The ETG Book Club. Nepal

This is the account of a journey to the dazzling Tibetan plateau of Dolpo in the high Himalayas. In 1973, Matthiessen made the 250-mile trek to Dolpo, as part of an expedition to study wild blue sheep. It was an arduous, sometimes dangerous, physical endeavour: exertion, blisters, blizzards, endless negotiations with sherpas, quaking cold. But it was also a 'journey of the heart' - amongst the beauty and indifference of the mountains, Matthiessen was searching for solace. He was also searching for a glimpse of a snow leopard, a creature so rarely spotted as to be almost mythical.

Paolo Cognetti marked his fortieth year with a journey he had always wanted to make: to the high valleys of Dolpo, a remote Himalayan region where Nepal meets Tibet. He took with him two friends, Remigio and Nicola, a notebook, local guides, a mule train, and a well-worn copy of Peter Matthiessen's classic The Snow Leopard. This is a beautifully written travel journal, pilgrimage, and literary homage that pays tribute to an ancient mountain culture, to the company of friends, and to the magnificence of nature.

"I read this while trekking in Nepal and absolutely loved it. It's a short read but hugely evocative and beautifully written." Alice, ETG

For two years in the early 1980s Monica Connell lived as a paying guest of Kalchu and Chola in the Nepalese Himalayan village of Talphi. Gradually she was accepted as a member of the family, sharing its joys and sorrows as well as taking part in its various tasks from mud-plastering the house to rice planting in the terraced fields. The village, in the remote Jumla region of western Nepal, was ten days walk from the nearest road, and its only contact with the outside world was through trading expeditions: north to Tibet for salt, and south to the Indian border for cotton and metalware.

House of Snow brings together over 50 excerpts of fiction and non-fiction celebrating the breathtaking landscapes and rich cultural heritage of Nepal. Here are explorers and mountaineers, poets and political journalists, national treasures and international celebrities. Featuring a diverse cast of writers such as Michael Palin and Jon Krakauer, Lakshmīprāsad Devkoṭā and Lil Bahadur Chettri – all hand-picked by well-known authors and scholars of Nepali literature including Samrat Upadhyay, Michael Hutt, Isabella Tree and Thomas Bell. House of Snow is the biggest, most comprehensive and most beautiful collection of writing about Nepal in print. All profits from the sales of this book are donated to the Pahar Trust Nepal to fund earthquake relief projects.

An outrageously funny spoof about the ascent of a 40,000-and-a-half-foot peak, The Ascent of Rum Doodle has been a cult favourite since its publication in 1956. Led by the reliably under-insightful Binder, a team of seven British men -- including Dr Prone (constantly ill), Jungle the route finder (constantly lost), Constant the diplomat (constantly arguing) -- and 3,000 Yogistani porters sets out to conquer the highest peak in the Himalayas.

A laugh-out-loud romp through the Himalayas. The Great Mysteries of Nepal are in danger of being uncovered and destroyed: George and Fred are hanging out in Nepal, trekking, climbing and generally having a good time. Before long they find themselves caught up in some weird schemes: rescuing a real, live yeti from a bunch of deranged scientists; scaling Mount Everest; saving the mystical city of Shangri-La and the extraordinary Kingdom Underground. On the way they’re chased by the US Secret Service, join forces with a 431-year-old Tibetan and almost start World War III…

In this documentary, a Nepali mountaineer risks everything on a record-breaking Mount Everest climb to secure a brighter future for her daughters.