The snow line

Climbing steadily up the Himalayan hillsides, eventually you will reach the snow line. Here, evergreen broadleaf trees give way to subalpine forests of conifers between about 9,800 and 13,000 feet (3,000 and 4,000 m). Species like junipers and rhododendrons dominate these forests while bamboo, ferns and mosses blanket the forest floor. Since the snow line constantly advances and retreats with the seasons, different plants invariably begin to bloom as the snow melts off the mountainsides to take advantage of spring.

You may know of rhododendrons as ornamental shrubs decorating gardens at home, but the Himalayas are where rhododendrons trace their origin and reach their most showy expression. Here these shrubs can grow to tree-like proportions represented by over 30 species in kaleidoscopic colors of reds, whites and purples.

Many animals live in these forests as well. With some luck you may even see such creatures as the Himalayan Monal (Lophophorus impejanus), the national bird of Nepal, or the elusive red panda (Ailurus fulgens), both of which call the forests here home.

Hiking the Himalayas