National Geographic Annapurna Circuit

Andrew Stevenson's insightful, deeply personal account of an extended trek through the Himalayas, of the people he meets, the breathtaking beauty of the landscape, and his own spiritual journey.

Many disenchanted Westerners have gone to the Himalayas in search of renewal, but few have written about the experience as perceptively or as intimately as Andrew Stevenson. A traveller all his life, Stevenson responds to people and places with an openness unique to the cultural nomad. His portraits of the people of the Annapurna, and of the fellow trekkers who intermittently shared his journey, are a delight, and his descriptions of the landscape, and the physical hardships of the trek, are enthralling. Like every travel book of quality, this is also the record of a spiritual journey, and Stevenson movingly records his impressions of the Buddhist teachings lived around him. A richly rewarding read on every level.