Walking The Himalayas

In my literary escapades, the book stands out as a captivating journey through the majestic landscapes of the Himalayas. It's not just a travelogue; it's an immersive experience, transporting readers through the highs and lows of the author's trek. The vivid descriptions paint a picture of the breathtaking scenery and the challenges faced along the way. With each chapter, the narrative unfolds like a gripping adventure, making it hard to put down. Whether you're an armchair traveler or seeking inspiration for your own expedition, this book has proven to be an enthralling and enriching read.

This was a good read and kept my interest. It seemed to capture elements of walking travel in a beautiful and very poor part of the world. It did not capture my interest like his walking the Nile. I did not feel the author was passionately interested in this work. It was a job.

Being a skeptical Yank, I was not familiar with Levison Wood prior to reading "Walking the Nile" which rated my five star review. Not knowing how much of his work was "reality tv" enhanced, I was only convinced of the veracity of his original epic journey by the tragic death of a companion. Upon finishing the walk on the Nile, I vowed to walk the Himalayas with him when the book was available. Sequels are seldom as good as the original, and this was no exception since it was a shorter journey. However, it was good enough to again rate five stars and be an excellent companion book to read. Once again, although the trek was not as long and fewer countries were involved, Wood's descriptions of the dangerous political environments in that section of the world were appreciated, and his portrayals of the terrain and people he encountered were vivid. Even his insight into his own motivation for these adventures and the brief sketch of his life in London was interesting. This book, like the other, provided a good reference map for the exotic trek and wonderful color photos of the journey. And, finally, I was ultimately convinced of the true dangers involved by the author's own near-death experience.

I stumbled onto this author via a comment on Instagram about a month ago, and I'm so glad I did. Lev's writing is filled with history, insight and emotion - usually all at the same time. His journey through the Himalayas is both heart-warming and, at times, terrifying. It's is a journey of the soul, of the body, and of the heart. I devoured this book, and each time I had to pause in reading, my thoughts wandered back to it wondering what would come next. I was always grateful when I had a window in which to pick it up again. This book is filled with grace, humor, and intelligence. I highly recommend it. And now I'm off to purchase "Walking the Nile"...

good quality book

While this started a bit slowly, I thought it finished strong. This book covered Wood's six-month walk of through and near (as best he could) the Himalayas in less than 300 pages. To me, that meant that he definitely focused on the notable events and not the days and days of just trudging along. I found his descriptions of encounters with numerous people in all walks of life very interesting. The fact that he had the money from an advance for writing the book helped him immensely re transportation, accommodations, permits, etc. However, his experience and personality were ultimately critical to the success of this expedition. I listened to this book and ended up buying a hard copy so I could look at the map of his route and the photos taken along the way.

For anyone who likes to walk on trails throughout the world,or anywhere, this book is a must. It is honest, riveting and hard to put down. I am about to start his book on Walking the Nile. His books were introduced to me by a cousin who ocean swims 365 days a year regardless of weather. I think she is part fish, and relates to the restlessness of Mr. Woods for adventure. His writing is superb and the reader feels like he is sitting on his shoulder as he depicts each day of travel. It is a fabulous book.

Pleasant travel log. You end up not having either a view into these areas and people or insides for travelling these areas. Written more as a diary. Places, routes and time little bit confusing. Anyway was pleasant to read and makes me jealous of Wood's walk.

Ich hätte deutlich detailliertere Beschreibungen der "Wandertage" erwartet, statt dessen werden viele Tage einfach übersprungen und auf einmal ist man x-Tage weiter und man erfährt nicht, was in diesen Tagen geschehen ist. Wenigstens Stichpunkte wären gut gewesen, es passiert doch meist jeden Tag irgendwas.

Being in love with adventure & trekking in Himalayas, I enjoyed the book thoroughly. The author moves west to east in the Himalayan region, right from Afghanistan and ends his journey in Bhutan. His description of different people, cultures and landscapes which he encounters along the way is quite fascinating. Would like to suggest this book to anyone who is fascinated about Himalayas!

C'est un très bon livre qui m'a plu de lire des que je l'ai commencé, recommandez à tous les gens

Loved this book. I've read a lot of Lev's books, but this one stuck out as one of the best. The pictures at the end really brought it all together. Highly recommend reading!

As you can see from my review, I thought this book was amazing! Walking the Himalayas is absolutely brilliant and a wonderful accompaniment to the excellent television series. Levison Wood has a wonderful talent for describing not just the places he visits but the people he meets and becomes friends with. I find him a very easy author to engage with and his books are fascinating, funny and very difficult to put down. (I have also reviewed Walking the Nile). When I started reading the book, it got to 12:50 am in the morning before I realised how much time had passed since I had started reading it. The first chapter, where he describes his first meeting with Binod who became his friend and later his guide on the expedition, is an excellent example of serendipity which perfectly illustrates the friendliness and caring attitude of the people that were encountered on the expedition. This set the whole tone of the book and was one of the reasons why I enjoyed it so much. Whilst the author described the places that were visited and the difficult terrain that was encountered, what I enjoyed and found the most interesting were the people he met in these countries. The book gave me an insight into the values, religions and beliefs of these amazing people and also the challenges they faced. The author was very respectful of these people and writes about them in a very positive and engaging way. The second chapter was very illuminating as I didn’t really know much about the author’s background, other than that he had been in the army and so it was really interesting to learn more about his formative years and what he had done before this expedition. He describes the reasons behind embarking on this expedition in a very engaging and humorous way. The rest of the book describes the countries Levison Wood travelled through, the challenges with the terrain, the bureaucracy and also the wonderfully friendly and fascinating people he meets. I loved his descriptions of the mountains, river, forests and valleys and the photographs are excellent. His guides were fascinating and I enjoyed learning more about their families, their background, their religious beliefs, their views on politics and also how they coped with the challenges of the expedition. The description of the car crash was absolutely gut wrenching and emotive. Even though I knew it was coming and I had learned from a friend of the author that Levison had broken his arm, I had no idea of the background to it, or just how traumatic it was. I actually felt physically sick when I read it and really don’t know how he had the guts to continue after he had recovered from it. I got a real surprise with how the book ended. I absolutely loved the whole passage on the last page of the book and, I admit when I finished reading it, it ended with me having tears streaming down my face but also with a huge smile. This passage was a brilliant way to end this outstanding book.