Nepal

One of Nepal's most charming towns, Bandipur is a living museum of Newari culture, a beautifully preserved village crowning a lofty ridge, its main street lined with traditional row houses. Time seems to have stood still here, although it has taken a lot of effort to preserve this magic while developing the town as a destination. Derelict buildings have been reborn as cafes and lodges, and temples and civic buildings have been pulled back from the edge of ruin. With its attractive 18th-century architecture, pedestrian zone and outdoor dining, it has a distinctly European feel.

Nepal’s most important Hindu temple stands on the banks of the holy Bagmati River, surrounded by a bustling market of religious stalls selling marigolds, prasad (offerings), incense, rudraksha beads, conch shells, pictures of Hindu deities and temples, tika powder in rainbow colours, glass lingams, models of Mt Meru and other essential pilgrim paraphernalia.

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.

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.

Easily the best way to see Nepal is on foot, following a network of trails trodden for centuries by porters, traders, pilgrims, mountaineers and locals traveling from village to village, plains to hills, Nepal to Tibet. Nothing beats walking under your own steam under a crystal-clear Himalayan sky, passing Sherpa, Gurung and Thakali villages, Tibetan monasteries and sacred lakes, while staring at a range of 26,246ft (8000m) peaks.

Chitwan National Park is one of the premier drawcards in Nepal. This World Heritage–listed reserve protects more than 932 sq km of forests, marshland and grassland containing sizeable animal populations, making it one of the best national parks for viewing wildlife in Asia. You'll have an excellent chance of spotting one-horned rhinos, deer, monkeys and some of the more than 500 species of birds. If you’re extremely lucky, you may spot a leopard, wild elephant or sloth bear – though it’s the once-in-a-lifetime chance to spot a majestic royal Bengal tiger that is the premier attraction. You'll also have the chance to experience domesticated elephants, although how that interaction takes place is now undergoing a paradigm shift driven by animal rights concerns. There is a daily admission fee that is normally bundled into the overall cost of a tour.

One of the oldest towns in Nepal, Panauti offers a poignant look at the passage of time. From the crowded bus stand in the sprawling concrete mess of the new town, you slip down a brick street into the Old Bazaar, the remains of an ordered and prosperous medieval city that would have been a wonder to behold in its heyday. Located at the sacred confluence of the Roshi Khola and Pungamati Khola, it is dotted with ancient temples.

About 19km south of Kathmandu, Pharping is a thriving Newari town whose ancient Buddhist pilgrimage sites have been taken over by large numbers of Tibetans. A circuit of its religious sites makes for a compelling day out from Kathmandu. Pharping lies on the road to Dakshinkali and it’s easy to visit both villages in a day by taxi, bus or motorbike (and maybe even bicycle if you don't mind the traffic and dust). En route you’ll pass the pond at Taudaha, allegedly home to the nagas released from the Kathmandu lake. More Buddhist monasteries are opening up around here every year, some of which accept foreign dharma students.

For many, stepping off a plane into Kathmandu is a pupil-dilating experience, a riot of sights, sounds and smells that can quickly lead to sensory overload. Whether you’re barrelling through the traffic-jammed alleyways of the old town in a rickshaw, marvelling at the medieval temples or dodging trekking touts in the backpacker district of Thamel, Kathmandu can be an intoxicating, amazing and exhausting place.

The view of the Annapurna Himalaya from Sarangkot (foreigner/Nepali Rs 50/20) is almost a religious experience. From here, you can see a panoramic sweep of Himalayan peaks, from Dhaulagiri (8167m) in the west to the perfect pyramid of Machhapuchhare (6997m), the tent-like peak of Annapurna II (7937m) to Lamjung (6983m) in the east. Most people come here at dawn or dusk, when the sun picks out the peaks, transforming them from a purple-pink to a celestial gold. If you feel noisy teenagers are ruining the peace at the viewing tower, try walking further along to the secluded grassy helicopter pad.