Tuesday, July 19, 2016

Latest Guidebooks

Three Lonely Planet books of mine hit the bookshelves over the last six months, so here are three shameless plugs.

Just out is the new Lonely Planet guide to Nepal. A few weeks after this one was finished and sent to the printers April's massive earthquake rocked Nepal, killing over 8000 Nepalis. After the dust settled we reevaluated our coverage and had local journalists update conditions on the ground, incorporating damage from the main trekking trails to the stunning temple complexes of the Kathmandu Valley. It was a challenging job, ably put together by Lonely Planet's destination editor, and the result is the first post-earthquake guide to the country.




Just after completing the Nepal guide, I handed in Lonely Planet's Trekking in the Nepal Himalaya. After several months trekking in the Everest region, including from Jiri to Lukla, the Three Passes Trek and Lukla to Tumlingtar and then several weeks fighting record snowfalls in the Manaslu and Tsum valley regions, it was disheartening to hear of so much destruction on the trails.

The Manaslu, Tsum, Langtang, Helambu and Rolwaling regions were particularly badly hit. At present almost all trekking trails except Langtang are accessible. Langtang village itself was completely wiped out, but efforts are being made to reopen the trek route by spring 2017. Trekking lodges across Nepal have never needed income and support more than now, so if you have ever considered a trek in Nepal, now is the time.

Trekking in the Nepal Himalaya was published in December 2015.


Finally, summer 2015 was devoted to hiking in my backyard, or almost, as I updated the Lonely Planet guide to Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. 2015 was an incredibly busy year for the parks, the busiest ever in fact, and finding a campsite proved tricky. But it was a joy spending a couple of months both inside the park and exploring the gateway regions like the Beartooth Highway, Big Sky, the Gallatin Valley and Bozeman. The Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem is a real gem, especially the areas surrounding the park. The guidebook came out in April 2016, in time for the centenary celebrations of the National Park Service .



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