People of the Upper Himalayas

Director and photographer Eric Valley, although born in France, has long devoted his heart to the Himalayas. This is a stunning region, where the highest Mount Everest is located, and which occupies the territory of five different countries at once. This number includes Bhutan, Nepal, Pakistan, India and China.

Wally started photography in 1971 during his first trip to Afghanistan, and he was subsequently invited to become a geographic photographer at National Geographic and The Sunday Times, where he worked most of the time while moving up the career ladder.

He was especially fond of places that were as distant as possible. An incredible number of them were captured using the lens of his camera.

But he is not so familiar with anything else as with the Himalayas. Here he spent the whole 20 years and became a real expert in this field, even made a film about survival in this difficult area.

This photo, taken by Eric Valley in 1999, was nominated for an Oscar.

Just take a look at these photos. They give us a unique opportunity to travel to this treasured corner of the planet, where few of us will actually visit.

It is amazing how locals manage to live there throughout their lives. Where they take water, shelter and food, and what a great fortitude they must have!