Adventures in nepal

See or climb the lower slopes of Mount Everest, Sagarmatha (‘Head of the Sky’) in Nepalese. At an altitude of 8,848m (29,022ft), Everest is the world’s highest peak and has been opened for commercial mountaineering for decades. Don’t forget your climbing permit, however.

• Head for the hills – or mountains in this case: Nepal is a paradise for walkers and trekkers, with glorious mountain landscapes, remote ruins and villages. Trekking season is September to May. Check beforehand if a permit is required, and be aware some treks must be undertaken with an agency.

• Hire a mountain bike to discover quiet corners of the Kathmandu Valley and visit local villages, then catch sight of Everest’s snow-covered peak from Nagarkot.

• Stop on the way up the steep steps to Swayambhunath Stupa (also known as the monkey temple) in Kathmandu to watch the monkeys and have your fortune told by a Tibetan astrologer.

• Go shopping for Tibetan handicrafts and artefacts at the hugely impressive Bodnath Stupa, a centre of Tibetan exile culture, a short ride from central Kathmandu. Alternatively, visit the lively bazaar in the hill town of Gorkha, the ancestral home of the Shah Dynasty and residence of the original Gurkha soldiers.

• Go on an elephant ride in the Royal Chitwan National Park, Nepal’s first national park, and keep your eyes peeled for endangered Royal Bengal tigers and Indian one-horned white rhino.

• Meditate on the teachings of Buddha at his birthplace near the border town of Lumbini.

• Chill out by taking a rowing boat out on Phewa Tal, the mesmerising lake at Pokhara, and get up early to watch sunrise over the Annapurna mountains from Sarangkot.

• Take a scenic flight over Mount Everest. Most of the domestic airlines arrange flights in light aircraft. Flights are also available from Pokhara and other locations west of the capital, flying over the spectacular Annapurna range.

• Try some high octane sports. River rafting is superb here; permits are required for Himalayan rivers. Or go ballooning, hang-gliding or fly a micro-light plane from Kathmandu, Pokhara or the Langtang region. Paragliding and power paragliding are also available in Pokhara.