This book is an account of the iconic expedition through Tibet. It was one of the first expeditions of the kind, and it had a tremendous role in the development of Tibetan geographics. The explorer and author, Hedin, was the first European to reach the sacred and legendary Mount Kailash. According to the Buddhist tradition, this mountain is the midpoint of the Earth. He started the expedition in 1906 from the Central Persian desert basins and the western Tibetan highlands. Then, he crossed the Transhimalaya region and discovered new territories. Later, the area of his route was called the Hedin Range. Then, he visited the 9th Pachen Lama in Shigatse. After, he reached the Indus and Brahmaputra rivers' sources and descended the Indus returning home. One of the most significant achievements of this journey is mapping the previously unknown areas of Tibetan highlands. Yet, Hedin wasn't just a prominent explorer but a great storyteller too. From the first pages of the captivating memoir, a reader's attention is entirely absorbed by the vivid description of the exotic places and adventures. Those days, the Indian and Tibetan region was a total mystery for a European. Now, a century on, we know just a little more. So, it is exciting to read about the cultures that are now distant to us geographically and historically. Another bonus you get from this book is a feeling of pioneering. What does a person feel, knowing that they are the first European in Tibet? How is it leaving your home for a long journey full of dangers? You can read about all these things in this beautiful realistic, and captivating memoir.

Discoveries And Adventures In Tibet. With 544 Illustrations From Photographs, Water Colour Sketches And Drawings By The Author And 14 Maps.

This Book Is A Comprehensive Study Of The Rise And Development Of Buddhism In A Broader Spatio-Temporal Context Of The Western Trans-Himalayan Rergion Since Its Nascent Days In India.

One of the most important travel books ever written is the story of Dr. Sven Hedin's discoveries and adventures in Tibet, which he has brought out in two volumes under the general title "Trans-Himalaya." Besides being a closely woven, carefully prepared account of the achievements of a scientific explorer, geographer, and ethnologist, this work is an entertainingly told story of startling experiences, exciting adventures, and really remarkable achievements in the field of exploration. The expedition of this Swedish explorer started in August, 1906, entering the Forbidden Land from the northwest. He thoroughly explored the country, penetrating with the aid of his thirty-seven Asiatic followers into sections in which not only had no Western man ever trodden, but in which the existence, even, of Europe was unknown. Dr. Hedin's description of his meeting with the Tashi Lama shows that head of the Buddhist church to be not a divinity in human form but a man who in kindness of heart, innocence, and purity approaches as near as possible to perfection. This is volume one out of two.