THE PHOTOGRAPHER’S STORY
ABOVE A Whiskered
Yuhina lurks in a tree.
I had some waiting to
do before this little
looker poked its head
out for me to get this
shot. LEFT A Tailed Jay
displays some impres-
sive hovering skills as it
sips mineral-laden water
from a moist twig. If
you’re sweaty enough,
some butterflies will
even land on you to feast
on your perspiration!A confiding Alpine Accentor wanders over to check me out. These chubby chaps
kept me happily distracted on the inexorable four-hour trek to Larkya La, the high-
est point of the Circuit at 5160m. The gradual ascent isn’t actually that difficult
(compared to the climb to Manaslu Base Camp), just long and where the air is
rarefied. The steep descent that followed, though, was another story altogether.