translates the words of the chief of Longwa Village, on my right, as we talk to him in his hut. This picture has a distinctly period flavour. Hard to believe from the look of the place that most of them here are baptized Christians.
With the morning shift at Tipong Mine, near Digboi, Assam.
Safety is the big issue at Tipong. I suppose they could start by giving them overalls.
With Manoj Jalan (on leading elephant) in his Mancotta Estate.