Firewood storage in Purang

Rectangular, mud-roofed houses in Purang — a village en route from Muktinath to Jomsom, Nepal. Firewood is stacked tightly inside and on top of the houses. Purang is located in what is called the "rain shadow" — a region north of the Himalayan mountains which is geographically blocked by the mountains from the monsoon rains. Many of these houses have Tibetan prayer flags hung from bamboo poles. As the flags weather and erode the blessings written on them are believed to dissipate into the surrounding area.