Tibet, Lhasa. Yangdol and her father prepare to leave. Parting from her mother and grandmother is hard for everybody. While her father will return, she will stay in exile.
Manuel Bauer
On the first leg of their trip, Yangdol and her father hitch a ride on a truck heading the same way.
Manuel Bauer
Crossing the tundra of the Tingri flats. Yangdol and her father walk in constant fear of being spotted by a Chinese border patrol.
Manuel Bauer
Yangdol's father smears yak butter on her face to protect her against the sting of the mountain winds.
Manuel Bauer
They huddle together as they rest behind a small hill to protect them from the wind.
Manuel Bauer
On the ninth day. Yangdol and her father cross the Kye Trak Glacier. Behind them stand the Himalayas and the 8,201-metre-high Cho Oyu peak.
Manuel Bauer
Protected from the dazzling light. Worried about Chinese military patrols and a possible change of weather, the duo move on without looking back.
Manuel Bauer
The end of the Gyabra glacier: Nangpa La pass, the gate to Nepal, is close.
Manuel Bauer
Yangdol's father cuts her pullover into pieces to protect her head and feet, which are already suffering from frostbite.
Manuel Bauer
On the tenth day Yangdol and her father cross the Kytrak glacier.
Manuel Bauer
Completely exhausted by the efforts at high altitude, the pair are only able to make a few steps at a time before collapsing into the snow.
Manuel Bauer
Late in the afternoon, the two reach the top of the Nangpa La pass (5,716 metres), the border between Tibet and Nepal. They honour the gods by putting a white khata at La Tse, a big pile of stones, and shouting "Lha giallo", victory to the gods.
Manuel Bauer
Yangdol and her father descend on the Nepalese side in the direction of the Solo-Khumbu region. They are now in Nepal.
Manuel Bauer
On the Nangpa glacier, on the southern slopes of the Himalayas, the terrain is steep. Exhausted, Yangdol falls and sprains her ankle.
Manuel Bauer
After two days without water, the pair come upon a frozen lake. They have to drill a small hole through the ice before they get to the icy water.
Manuel Bauer
Afraid of the changing weather and a possible snow storm, Yangdol and her father keep on moving until night falls.
Manuel Bauer
Yangdol's father cuts up his own pullover in order to cover and better protect her body.
Manuel Bauer
The two seek shelter in a small monastery where they are able to wash and rest for a moment.
Manuel Bauer
Arriving finally in Namche Bazar, a small Nepalese town, Yangdol is able to get some sleep in a real bed.
Manuel Bauer
The Tibet Reception Center in Kathmandu, Nepal. Here Yangdol and her father are able to get a refugee visa for India.
Manuel Bauer
The bus to Delhi is packed and hot. Yangdol is not used to the humidity, the heat, the insects or the pollution that hits them as they approach the Indian capital.
Manuel Bauer
Waiting to see the Dalai Lama - 21 days after they left Lhasa and a 13-hour bus ride from Dehli, Yangdol and her father finally reach Dharamsala.
Manuel Bauer
The Dalai Lama holds a reception for the newly arrived refugees whenever he is in Dharamsala. Yangdol meets the Tibetan leader for the first time in her life.
Manuel Bauer
Yangdol in Dharamsala, India.
Manuel Bauer
Crossing the Himalayas with refugees.
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It has been 50 years since the Dalai Lama fled the Chinese occupation to find refuge in India, drawing over 80,000 Tibetans with him. The steady flow of refugees leaving Tibet has never stopped. Swiss photographer Manuel Bauer followed a father and his daughter in 1995 on their dangerous 22-day trek from Lhasa to Dharamsala in India, a story that is published in a new book, “Flucht aus dem Tibet and Exil Schweiz” (Fleeing Tibet and exile in Switzerland).
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You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here. Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.