Multi-temporal photographic dataset of landscape changes in Langtang Valley, Nepal

High mountain environments are characterized by massive and often rapid landscape changes due to climatic conditions and sudden geohazards. At the same time these sensitive regions are often prominent and exposed destinations for tourism, regularly accompanied by urbanization processes and socioeconomic changes. This dataset presents multi-temporal landscape photography from the Langtang Valley, a high mountain region located in the central Himalaya that was heavily affected by the April 2015 Nepal Earthquake. The thematic focus of this dataset is laid on changes in glaciers (Section A) and in rural settlements before and after the earthquake (Section B). Relevant historical photographs showing glacier and settlement aspects were taken during exploratory scientific expeditions have been collected and collated from various archives. These images have been repeated from the same viewpoints during several surveys between 2008 and 2025. The elevation of viewpoints of re-photographic surveys in the years 2008, 2012, 2017, 2018 and 2025 ranges between 3400 and 5000 m a.s.l. The dataset is based on the research hypothesis that repeat photography in these mountain landscapes allows for a longer monitoring period than remote sensing data as historical photographs from the years 1949, 1974, and 1980 are available. It also allows for a higher spatial resolution of change detection and is more appropriate for the local scale. Prints and digital versions of selected historical photographs were taken to the field in order to identify the exact viewpoints. This multi-temporal dataset allows for a detailed visual assessment of glacier and settlement changes over a period of several decades and can serve as a baseline for further studies in this prominent Himalayan region.