Himalaya

The Himalayas are a mountain range in South Asia, separating the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The mountain range runs in a 2,400 km arc from the west-northwest to the east-southeast and includes 50 mountains over 7,200 meters in elevation, including ten of the fourteen 8,000-meter peaks. The Himalayan range is populated by a total of 52.7 million people spread across five countries: India, Nepal, Bhutan, China and Pakistan, with the first three making up the vast majority. Some of world’s largest rivers originate in the mountain range, such as the Indus, the Ganges and the Tsangpo-Brahmaputra. The formation of the mountains began 40-50 million years ago, when the Indian Plate slid under the Eurasian Plate. The name Himalaya comes from the Sanskrit: Himā-laya, which means abode of snow and can be derived from himá (“snow”) and ā-laya (“abode”).

Geography and main features
In the middle of the arc, in Nepal, lie the 8,000-meter peaks of Dhaulagiri and Annapurna, separated by the Kali Gandhaki Gorge. This gorge, the deepest in the world, ecologically and orographically splits the Himalayas into an eastern and a western section. East of Annapurna are the peaks of Manaslu and across the border, in Tibet, Shishapangama. To the south lies Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal and the largest city in the Himalayas. Further east is Mahalangur Himal with four of the six highest mountains in the world: Cho Oyu, Everest, Lhotse and Makalu. To the far east stands the third highest mountain in the world, the easternmost 8,000-meter peak and highest point in India, the Kanchenjunga Massif.

Geology
The Himalayas are one of the youngest fold mountain ranges on our planet and consist largely of accumulated sediments and metamorphic rocks. Their formation is the result of the collision between the Indo-Australian Plate and the Eurasian Plate. Since both plates are composed of low-density rock, they were pushed up and folded into a mountain range instead of forming a subduction zone. The summit of Everest is composed of marine limestone from the early ocean. The Indian Plate continues to push into the Asian Plateau and thus into the Tibetan Plateau, resulting in a steady rise of the Himalayan Mountains. The Indian Plate moves at 67 mm per year, of which about 20 mm is absorbed in the thrusting process on the southern front. The Himalayas are thus growing at an average rate of 5 mm per year (4 mm to 10 mm depending on the location), making the whole area geologically and therefore seismically active, causing earthquakes and landslides.

Climate
The Himalayan Mountains have a strong influence on the climate of the Indian subcontinent as well as the Tibetan Plateau. They block cold, dry, and arctic winds that would flow south towards the subcontinent, making South Asia much warmer than comparable temperate regions on other continents. They also form a barrier in the other direction, where they stop the monsoon winds coming from the south, which supply the subcontinent with rain. It is believed that the Himalayas also played a role in the formation of the Central Asian deserts, such as the Taklamakan and Gobi.

Ecology
Flora and fauna vary depending on the climate, precipitation, altitude, and soil in the Himalayas. The climate spectrum ranges from tropical in the valley bottoms of the mountains to permanent ice and snow on the highest peaks. Precipitation increases from west to east along the southern front of the range. These differences are reflected in distinctly different vegetations and animal communities.

The high mountains are home to the elusive and endangered snow leopard and its prey, the endemic bharal or blue sheep (a member of the goat family), which grazes on the alpine slopes and lives and finds refuge in the rocky terrain. Another animal found in these high climes is the Musk deer, which however is now threatened with extinction due to hunts for its antlers. Sometimes relatives of the brown bear or the Asiatic black bear can be spotted. Apart from that, red pandas find good living conditions in the undergrowth of bamboo in the deciduous and coniferous forests. Even deeper, various species of primates can be found, such as the endangered golden langur and the gray Kashmir langur.

Rising temperatures are forcing various species to migrate to higher areas even here. Oak forest has been replaced by pine forest in the Garhwal region. There are reports of early flowering and ripening of various tree species such as the rhododendron, apple tree and box myrtle. The highest occurring tree species in the Himalayas is Juniperus tibetica, which is found at up to 4,900 m of altitude and in southeastern Tibet.

Culture
The Himalayan population belongs to four different immigrant religious groups, Hindus (India), Buddhists (Tibet), Muslims (Afghanistan and Iran), and Animists (Myanmar and Southeast Asia). For Hindus, the Himalayas are personified as Himavath, the father of the Goddess Parvati. Among other things, the Himalayas are considered the father of the Ganges and Kailash is a sacred peak where the God Shiva resides.

Paro Taktsang is the sacred place where Buddhism began in Bhutan. Muktinath is a pilgrimage site for Tibetan Buddhists (it is also one for Hindus, due to the sacred black rocks called saligrams). Buddhists believe, among other things, that the trees in the poplar pit came from 84 Indian Buddhist sorcerers or masiddhas and their walking sticks.

The diversity of the Himalayan people is evident in their architecture, language and dialects, different beliefs and rituals, and clothing. Hand-woven fabrics reflect colors and patterns unique to the ethnic background. Jewelry is also an important cultural sign.

Nine interesting facts about the Himalayas

1. The Himalayas are the youngest mountain range on earth.
2. The Himalayas are still growing today, about four to ten millimeters per year.
3. Mount Everest, the highest mountain in the world, was under water for 450 million years, which is shown by fossil findings on its summit.
4. Not only the highest peak can be found in the Himalayas, but also the deepest gorge, the Kali Gandhaki Gorge.
5. The Himalayas are the abode of gods and goddesses in four different religions.
6. The legendary Yeti is most likely a species of the brown bear.
7. 88 % of Tibetans possess an altitude gene that prevents red blood cells from swelling when there is less oxygen in the air.
8. The highest settled tigers live at 4,000 meters above sea level in the Himalayas.
9. An Everest expedition costs between € 30,000 and € 75,000.