The landscape changes. Scarcer villagers, fewer rice paddy fields. Terraces are planted with maize and barley. Increasing numbers of Tibetan refugee settlements are apparent as they colonise the Himalayan foothills. The gentle slopes of hillsides give way to steep-sided mountains. Strangely, there seem to be fewer foreigners. The tops of the mountains loom high on either side of the hand-carved pathways and staircases creeping along this historic route, which traders from Manang and Tibet have followed for centuries, efficiently expediting cargoes through apparently impenetrable mountains.

From Annapurna Circuit - Himalayan Journey by Andrew Stevenson.