Langtang appealed to me as a trekking destination in Nepal this year having hiked in the Annapurna region already three times. I had heard it was far less busy than both Annapurna and Everest and its location near Tibet was attractive, along with the promise of interacting with people groups in homestays and villages. I was not disappointed. There were far fewer people on the trail and a lot of local culture and life going on to enjoy, largely thanks to it being losar or Tibetan New Year.

The Langtang track follows a river for three days up to the highest village of Khanjim Gompa at 3810m so it doesn’t get that high in altitude. The days were long but there wasn’t the up and down of the Annapurna terrain, just a gradual climb up past high alpine meadows with plenty of grazing yak, Tibetan villages and life, mani walls to admire and follow, plus plenty of snow and high mountains to ponder. I spent several days in Khanjim Gompa as there were day walks further into the valley, up high peaks surrounding us and towards glaciers that plummeted down the slopes around us. The images really tell their own story and all are available in the database.

Revealed in the early morning light – a gompa half way up the mountain behind the hotel in Khanjim Gompa. Pic: Joanne Lane, www.visitedplanet.com

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Landscapes are probably the most photographed subject around the world and often in my own travels. Their beauties are sometimes impossible to capture on camera and often, like David Byrne, it’s best to just enjoy them than try to capture the moment.

Still with that in mind, here are some images of landscapes around the world that try to do the places justice.

Glencoe, Scotland

Dolomites, Itay.

“To the complaint, ‘There are no people in these photographs,’ I respond, There are always two people: the photographer and the viewer.”
― Ansel Adams

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10 December every year is set aside to celebrate, highlight and advocate human rights, a full list of which is available here.

In that vein of celebrating rights to life, liberty, security, dignity, freedom of thought and religion, food, clothing, housing and more, here are 10 images celebrating what it is to be human from around the world.

Laughing children in underwear in a back alley of Kolkata, India

“Spread love everywhere you go: first of all in your own house. Give love to your children, to your wife or husband, to a next door neighbor… Let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier. Be the living expression of God’s kindness; kindness in your face, kindness in your eyes, kindness in your smile, kindness in your warm greeting.” -Mother Theresa
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Solitude is something I’m pretty familiar with when I travel and I actually embrace the concept of  this African proverb, “It is better to travel alone than with a bad companion.” However there are different forms of solitude and some can be inspiring, a haven and even necessary while others reek of loneliness and rejection. Here are some images from across the Visited Planet database featuring some of these forms of solitude.

Hindu pilgrim in prayer by the Ganges River, Varnassi, India

Alone let him constantly meditate in solitude on that which is salutary for his soul, for he who meditates in solitude attains supreme bliss.
~ Guru Nanak Read more

This post celebrates light and shadow that makes for glorious photography.

Everything has its wonders, even darkness and silence, and I’ve learned that whatever state I may be in, therein to be content.
– Helen Keller

Camel safari at sunset in the Thar Desert, Rajasthan, India

Chorten at sunset, Lake Namtso, Tibet

 You can only come to the morning through the shadows.
– J.R. R. Tolkien Read more