Nepal

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.