Trips in Nepal

Eight of the world’s fourteen highest peaks, the Kathmandu Valley’s temple towns, and trails that run from subtropical river valleys to glacial base camps.

Trips: 2
Length: 2–13 days
Highest point: 5,630 m

Nepal is small and vertical. In a morning's drive the country climbs from subtropical river valley to alpine pasture, and eight of the world's fourteen peaks above 8,000 m stand along its northern border. That compression is the practical reason the trips here look the way they do: you do not need three weeks to stand under a serious mountain.

Almost everything leaves from two cities. Kathmandu covers the valley's temple towns, the Gorkha and Bandipur hill routes and the pilgrimage sites. Pokhara covers the Annapurna approaches, the Kali Gandaki and the road north into Mustang.

For a first visit, choose by time rather than by ambition. Two to four days is a hill weekend — Bandipur, Gorkha, the valley. Five to seven days opens the Annapurna Sanctuary at 4,130 m or the drive to Lo Manthang and Muktinath. Beyond a week you are into the long pilgrimage routes and the Tibetan plateau.

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Season matters more here than in most countries, because altitude amplifies it. Autumn, roughly October to November, is the clearest and the busiest. Spring, March to May, is nearly as good and greener. The monsoon closes the mountain views but not the hills.

Winter is the season most visitors wrongly write off. It is cold high up and often superb low down, and the hill routes are at their sharpest.

Everything below is priced in the open, with the departure dates published. Choose by the number of days you have.

Any length8 1–2 days3 3–7 days3 8+ days2

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