Isabella Bird 
Among The Tibetans [PDF ebook] 

This little know gem by the doyenne of women travellers in the East describes a journey on horseback through the Himalayas and into Tibet, where she spent four months. Enchanted by the Tibetans who she found the ‘pleastest of people’, Bird’s is a delightful account of a land of beauty and mystery, encircled by high mountains of vermillion and purple. Among the most striking passages are those that describe the religion of Tibet, which permeated the very atomosphere with a singular sense of strange of otherworldly. Bird visited the palaces, temples and monasteries and her description of the ceremonies, decorations, costumes and music capture a world that is now lost for all time. First published in 2001. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.