Burros in Nepal

Burros carrying goods down pathways once used as routes for the salt trade that crossed the mountains into Tibet. Today, the people who live in these mountains use salt imported from India.

Although salt is no longer transported along these routes, they are still used to carry herbs and other goods from Tibet and the upper mountain regions of Nepal to be traded in the villages and towns. However, most of the goods transported on mule-back are manufactured in the plains or in Indian factories -- or even imported from China and other parts of the world.

A tourist carries his backpack and walks alongside the Burros, and in the background rice is ripening in terraced fields.