Fülling Oliver: Sacred places in the Himalayas - of monasteries, gods and saints in Tibet, India and Nepal

"He who does not climb the difficult rock cannot reach the magnificent meadow", says a Tibetan proverb and it aptly describes the fact that the sacred places on the roof of the world need to be experienced, felt and often hiked to on arduous pilgrimages.

The journey begins in the Tibetan capital of Lhasa, where the Potala Palace is still the powerful center of Tibetan Buddhism in the cultural memory of the Tibetans. The meditation caves of Drayerpa at a dizzying height, the sacred lakes Namtso and Mapham Yutso and, last but not least, Mount Kailash, which is considered the center of all major religions in the Himalayan regions, are further highlights of Tibet. In Ladakh, we visit the magnificently situated monasteries of Chemrey, Hemis and Lamayuru. The lively city of Leh, the mysterious Nubra Valley and the icy peak of Stok Kangri are also visited, as is the Zanskar region with its remote valleys, on whose rocky slopes lonely temples such as Karsha blend into the wildness of the landscape. The sacred sites of Nepal are quite different. Hinduism dominates here with its noisy, colorful temples. Religious life pulsates everywhere, saints or even the Kumari in Kathmandu are worshipped as a living goddess, while in the nearby mountains, magnificent views of the Himalayas further emphasize the sacredness of the hilltops, groves and temples.