Nepal

Most of the towns around Kathmandu sit at the bottom of the valley – you have to travel to the valley rim to really get decent views of the Himalaya. Set atop a ridge at 2073m, just off the road to Trisuli Bazaar, Kakani is the quieter, slower cousin of Dhulikhel and Nagarkot. From a series of high points along the ridge, there are magnificent views of the Himalayan skyline stretching all the way from Annapurna to Everest, via Manaslu, Ganesh Himal, Gauri Shankar, Dorje Lekpa and Shishapangma.

Arrangörer, säkerhet och praktiska tips och råd.

Vagabonds guide till vandring i Nepal – världens vackraste vandringsnation.

For scenery and cultural diversity, this has long been considered the best trek in Nepal and one of the world’s classic walks. It follows the Marsyangdi Valley to the north of the main Himalayan range and crosses a 5416m pass to descend into the dramatic desert-like, Tibetan-style scenery of the upper Kali Gandaki Valley.

A journey up to the Buddhist temple and Unesco World Heritage Site of Swayambhunath is one of the definitive experiences of Kathmandu. Mobbed by monkeys and soaring above the city on a lofty hilltop, the ‘Monkey Temple’ is a fascinating jumble of Buddhist and Hindu iconography. Even the 2015 earthquake failed to topple Kathmandu's best loved temple, though a couple of outlying buildings crumbled in the tremor.

Located 22km west of Siddharthanagar (Bhairawa), Lumbini was the birthplace of one of history’s most revered figures, Siddhartha Gautama – better known as the historical Buddha – in the 7th century BC. During the years following the Buddha's lifetime, this was a teeming monastic complex and a major place of pilgrimage, but the site was lost to history until the discovery in 1896 of an inscribed pillar left behind by the Buddhist emperor Ashoka, amidst a sea of monastery ruins.

Katmandu. Hjärtat i Nepal, huvudstad för Himalaya. Vagabondmedarbetaren Mikael Persson tipsar om allt från bästa äppelkakan till klosterboende och höghöjdskaffe.

Nagarkot has a reputation as the top spot for enjoying Himalayan views from the comfort of your hotel balcony. Just 20 miles (32km) from Kathmandu, the village is packed with hotels lining a ridge, affording one of the broadest possible views of the Himalaya, with eight ranges visible (Annapurna, Manaslu, Ganesh Himal, Langtang, Jugal, Rolwaling, Everest and Numbur). However, timing is everything, as the mountains are notorious for disappearing behind cloudy skies. The best viewing seasons are October to December and March to April, when clear skies are likely.

The third of the medieval city-states in the Kathmandu Valley, Bhaktapur was always described as the best preserved. Tragically, however, the 2015 earthquake caused terrible devastation and loss of life. Nevertheless, only a few temples were destroyed, there is still much to see here and tourism is vital to the community.

Himalaya. Nepals krona. Vi vandrar mot okända Mardi Himals isglittrande toppar och upplever ett land där vandringen läker sår.