Seen from the lakeside town of Pokhara in central Nepal, a tremendous wall of snow and ice-capped mountains dominates the northern Horizon; the Annapurna Himal. With no less than twelve 7000m (23,000ft) summits rising above a foreground of intricately terraced foothills, this is one of the most beautiful and ethnically diverse landscapes on earth. Around this impressive block goes the classic Annapurna Circuit -- without question, one of the great walks of the world. Into the heart of the mountains leads a trail to the Annapurna Sanctuary.  (NPL29, $22.95)