Recommended books for Nepal & Tibet

Be well informed to enhance your travel experience in Nepal and Tibet. We do provide you with plenty of information but supplement reading is recommended. Therefore Alpine Eco Trek’s whole team encourages Nepal and Tibet visitors to read as many books as possible before the trip to get a realistic idea of the countries.

Books on Nepal and Tibet are abundant. The list below contains simply the most popular ones on the topic.

Nepal Recommend Readings

Trekking and Peak climbing
Title: ‘Nepal’
Author: Lonely Planet Publications

Title: ‘Trekking in The Nepal Himalaya’
Author: Stan Armington

Title: ‘Trekking In The Annapurna Region’
Author: Bryn Thomas

Title: ‘Trekking In The Everest Region’
Author: Jamie McGuiness

Title: ‘The Trekking Peaks of Nepal’
Author: Bill O’Connor

General Interest

Title: ‘Into Thin Air’
Author: Jon Krakauer

Title: ‘The Climb’
Author: Anatoli Boukreev

Title: ‘Nepali Aama’
Author: Broughton Coburn

Title: ‘Aama in America’
Author: Broughton Coburn

Title: ‘Touching My Father’s Soul: In The Footsteps of Sherpa Tenzing’
Author: Jamling Tenzing Norgay

Title: ‘Annapurna’
Author: Maurice Herzog

Tibet Guide Books

General Books of Tibet
Tibet Travel Guide
Lonely Planet
Detailed maps and expanded trekking / tour info. Includes Tibetan and Chinese characters for easy communication. Preface written by His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
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Tibet Guide book
Footprint
Books Comprehensive and authoritative culture and history sections. This is the ultimate guidebook for those wishing to do more than merely scratch the surface of the highest region on the earth.

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Trekking in Tibet
Gary McCue
A well informed guide to Tibet, featuring pre-trip planning, discussions of the most scenic routes, and an overview of Tibetan culture and history.
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Bradt Guide Tibet
Michael Buckley
A practical, detailed overview of Tibetan history, culture, attractions and natural life. Includes color photographs, local maps and excellent travel information.

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Tibet Map
MapLink
A detailed traveler’s map of Tibet and surrounding regions at a scale of 12,000,000 including Kashger, Kathmandu, Delhi, Thimphu and portions of the XinJiang. With as index on the reverse.

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Learning Practical Tibetan
Andrew Bloomfield
A slim guide designed with the traveler in mind. With sections on Tibetan numbers, festivals and religious terms.
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Art of Tibet
Robert Fisher
A concise survey of the culture and religion of Tibet as expressed through its art. With 200 illustrations of monasteries, painting and sculpture.
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Sacred Tibet
Philip Rawson
A concise, illustrated survey of the Buddhist art of Tibet in its religious, social and cultural context.

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A Plant Hunter in Tibet
Frank Kingdon – Ward
Long out the print, this facsimile edition of Kingdon Ward’s lively 1934 account of the people, culture, landscapes and adventures in Southeast Tibet.
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Magic and Mystery in Tibet
Alexandra David-Neel
An unabridged reprint of David-Neel’s influential 1932 account of pioneering travels in Tibet. With 32 photographs by the author. David-Neel was the first western woman to see Lhasa.
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My Journey to Lhasa
Alexandra David-Neel
A reprint of the 1927 classic by the indomitable Buddhist scholar Alexandra David-Neel, with a new preface by the Dalai Lama. Tibet was still closed to the West in 1923.
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The last panda
George Schaller
The great naturalist George Schaller spent almost 5 years in the wild in Sichuan province studying the panda in the 1980s.
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The way of the White Clouds
Lama Anagrika Govinda
A classic memoir by the remarkable German-born traveler, monk and interpreter of Tibetan Buddhism.
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TIBET

Through the Red Box
Peter Sis
A visually stunning, emotionally charged and culturally astute tale. The red box contains a diary kept by the author’s father during his travels in Tibet in the 1950s.
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My Life as an Explorer
Sven Hedin
A bestseller in the 1920s, this classic memoir by the great Swedish adventurer is an amazing account of hardship, adventure and exploration over three decades through the lands of the Silk Road.
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Introduction to Tibetan
Buddhism
John Powers
A comprehensive study of the history and philosophy behind Tibetan Buddhism, suitable for the general reader.
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China’s Great Train,
Beijing’s Drive West and the Campaign to Remake Tibet
Abrahm Lustgarten
Lustgarten’s vivid account of the planning, construction, symbolism and impact of China’s long dreamt of railway into Tibet, completed in 2006.
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Seven Years in Tibet
Heinrich Harrer
First published in 1653, this in the riveting account of a young Austrian adventurer and mountaineer who became tutor to the Dalai Lama.
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The Dragon in the Land of Snows:
A History of Modern Tibet Since 1947
Tesring Shakya
A comprehensive account of the history and political development of Tibet since 1947.

Tibet, an Enduring Civilization
Francoise Pormmaret
This pocket-size encyclopedia, packed with hundreds of full-color illustrations and photos, highlights the culture and history of Tibet.