For generations, traders and their colorful herds of mules and yaks were a lifeline for remote communities in the heart of Nepal's formidable and often dangerous Himalayas.

The traders plied an ancient trail bravely, ferrying salt, grain and other goods between China's vast Tibetan plateau and Nepal's middle hills, a profession that endured for centuries.

But a plan by the government in Nepal to build a road through the isolated border region means the traders' livelihoods and traditional way of life will almost certainly be lost.