Intrigued by the title I started to read the personal account by Heinrich Harrer. Originally written in German, this book of 250+ pages is Harrer’s journal, starting from his departure from Graz to join the Nanga Parbat expedition in Pakistan in 1939 till the….No I am not going to spoil this for you!
During his short planned exit from his country Austria for his love for the Himalayas, the world was engaged in WWII. This book is a must read, to experience Harrer’s exploration and how he reaches the forbidden city “Lhasa”. Times when he and his partner Peter Aufschnaiter drew maps, met some unusual people. Spent days with nomads, shared their food and used barter system to survive on the treacherous yet beautiful terrains.
In today’s time when adventurous sport such as trekking is so much commercialized and the trails are marked already, this book offers that “first timers” experience. Harrer and Aufschnaiter had no clue what was coming next after escaping military camp in India and running towards Tibet. At times they used to walk circles and would find themselves on the same spot and there were days when they covered miles and were approaching Lhasa. Did they meet 14th Dalai Lama? Were they accepted in this forbidden city? These questions made me turn the pages of the book.
The only question that seems vaguely answered by him in the book; why seven years in Tibet? After reading Harrer’s narration I was eager to read Aufschnaiter’s 8 years in Tibet, which I could not find anywhere and the search is still on!
Trail2Happiness 