Few women at the beginning of the 20th century felt a deeper longing for distant places (especially the Asian continent) than the Frenchwoman Alexandra David-Néel. The opera singer, journalist, and writer left her husband and embarked on one of her greatest adventures in 1911. She traveled to India, Sikkim, and Tibet, and later explored Japan, Korea, and China. In India, she found philosophical insight in Buddhism and devoted herself to isolation for more than a year—living in a small self-built cabin 4,000 meters high in the Himalayas, where she meditated and contemplated. Her unique and impressive experiences are captured in numerous letters to her husband Philippe Néel, which are included in this book. Her poetic descriptions of people and landscapes reveal her deep inner connection.