For its majestic landscape of mountains dominated by the incredible Mount Everest, the dreams place that I would like to visit is Himalayas. I love the mountains and the natural scenic beauty of nature. The Himalayas have all the thrills an adventure enthusiast like me craves for, the high peaks, mountainous wilderness, snowfields, caves and many other historic places that one would love to visit.
Nepal is the country most closely identified with Himalayas as it is home to most of the highest peaks in the world including the Everest.
The quickest way is to fly from Kathmandu to Lukla airport, which is often referred to as the most dangerous airport in the world, thanks to its small and treacherous runway. But Himalayas and the Everest are not for the faint hearted. If you have decided to make the trip, the getting there is a prelude for the experience of a lifetime, seeing nature in its full grandeur.
One of the main whys and wherefores that I would like to visit the Himalayas is with the hope that I would be able to one day stride towards the summit of the colossal Mount Everest, the highest peak in the world. The official ascend to the Mount Everest starts by trekking to its base camp which itself is a phenomenal 5,000 meters above sea level.
There have been thousands of attempts at the world’s highest mountain over the years since the first successful climb Tenzing and Sir Edmund Hillary more than 60 years ago.
The Sherpas, regarded as elite mountaineers and experts in climbing the peaks of the Himalayas, help people like me having dreams of summiting the Everest or just taking us to the Everest base camp and a few higher camps.
The Himalayas is home to the astonishing flora and fauna, an endangered plant species which thrives on the extreme climates of the Himalayas and its nearby regions. The Himalayan Pika, a cute little mammal which almost resembles a rabbit is a resident on the Himalayas living at heights of more than 6,000 metres.
The Himalayas also has many other tourist attractions like Paro Taktsang which is a well known Buddhist sacred site where the second Buddha is believed to have meditated. It is a cliffside monastery with its caves having fascinating stories to tell. There is a legend that Rinpoche, the revered Buddhist monk, was carried from Tibet to this location on the back of a tigress, giving it the name “Tiger’s Nest.”
One of the other main reasons for my visit is something very close to my heart. I look forward to visiting an orphanage in Kathmandu which was devastated by the 2015 Nepal Earthquake to which myself and a few of my friends from school had contributed in its rebuilding and rehabilitation of the children there. It should be a humbling experience for me hearing their stories and how they managed to live and fight for their second chance at life and hope.
Trekking the Himalayas has to be a life-changing experience for me. While looking forward to one day accomplishing my ambitious goal of summiting the top of the world (Everest, I’m looking at you), more than the destination, the journey towards my dream destination is the most exciting part.
Author Bio : Zishan Riyad , from Dubai.He is a participant of International Essay Competition, March,2019.
