Nepal

Everybody wants a glimpse of the world’s highest mountain and that’s the reason why the Everest Base Camp Trek is so popular. The trek has a number of stunning attractions, not least of these is being able to say you’ve visited the highest mountain in the world. The trek gets you right into the high-altitude heart of the high Himalaya, more so than any other teahouse trek. There are some lovely villages and gompas (monasteries), and the friendly Sherpa people of the Solu Khumbu region make trekking through the area a joy.

Bardia National Park is the largest national park in the Terai, a beautiful, unspoiled wilderness of sal forest, grassland and alluvial washes cut by the many fingers of the Karnali River. Largely unpopulated, it is often described as what Chitwan National Park was like 30 years ago, before its commercial development. One can raft through the park for hours on end and not encounter another person.

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.

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.

Pokhara ticks all the right boxes, with spectacular scenery, adventure activities, and accommodation and food choices galore. Whether you’ve returned from a three-week trek or endured a bus trip from hell, Lakeside Pokhara is the perfect place to recharge your batteries.

When you think of Nepal, it's usually the northern half that comes to mind, the extraordinary, world-famous Himalaya. But what about the southern half of the country? Most of it is the very opposite, a hot, subtropical plain known as the Terai, which stretches north from the border with India. The Mahabharat Range and Chure Hills stand in the middle, as if mediating between snow-capped peaks and a flat horizon.

In many ways the Kathmandu Valley is Nepal. Created from the bed of a sacred lake by the deity Manjushri, according to Buddhist legend, the basin is a patchwork of terraced fields and sacred temple towns that showcase the glory of the architects and artisans of Nepal. Sadly, the area also bore the brunt of the 2015 earthquake. This has taken its toll on the valley's medieval villages, but there is still much to see, from centuries-old temples to Himalayan viewpoints and an adventurous road to Tibet.

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.

Once a fiercely independent city-state, Patan (pah-tan) is now almost a suburb of Kathmandu, separated only by the murky Bagmati River. Many locals still call the city by its original Sanskrit name of Lalitpur (City of Beauty) or by its Newari name, Yala. Almost everyone who comes to Kathmandu also visits Patan’s spectacular Durbar Sq – even after the 2015 earthquake, this remains the finest collection of temples and palaces in the whole of Nepal.

The notorious Prithvi Hwy, which winds through 128 miles (206km) of classic Middle Hills countryside, should be seen as more than just a painful bus ride. While many travelers head directly from Kathmandu to Pokhara, they miss out on some of Nepal's finer attractions. This includes one of the country's architectural gems, the historic town of Bandipur, a lovingly restored, picture-postcard village offering European ambience in the middle of gorgeous Nepalese vistas. As you follow the mighty Trisuli River along the Prithvi Hwy, you also pass its many riverside resorts, with their sandy beaches, laid-back charm and rafting adventures. Add the cultural attractions of Gorkha and Manakamana, and you have more than enough reason to get off the bus.