Bhaktapur

Kathmandu Valley

Nepal's capital crams centuries of Newari architecture and Hindu-Buddhist temples into a maze of streets that never quite go quiet. Durbar Square, Swayambhunath, and Pashupatinath are all within the valley. The city is noisy and chaotic, and it is the first impression of Nepal most travellers carry home.

Spring · Autumn · Winter

Annapurna Region

A stone-roofed Gurung village terraced into the hillside two days' walk, or one long day, from Pokhara, with Annapurna South and Machhapuchhare filling the skyline above the rooftops. It works as a short trek in its own right or the first stop on the way to ABC. The Gurung Heritage Museum and the village's own war-veteran history give it a cultural depth most trailhead villages don't have.

Spring · Autumn · Winter

Kathmandu Valley

A ridgeline hill station an hour from Kathmandu, built almost entirely around one thing: a 180-degree Himalayan sunrise, from Dhaulagiri to Everest on a clear morning. Lodges cluster along the viewpoint ridge, and the walk down to Changu Narayan, the valley's oldest temple, makes a genuine half-day hike rather than just a drive-up view.

Spring · Autumn · Winter