Life at an Altitude of 4800 Meters

By Jigmat Lundup, 2021

Tsewang Rafstan is close to 80 years old. I met him in Nimaling (4800m), the pastures of Markha valley, in Hemis National Park, a beautiful place overlooked by The Kangyatse peak. The man spent most of his life with his animals. When he was not on the pastures with his sheep, goats and cows, he was going with his horses on a treks with tourists. Tsewang Rafstan saw many changes over the years. Peoples don’t keep as many animals as before. The climate feels warmer and there is less snowfall these days. Today, one can see plenty of bare rocks on the Kangyatse. Villagers in Hemis National Park are very much looking forward to better road and telecommunication connectivity. It is hard for the people to always walk for hours every time they want to connect with people and places outside the National park. Tsewang Rafstan is the first person I met who does not care so much about that. It seems like he is happy with whatever he has at this point in his life.