What more can you say? We were incredibly lucky that the flight back from Lhasa to Kathmandu over the Himalayas was cloud-free. Visibility was perfect, we were sitting on the “right” side, and shortly after take-off we had the Potala Palace and Everest outside the window.
Everest, Lhotse and rice terraces
In one picture Lhotse and Everest stand directly one behind the other, and on the approach to Kathmandu there were lovely views of the rice terraces too. WOW! Kathmandu lies at around 1,300 metres in the valley of the same name, a good 2,000 metres lower than Lhasa; the place has been inhabited since the 2nd century.
On the flight from Lhasa to Kathmandu: nothing but snow and ridges below the wing.Cloudless to the horizon – the snow peaks stand like a wall above the brown land.The Tibetan highlands in ochre and brown, the first snow peaks already on the edge of the sky.A river fans out across a wide valley, a town beside it – Tibet through the aircraft window.Brown ridges, rims of snow, a small green lake: from the window seat the land looks like a map.Dry ridges like folds in a cloth, a thin stream winding between them.The first great snow peaks of the Himalaya, crisp against the pale sky.A glacier spreads over the brown rock – we were sitting on the “right” side of the plane.Dark ridges, patches of snow, ochre slopes – the Himalaya, clearer than it usually is.Beyond the wing the mountain ranges fade into haze, each paler than the last.A snowy summit in front, ridge after ridge in blue behind it.In black and white: glaciers and ridges of the Himalaya, pin-sharp through the cloudless air.Deep blue sky, white mountains, the wing in the frame – we were incredibly lucky with the weather.A mighty snow massif under a clear sky – Everest and Lhotse were right outside the window on this flight.Two great snow peaks rise from the range – seen from the window on the way to Kathmandu.Clouds between dark ridges, Kathmandu not far off now.On the approach to Kathmandu: green rice terraces and a village on the ridge.
