Himalaya means abode of snow or Land of Snow. Himalayan range had highest peaks on earth including Mount Everest, highest peak and is surrounded by Karakoram and Hindu Kush ranges in northwest, Tibetan Plateau in north and Indo-Gangetic Plain in south. There are some of the major rivers in world as Indus, holy river Ganges and Tsangpo-Brahmaputra.

The Himalayan region is filled with hundreds of lakes in which most of these are found at altitudes of less than 5,000 m. Tilicho Lake in Nepal in the Annapurna range is one of the highest lakes in the world. Some other popular lakes are Pangong Tso, Yamdrok Tso, She-Phoksundo Lake, Gurudongmar Lake, Gokyo Lakes and Tsongmo.

There are various places having religious significance in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism. Ne most popular pilgrimage site is Paro Taktsang, where Padmasambhava founded Buddhism in Bhutan. Padmasambhava is worshipped as the patron saint of Sikkim. This mountainous region have large collection of Vajrayana Buddhist sites in Tibet, Bhutan and Indian regions of Ladakh, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Spiti and Darjeeling. There were more than 6,000 monasteries in Tibet. Bhutan, Sikkim and Ladakh are also having numerous monasteries.

The Himalayas are also provides homage to varieties of medicinal resources. All parts of plants like as root, flower, stem, leaves, and bark are used as remedies for different ailments. The Mountain Kailash is a sacred peak of Hindus where Lord Shiva is believed to live. Another two most sacred pilgrimage site are Pashupatinath and Muktinath.