Through the Institute of Technology in the Tropics (ITT), an institute of the University of Applied Sciences Cologne (Technische Hochschule Köln), our Institute of Conservation Science came in contact with Dr. Susanne von der Heide, an anthropologist who has spent many years in Nepal, first with studies of the Thakali, an ethnic group in the Himalaya, then with representing UNESCO in the world heritage of the Kathmandu Valley. Her main interest is the protection of endangered ethnic groups in remote areas; for this end she has created the foundation of HimalAsia, together with its present chairman Zongsar Ngari Chödje Tulku T. T. Thingo Rinpoche (we bemoan his death in 2009). This foundation is active in particular in the region of the highest mountains of the world. It is here that Dr. von der Heide took us in the frame of a project for securing the monastery of Ku-tsab-ter-nga in Lower Mustang/Nepal in 2001 and the following year. In spring 2003 we managed to get back to Nepal and to "our" monastery, this time together with our colleague Prof. Friedrich Wilhelm Grimme of ITT, in order to see the results of our previous efforts in the monastery and to visit further areas with damage from water and from termites.

Those who have visited Nepal know about the desire for further visits to this land of friendly people and fascinating landscape. Having Barbara with me has always been a great pleasure, and of course there were wonderful friends with us. We travelled several times ot the Himalaya:

Immediately after my retirement in summer 2003 I did the great tour around the Annapurna Range in autumn 2003 together with two friends; in 2005 I went to Sikkim near the Kanchendzonga; in 2007 it was Upper Mustang; in 2012 again the Kali Gandaki valley with Muktinath,Kagbeni, Lupra and down the valley to Beni. Visiting "my" monastery was always one of the highlights of any trekking.

I made a selection of just over one hundred images out of the many, many. I changed them from colour to black and white (inspired by the breathtaking photos by Sebastiao Salgado. And here they are! Sorry the captions are in German.