Off the Grid

Politics will undoubtedly affect Afghanistan’s neighbors, as well as one of the most treasured drives in Central Asia: the Pamir Highway.

Whether it’s the frozen ice sheets of Baikal or the Flaming Cliffs of the Gobi, Mongolia and Siberia offer travelers a chance to get close to mother nature and far from everything else.

Tso Moriri can be a brutal, freezing landscape, but there is also a hearty warmth to be found among the stories of the Himalayas and its people

“The Yabgo dynasty ruled this area for 2,000 years,” the king says. The humble Yabgo Mohammad Khan Kacho rules over the buckwheat fields and quiet stone streets of Turtuk on the Ladakh’s Pakistan borderlands.

The Wakhan Valley is a meeting of worlds; travelers can look over into Afghanistan from Tajikistan on a road that will take them in view of China, Pakistan, and Kashmir.

Difficult to reach by both land and sea, the Gulf Mask Festival is a treasure of traditional culture and dress. Writer and photographer Olga Fontanellaz travels to this lesser-visited region to record a unique sing-sing.

The history of the Wakhi people and the Wakhan Valley is complex, and the journey across the Pamir Highway can be unpredictable, barren, and cold. In the faces of the Wakhi people, there is warmth.

Mountaineer and adventurer Jeff Fuchs travels the ancient Salt Route of China, finding a land both changed and forgotten. With yaks, dogs, a guide and a horse, Jeff Fuchs makes his winding way through the Himalayas.

Writer, photographer, and mountaineer Jeff Fuchs journeys to the Gangotri Glacier in India’s Uttarakhand for an adventure through the icy lands that gave birth to the Ganges.

Dave Stamboulis gets off the beaten track in China’s Gansu for spectacular mountains, high grasslands, and Buddhist reflection.

On a pilgrimage in western Tibet, Joe Cummings visits Everest’s North Face Base Camp, along with Mount Kailash, Asia’s most sacred peak.

As one few thousand people a year are privileged enough to visit Upper Mustang, Jay Tindall brings us a tale of princes, caves, and isolation in an ancient kingdom.