0280 NEPAL - Annapurna South view from Ghandrung

It seems to me a bit strange that the country in which were born Sita Devi (of the Ramayana), and Siddhartha Gautama (who, as Buddha Gautama, gave birth to the Buddhist tradition), is now headed by a Maoist party. It's true that in quite many countries in Asia and the Arab world the communism and the religion coexist peacefully, but I don't cease to wonder at this, because in Europe, among the main goals of communism (essentially atheist), there were to minimize the religious institutions and to destroy the religious sentiment, according to one of the famous sayings of Marx, that "Religion is opium for the people". A proof that the religion don't disturb on the current rulers is that, although they transformed Nepal from a Hindu state (the last in the world) into a secular one, they inaugurated in 2010 the tallest statue of lord Shiva in the world.

For me, Nepal means temples, Gurkhas and Himalayas. About the first two I will write at the right moment, and now I will refer only to the mountains in the image. The Mountain Region (Parbat) of Nepal is located in the Great Himalayan Range, in the northern part of the country, and contains the highest elevations in the world, including 8,848m height Mount Everest (Sagarmatha in Nepali), on the border with China, and 7 other peaks over 8,000m: Lhotse, Makalu, Cho Oyu, Kanchenjunga, Dhaulagiri, Annapurna and Manaslu.

The 55km long massif Annapurna (literally "full of food", but translated as Goddess of the Harvests) is "... the universal and timeless kitchen-goddess... the mother who feeds. Without her there is starvation, a universal fear..." The entire massif and surrounding area are protected in a conservation area, the first and largest one in Nepal. The Annapurna peaks - which contains 6 major peaks over 7,200 m: Annapurna I (8,091m), Annapurna II (7,937m), Annapurna III (7,555m), Annapurna IV (7,525 m), Gangapurna (7,455 m), and Annapurna South (7,219m) - are considered the world's most dangerous mountains to climb, with a fatality rate of 38%.

In the picture is the last of them, Annapurna South (also known as Annapurna Dakshin, or Moditse), which was first climbed in 1964 by a Japanese expedition. You can read here the diary of the Slovak climber Jozef "Dodo" Kopold about a failed ascent of the peak in 2009. Ghandrung (or Ghandruk), the second largest Gurung village in Nepal, located at 1,940m altitude, is a popular place for treks in the Annapurna range, with easy trails and various accommodation possibilities. From there Gurkhas were recruited in the British and Indian army.

About the stamp

The stamp, issued in 2011, depict Yetser Jangchubling Monastery.

This is a post for Postcard Perfect #52. Click on the button below to visit all the other participants.

sender: Heli Paudel (direct swap)
sent from Kathmandu (Nepal), on 03.07.2012