Return to Tibet

Heinrich Harrer returns to northern India and Tibet thirty-three years after he was forced to flee the Forbidden City of Lhasa.The New York Times bestseller Seven Years in Tibet told the incredible story of an idyllic life on the "roof of the world", before it was destroyed by the invading Chinese army.

Now, in the extraordinary Return to Tibet, Austrian adventurer Henrich Harrer revisits the people and places he left behind. A compelling mix of history, religion, and travel writing, his book bears witness to the suffering and perseverance of this ancient civilization under Chinese rule.

Against a backdrop of ruined monasteries and the beautiful, mysterious Himalayas, Harrer vividly evokes both a free Tibet in which religion and faith were central features of daily life, and the present-day occupied nation from which a profoundly spiritual culture threatens to disappear. He reflects on the country's problems and in a reunion with his former pupil, the Dalai Lama, discusses ways of preserving the Tibetans' national character and their homeland.

Like Seven Years in Tibet, this is a timeless story of Eastern culture that beckons readers to a land of majestic mountains and a religion that has endured for a thousand years. 

Author: Heinrich Harrer

Publisher: Penguin

Released Date: 1985

ISBN: 9780140077742