Kathmandu

Kathmandu Valley

The best-preserved of the valley's three medieval royal cities, 12km east of Kathmandu. Durbar Square, the 55-Window Palace, and Pottery Square are still a living town rather than a museum, potters work the wheel in the open square where tourists walk. Traffic-calmed brick lanes make it far easier to explore on foot than the capital.

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

Everest Region

The horseshoe-shaped Sherpa trading town that anchors the entire Khumbu region, with the area's best bakeries, gear shops, and a Saturday market still supplied partly by yak caravan. Nearly every Everest-region trekker spends at least one acclimatisation day here.

Spring · Autumn