The following post was written when we visited Tibet in 2007. In the last decade, much has changed. The roads leading to Mt. Kailash have been paved, Chinese guides must accompany tourists, and the once isolated region sees more visitors.

We were still half a day’s drive away from Darchen, the town at the foot of Mount Kailash and the starting point for our trek, when we caught our first glimpse of the snow-covered peak in the distance. After ten days bumping up and down on a series of increasingly deteriorating dirt rodes, Tibet’s holiest mountain was within sight.

The tension had been building for days. Rumors had been circulating that the Chinese military had moved into the area to clamp down on unrest resulting from the construction of an unapproved Buddha on the slopes of the mountain. Conflict had broken out between the soldiers and Tibetan pilgrims doing the Kailash kora. We had met several foreign trekkers and travelers who had been turned back by the troops. As we silently bounced our way towards our destination, we were all asking ourselves the same question: would we be allowed to trek Continue…

We have a great travel guide recommendation for visitors to our site. Cynthia LeCount Samaké has written A Textile Traveler’s Guide to Peru and Bolivia, which highlights everything a dedicated textile enthusiast needs to explore the two countries.

The book is filled with fascinating information on Bolivian and Peruvian textiles and beautiful photography including two of our images from the Colca Canyon region. In fact, the first full-page photograph in the book is our image below of a woman wearing an intricately embroidered hat and collar. Continue…