1) For centuries, the sleepy Spiti valley nestled in the Indian Himalayas remained a hidden Buddhist enclave forbidden to outsiders. That's all now starting to change since India began allowing its own citizens as well as outsiders to visit the valley in the early 1990s. (Photo: AP)
A worker stands next to a stove of liquid asphalt by a road under construction leading to Demul in Spiti Valley, India.
Solar panels are installed on the rooftop of a traditional house in the mountain village of Demul, Spiti Valley, India. Set up six years ago by an eco-tourism foundation, the panels provide 24/7 electricity to each household in the village.
Two children watch television in the living room of their family home in Demul village, Spiti Valley, India.
Rinchen, a 60-year-old farmer, gathers mountain plants that will serve as fodder for cattle in Demul, in the Spiti Valley, India.
In this hillside village of Demul, with only some 250 residents, people have devised a system whereby half of the residents move in with their neighbours while renting their earthen-hut homes to travellers during the summer, and then share the earnings.
Tourism transforms long-hidden Buddhist valley in Himalayas