In a remote village in the Himalayas, the wheat crop isn`t sufficient to feed the people; salt has to be transported across the mountains and sold in order to survive. On the latest expedition, the old chief`s son has died; Tinle, the chief, refuses to accept Karma, the obvious choice for leader, instead insisting his small grandson, Pasang, be the new village headman - this leads to a conflict during the next, dangerous, trek across the mountains.

The story of HIMALAYA is a timeless on. French director Eric Valli tells it like a legend, and it`s one he knows well - a travel-writer and short filmmaker, he obviously loves this remote part of the world and the people who live here. It`s a simple but quite affecting saga - the film`s main pleasures lie in the way it looks. This is definitely a big screen experiences - the images of this mountainous landscape are always impressive, especially in one notable scene - evoking THE WAGES OF FEAR - in which the villagers, taking a short cut on a crumbling narrow track high above an azure blue lake, find themselves in considerable danger. The mostly non-professional actors give totally convincing performances.