San Francisco Chronicle by Mick LaSalle

They are naturals at acting, not because they're good at lying but because they can't be phony.

Washington Post by Desson Thomson

The dance between authenticity and storymaking works beautifully.

New Times (L.A.) by Gregory Weinkauf

This sensuous, exotic film is more like an issue of "National Geographic" come to life, rich with cultural detail and insight.

Chicago Tribune by John Petrakis

Most of the performers have limited acting experience, but they are perfect for their parts, exhibiting the courage, stamina and wariness essential to live in such a harsh environment.

Baltimore Sun by Michael Sragow

Himalaya does for yak caravans what "Red River" did for cattle drives: it sees them as the stuff of epic conquest.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer by William Arnold

Not quite a masterpiece perhaps, but a visually stunning mountain drama, and an absorbing look at a dying culture.

L.A. Weekly by Chuck Wilson

Captured extraordinary performances from a cast of non-actors, as well as magnificent images of a vast landscape.

New York Daily News by Elizabeth Weitzman

The plot is woven from minutely observed details that beautifully evoke a rarely seen world.

Chicago Sun-Times by Roger Ebert

A film of unusual visual beauty and enormous intrinsic interest.

Philadelphia Inquirer by Steven Rea

It's human drama, high and mighty.

TV Guide Magazine by Ken Fox

(Valli) brings an ethnographer's eye for detail to a plot that amounts to little more than the good old generation gap.

Austin Chronicle by Kimberley Jones

It's the tortoise and the hare, Nepalese-style, and it's surprisingly dramatic.

Boston Globe

Valli's touch as an artist is too light, and his dramatic sense too timid, to make the film much more than a collection of pretty pictures.

Miami Herald by René Rodríguez

Himalaya doesn't need a traditional story line to transport the viewer into another, fascinating world.

The New York Times by Dana Stevens

Somehow, in spite of the stunning vistas and some witty and affecting moments, the story seems to unfold at a distance; the human drama is diminished by the setting rather than amplified by it.