The Search for Shangri La

Writers have imagined and explorers have travelled afar before and since James Hilton first conjured up "Shangri-la" in his classic 1935 novel The Lost Horizon. According to National Geographic magazine however, Hilton may have been inspired by the generic word for a pass in Tibetan - "La" - the pass called Changri La in particular. Changri La, located near the Everest region in Tibet, was a place frequented by the legendary British climber, George Mallory, in his attempts of ascents to Everest in early 1920's.

While most references to the term "Shangri-la" relate to the fictional utopia, I am using the word "Shangri La" here in a more physical sense. The attempt is to portray the entire Himalayan region as a living, existing Shangri La, not necessarily in the utopian sense - a subtle difference from Hilton's original idea of Shangri-la.

Bluntly, Shangri La Home Page attempts to present the natural and geographical aspects of the Himalayas and the Himalayan region.

The highest mountain range on Earth, the Himalayas comprise three almost parallel ranges interspersed with large plateaus and valleys, forming the northern border of the Indian subcontinent in Asia.The mountain ranges extend in a massive arc for about 1,550 miles (2,500 kilometers) from east to west with more than 30 peaks rising to heights greater than 24,000 feet (7,300 meters) above sea level. These include Mount Everest, the world's highest peak at 8,848 meters (29,029 feet), Kanchenjunga at 8,598 meters (28,208 feet), Makalu at 8,463 meters (27,766 feet), and Dhaulagiri at 8,172 meters (26,810 feet). Even the passes through these mountains are farther above sea level thant he highest summits of the Alps.

The width of the mountain system varies from 125 to 250 miles (200 to 400 kilometers) from south to north, and the average height is 20,000 feet (6,100 meters). The Himalayas extend over about 229,500 square miles (594,400 square kilometers), with a varying depth of 250 to 340 km.

The Himalayas extend between latitudes 26 20 and 35 40 North and between longitudes 74 50 and 95 40 East, covering an area of 612,021 sq. km.

Several northern Indian states and the kingdoms of Nepal and Bhutan lie along the southern slopes of the Himalayas, and the Tibetan Highlands border them in the north. Lower mountian ranges branch off from both ends of the Himalayan system, running along the border with Myanmar toward the Bay of Bengal in the east and -- mainly through Pakistan -- toward the Arabian Sea in the west.

The Sanskrit name Himalaya, meaning "abode of snow," truly characterizes the vast permanent snowfields above the snow line.

(Partly adapted from the Compton's Encyclopeadia)

Physical Characteristics of the Himalayas

Genesis of the Himalayas

Plants and Animals in the Himalayas

List of World's Highest Mountains - above 8,000 metres