Nepal

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.

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.

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.

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.

The northern part of the Kathmandu Valley rises to the sprawling forests of Shivapuri Nagarjun National Park, upgraded to national park status in 2002 to protect the valley’s main water source, as well as 177 species of birds and numerous rare orchids. This is one of the last areas of primary woodland left in the valley, and the forest is alive with monkeys, and maybe even leopards and bears.

Inom kort öppnar en lyxrestaurang utan dess like upp vid foten av världens högsta berg. Här kommer gäster kunna avnjuta en sjurättersmiddag på 5 364 meter över havet. En riktig höjdarupplevelse, med andra ord.

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.

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.