The land of Burkhans, the southern part of the land of the Holy Books, was Taboo to Europeans; it was the patrimony of the Dalai Lama, a sacred land, his own peculiar property. The indomitable desire of Sven Hedin to know all about the Forbidden Land made him undertake one of the most hazardous explorations to the little known interiors of Central Asia. A journey through the remote inhospitable terrain encountering hostile natives that took him over three years to complete, crossing and recrossing an added total of six thousand miles. The two volumes contain a copious account of the unique mission undertaken to the land of mystic Tibetans in order to study their religion and its sacred writings, their temples, their manners and customs, to explore their country and its approaches, to map their majestic mountains and sound their capricious lakes. With the keen insight of a seasoned traveller, Sven Hedin unfolds the fruits of his expedition that resulted in geographical discoveries of v