Michael Palin - Himalaya (2004)
BBC

Description

Palin writes about the series: "Himalaya means "Abode Of Snow" and I think we all underestimated the physical demands of working at altitude. We'd climbed mountains in previous series, but never spent such sustained periods at extreme height. In Tibet we spent over a month working at, or well above, 4000 metres (over 13000 feet).

Himalaya was not just about high mountains but high anxiety as well as we visited some of the political flashpoints of southern and central Asia. The Pakistani border, the disputed region of Kashmir, Tibet and Nagaland were all tense at times, but, ironically, the nearest we came to a dangerous confrontation was in tourist-friendly Nepal, where Maoist insurgents abducted our Ghurkha officers during filming.

The spectacular beauty of the highest mountain range on earth and the profusion of different religions and small tribal communities fighting for their survival amongst these mountains combined to make this one of the most physical demanding and spiritually satisfying of all the journeys. "

Tags

Pakistan, Travel, Nepal, Adventure, Himalaya, Tibet, Asia

Collected reviews and ratings

10 DVD Talk | Bill Gribon

Being able to sleep in its valleys, interact with its streams and rivers, to become literally one with its environmental temperaments is part of the programs charms. Thanks to the visual opulence in both backdrop and humanity, this is one optical banquet that we walk away from very full and very satisfied.
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9.0 DVD Active | Richard Schuchardt

I never thought I would be so hooked on a documentary; either I am getting really old or Himalaya is a brilliant show. I’m sure there is a hint of old age, but I have no doubt that Himalaya is a cut above the rest.
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9.0 TVShowsOnDVD.com | Gord Lacey

I was going to prepare a list of cool things in the episodes, but halfway into the first episode I realized I was writing down almost everything he saw and did, so I decided to scrap the list.
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8.0 Amazon (UK) user reviews

From the Khyber Pass through dangerous territory along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, via Nepal then up into Tibet to Everest and down into China, and finally to Bangladesh, Palin is, as ever, unfazed by whatever the world has to throw at him, be it chaotic bull-racing in Peshawar, the threat of kidnap by Maoist rebels in Nepal, Tibetan Yak herding, or rafting down the Yangtze.
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7.0 PopMatters.com | Stuart Henderson

There is little doubt that Palin makes for a wonderful travel companion. He is affable and quite happy to embarrass himself in the pursuit of adventure and experience.
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