Keep climbing and the air turns thin and clear, and the sky feels close enough to touch. Villages sit on ridges and winding paths link neighbours. In this country the mountains are the neighbourhood, and people read the weather in them the way others read a street.

The climate is subtropical highland, with warm, rainy summers and cold, dry winters that can bring snow to the high ground. Pack layers and expect plans to bend around the weather. A Local Friend tells you when to set out early and when to linger on a sunny ridge, so the day follows the light instead of a schedule.