Mani stones of the Annapurnas

Mani stones are prayer stones, almost all of which are over 500 years old. They are usually inscribed with the repetitive mantra "Om Mani Padme Hung" (see my post on Day 3 for a detailed description of the phrase), and represent a form of meditation for the monks who etched them. They are often laid in piles or rows along walls, sometimes on top of rows of prayer wheels. The etching of each stone must have taken days or even months, depending on how intricate the design is. Occasionally, one of the stones is colored in a recent flourish, but most of them remain as they have for centuries: solemn, delicate reminders of the spiritual life.

This is one of the more intricate ones -- click on it to enlarge.