Explorer levison Wood walks the length of the world’s highest mountain range
Six-month journey, over four million steps, trekking 1,700 grueling miles across the roof of the world, teaming up with local guides and meeting monks, soldiers and nomadic tribes, British Army officer and explorer levison Wood has taken on an extreme challenge to walk the length of the world’s highest mountain range from Afghanistan in the west to Bhutan in the east.
He won critical acclaim for his nine-month long trek and first ever expedition to walk the entire length of the river Nile. Taking the same intimate and authentic approach that made his previous series a hit, levison takes on a new adventure across Himalayas where he confronts snow and ice, altitude sickness and earthquake-devastated landscapes. He treads carefully through one of the most fought-over areas of the world, navigating isolated Afghan valleys and the line of Control between India and Pakistan. Along the way, he passes through some of the most remote, beautiful, and perilous regions on earth - places few outsiders ever get to see.
levison begins his journey in Afghanistan’s remote Wakhan corridor, where the mountains first rise in the west. This 200 mile long and 25 mile wide strip of land, bordered by Tajikistan remains one of the most isolated and inhospitable places on Earth. His guide Malang Darya - one of the country’s best mountaineers accompanies him to trek through barren, snow-ridged valleys before attempting to climb the Irshad Pass, a 5,000m wall of snow and ice that leads to northern Pakistan. “I think most people, when they hear the word 'Afghanistan', you think of war, you think of Taliban. You think of all the violence that's been happening for so many years. But when you look down across that, you can also see just how beautiful and spectacular it is,” said levison.
levison and Malang traverse breathtaking scenery in northern Pakistan’s remote mountain valleys, meeting tribespeople and nomads, before heading to the heavily militarised frontier with India. He passes through Kashmir, Dharamshala and spiritual heartland Rishikesh to reach the holy city Benaras. After six hours of exhausting walking at altitude, they reach the camp of a group of nomadic Kyrgyz tribesmen -descendants of Genghis Khan’s armies. life in this barren, desolate place is incredibly tough. Only half of Kyrgyz children here make it beyond five years old and the tribe’s chief, Ear Ali Bhai, tells levison that life expectancy for men is 40 and most women die in their early thirties. He has been married four times, after his first three wives died. Wood said, “What’s incredible about being in the Himalayas is just how quickly the landscape can change. In two hours walk, I was on a snow-capped plateau where, it was just nothing. It was so barren and bleak and then I was amongst incredibly lush montane forest (Kashmir) filled with pine trees with the most spectacular river running through it.”
In one of the episodes he travels to Nepal where he reunites with an old friend, Binod Parya, who saved his life when, as a 19-year-old, levison was caught up in political violence. levison enters one of its least explored national parks - Bardia, which is home to rhinos, tigers and 10-foot-long crocodiles. But animals aren’t the only dangers he faces. he is forced to evacuate the camp site in the middle of night due to the rapidly rising river, swollen by the monsoon rains. levison’s journey gets interrupted by a serious car crash which gives him a near-death experience. levison undergoes a surgery in UK and resumes his journey with his friend Binod after six weeks of rest.
Further in his adventure, levison heads towards Everest, Kathmandu and Bhutan and gets a rare chance to experience its dramatic scenery, colourful festivals and historic monasteries and meet its people. levison Wood ends his journey in Bhutan climbing the world’s highest unclimbed peak and country’s holiest mountain Ghankar Puensem, which mountaineers are forbidden to climb.
Following the car crash that nearly killed him, and six weeks in the UK recovering, levison and his old friend and guide Binod resume their journey in Nepal, visiting the crash site 150 metres down a steep cliff and meeting local villagers who saved their lives. levison and Binod head onwards to fulfil a promise to visit Binod’s family home in Pokhara, where levison has an emotional reunion with members of Binod’s family, who sheltered him from the political violence 14 years ago, and meets some of Binod’s children for the first time.leaving Pokhara, they join members of the Gurung tribe, who risk their lives to collect honey from wild bees living on high cliffs. Perched on a ledge, 300 metres up the cliff face, he makes a quick exit as angry bees swarm towards him, before he takes part in a ceremony to make an offering to a holy spirit. They then head east towards areas devastated by earthquake and meet survivors who tell of being buried in rubble. In Kathmandu, locals tell him they are still struggling with the huge drop in tourism following the quake. Before they leave Kathmandu, levison fulfils a childhood dream - traveling up to 5600 metres to get an amazing view of Everest and taking a helicopter trip to experience the stunning landscapes - before heading to the final country of his journey: the mystical kingdom of Bhutan.
“For thousands of years, people have revered the mountains and this is really a crossroad of faiths and civilisations and cultures. But, the one thing that they share is this deep sense of respect for the mountains,” concluded Wood.