Jagged peaks splinter clouds in Nepal’s Himalaya mountains.

Famous for its Tower of Babel-like peaks (Everest) and trekking trails (Annapurna & Everest Base Camp), thin air and snowy vistas greet the visitor to Nepal’s heavenly Himalayas, which translates in Sanskrit as “the abode of the snow” .

And heavenly they are: oceans of mountains shimmer, punctuated by cotton-candy clouds and patches of green. Trees glimmer in the sun from layers of ice frozen onto the drooping branches and leaves.

Of the many regions to explore, Langtang is often overlooked for its more popular (and expensive) cousins (noted above).

Dunche, the Langtang gateway town is also 9-hour bus ride on a bone jarring, zig-zaggedy road carved into a barrierless mountainside from Kathmandu, the Nepali capital. And at 6430 feet Dunche is also an introduction to altitude (the trek tops 14K feet).

Dunche boasts one rocky thoroughfare that leads to the Gosain Kund trailhead which would be an overstatement as what we westerners consider trailheads are actually more like entry ramps onto the boot trodden highway of paths that connect tiny villages scattered throughout the Himalayas.

Check out photos from Dunche below and stay tuned for a slew of photos from a 7-day trek (too cold to shower and frigid nights) from Dunche to Sundarijal.