Dolakha, May 12 -- With the start of spring and snowmelt along the Nepal-China border, herders from Lapchi in Dolakha set off on their seasonal journey that has continued for generations. Driving long lines of yaks, chauris, horses and mules across the high Himalayan terrain, they head towards the grassy meadows of Ramdung in Tibet, carrying food supplies, tents and sacks of flour for months of isolation in the mountains.

By the second week of May, seven yak sheds from Lapchi, which lies in ward 1 of Bigu Rural Municipality near the Nepal-China border, had already crossed into the Chinese grazing fields. The movement continues until late mid-June. Each year, around 400 yaks and chauris and more than 40 horses of around 13 sheds from Lapc...