HUM GURUNG
While the rest of Nepal suffered massive landslides and floods this month, in the trans-Himalayan rain shadow the country’s largest and most remote district remained in splendid isolation. Dolpa’s jewel is Phoksundo (above) a lapis lazuli-coloured lake, Nepal’s deepest and second-biggest. The district is the last two among Nepal’s 75 that doesn’t yet have a road connection. Noted conservationist Hum Gurung travelled to Shey Phoksundo National Park recently to study the region’s spiritual tradition of protecting nature, and examine how the sanctuary may be affected by a new road that will connect Dolpa to the rest of Nepal.