Flat, mud-roofed houses in Kaagbeni, Nepal

Stacks of wood are piled along the walls and on top of the flat mud-constructed rooftops of houses in in Kaagbeni village, Nepal.This region lies in the rain shadow, or more accurately, precipitation shadow, north of the Himalayan mountains. This area is called the rain shadow because the Himalayan mountains block the passage of rain clouds, casting a "shadow" of dryness behind them. Because of the dry climate the mud rooftops of these houses will last for several years.