Nepal

The world's most iconic trekking route, the 130-kilometre round journey to Everest Base Camp at 5,364 metres passes through Sherpa villages, Buddhist monasteries, rhododendron forests, and glacial moraines beneath the world's highest peaks. The sunrise view from Kala Patthar — with Everest's summit pyramid catching the first light above the icefall — is one of the great moments in adventure travel.

The ancient royal palace complex at the heart of Kathmandu, Durbar Square is a living museum of Newari pagoda architecture, sacred courtyards, and carved wooden windows built between the 12th and 18th centuries, where traditional craftsmen, priests, and devotees go about daily life among some of the finest medieval buildings in Asia. The living goddess Kumari, selected from among young Newari girls, watches the square from the carved windows of her palace.

Nepal's first national park and the finest wildlife destination in the subcontinent outside India, Chitwan's subtropical lowlands support one of the last viable populations of one-horned rhinoceroses — over 600 individuals — alongside Bengal tigers, gharial crocodiles, and the world's most important winter grounds for the sarus crane. Jeep safaris, elephant-back rides, and canoe journeys along the Rapti River are all available.

Nepal's tourism capital and the gateway to the Annapurna range, Pokhara sits beside the tranquil Phewa Lake with the Annapurna massif — including Machapuchare ('Fish Tail'), considered too sacred to climb — reflected in the water. Paragliding from Sarangkot at dawn, when the peaks catch the first light and you soar above the valley in silence, is one of the world's great adrenaline-and-beauty experiences.

Described by many serious trekkers as the finest multi-day trek in the world, the full Annapurna Circuit traverses 160–230 kilometres around the Annapurna massif, crossing the Thorong La pass at 5,416 metres and passing through landscapes ranging from subtropical forest to high-altitude desert. The diversity of culture — Hindu foothills, Buddhist highlands, the former forbidden kingdom of Mustang — matches the extraordinary scenery.

The birthplace of Siddhartha Gautama, the historical Buddha, born in 563 BC in what is now southern Nepal, Lumbini is one of the holiest Buddhist pilgrimage sites in the world. The Sacred Garden, with its Asoka pillar from 249 BC marking the exact birth spot, and the surrounding monastic zone where Buddhist nations have built temples in their own architectural traditions, create an atmosphere of unusual peace and international spiritual community.