Adventurer and scholar Michel Peissel died on 7 October 2011, aged 74, in Paris.

Peissel travelled extensively throughout the Himalayan region, which he documented in a number of books, including Tibet, the Secret Continent (2003).

He held a Doctorate in Tibetan Ethnology from the Sorbonne in Paris, reflecting his interest in the region and its way of life.

He was a member of the Explorers’ Club of New York and Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, and lectured at the latter’s headquarters in London in the 1990s.