Seven Years In Tibet

Harrer and the others decided they must seek the permission of a higher authority to stay in Tibet. They split up, with Harrer and Kopp taking a major trade route through several Indian villages until they were in Tibetan territory again. There, they encountered a nomad and his wife who invited them in, fed them, and cheered the men up with their homemade beer and infectious laughter. They even went hunting together, though they caught nothing. Along the route, they met Aufschnaiter again, who had parted ways with Treipel days before and then went in search of Harrer and Kopp. The three men headed for Gartok, a city where fourth-rank monks were known to live.

In Gartok, the men met the Garpön, a fourth rank of seven monks who offered them passage through the province of Ngari, but no further. They stated that they were Germans seeking refuge, and they requested permission to go as far as Nepal. They were told they would have to wait months for a reply from the capital of Lhasa. The men reluctantly agreed to the original proposed route and were sent off with supplies and a guide. They hiked past glaciers and along the Tsangpo, the source of several sacred rivers.