High up in the remote mountain passes on the Indian border with Tibet, China and Pakistan, Ladakh has been a centre for Buddhist meditation since three centuries before Christ and is one of the last places on earth where a Tibetan Buddhist community still survives. Arriving by rickety bus, Andrew Harvey was unprepared for the breathtaking splendour, colour and silence of the landscape, and was entranced by the simple way of life of its people, for whom the sacred and everyday merge into one. Frustrated by the spiritual poverty of his sophisticated, western, intellectual lifestyle, Andrew Harvey finds peace, hope and freedom in the Buddhist teachings of Thuksey Rinpoche at Shey monastery, and discovers spiritual strength.

Andrew Harvey, born in Coimbatore, South India, is a high-profile poet, writer, translator, filmmaker and teacher, and the author or editor of more than 30 books, including Hidden Journey. Educated at Oxford University, he became the youngest Fellow of All Soul's College in its history. For the last 20 years he has travelled widely, living in India, London, Paris, New York and San Francisco - teaching at university level and writing.