A remarkable trip to the Everest Base Camp - George Browning Nepal is the most amazing place, with the highest peaks, deepest valleys and some of the biggest challenges on Earth. The Everest Base Camp trek is perhaps the most famous in the world. It is certainly one of the most popular. In the peak season of October/November, up to 10,000 people take to the route with the foot of the highest mountain on Earth in their sights. In fact, it is hard to think of a good reason to choose Nepal over India as a destination if you are not visiting the high Himalayas. It is the most amazing place, with the highest peaks, deepest valleys and some of the biggest challenges on Earth. The word challenge is pretty appropriate in summing up our reasons for going but having read, 'Into Thin Air', 'The Death Zone', 'Left for Dead' and many others you begin to ...

An Unforgettable Trip to Chisapani - Abhishek Shrestha If you want to escape from the humdrum of the city and don’t mind walking up a few hours then pack up your rucksack and get ready ... it’s Chisapani Danda that we are headed to! Nagarkot has long been the perfect getaway for Kathmaduites to feel close to mesmerizing greeneries of the surrounding hills, breathtaking view of the mighty Himalayan range and above all the picturesque view at sunrise and sunset. You can find all the luxury of modern life here,  but if you want to escape from the humdrum of the city and don’t mind walking up a few hours then pack up your rucksack and get ready ... it’s Chisapani Danda that we are headed to! Our journey begins at Old Bus Park (Ratnapark) where we catch a bus or a micro-bus destined to Sundarijal. The ride takes approximately an hour and here we are at the starting point of our journey. Sundarijal, situated in the north-eastern part of Kathmandu, besides being a famous picnic spot, also plays a vital role for the supply of drinking water in the valley. In case you have missed breakfast this is the place to get some food into your empty stomach for we are in for a really good climb and it will be couple of hours before we find the next habitat.

An unprecedented cycling venture, on an unmarked route Muktinath to Lo-manthang - David Yonjan Mustang is located in the north-east of Nepal, bordering China (Tibet) on the Central Asian plateau between the Nepalese provinces of Dolpo and Manang. It is roughly 80 km long (north-south) and 45 km at its widest, and is at an elevation of over 2500 m. Lo Manthang! I had never heard the name before and my imagination was running wild trying to put a picture to the place. So I did what any normal person would do in such a situation. I googled ‘Lo Manthang’ and was instantly flooded with information! Lo Manthang – a walled city, is the capital of Mustang, an ancient Himalayan kingdom at an elevation of nearly 3800 ...

An Unforgettable Trip through the Annapurna Sanctuary - James Ward Locally called Tharpu Chuli, Tent Peak is an attractive mountain situated in the heart of the Annapurna Sanctuary. Elevation: 18,577feet / 5,663meters (17th highest trekking peak of Nepal) Location: Annapurna region of Nepal Best for the Climbing: July, August, September, October Nearest Airport: Pokhara Trek grade: Moderate & Strenuous Dominating the mountains of central Nepal is the mighty Annapurna Himal, which lies between the Kali Gandaki and Marsgyangdi river valley and forms a solid mountain bastion. It covers a distance of 40 miles and encompasses within its range some twelve peaks that rise to an elevation of more than 7000m besides numerous other smaller peaks. The Annapurna Massif forms an almost complete ring of high peaks. The sanctuary encompassing this area, known as the Annapurna Sanctuary, is an enthralling amphitheatre of ice, snow, glacier and moraine. The mountain first received attention from Jimmy Roberts who was exploring the sanctuary during a reconnaissance for the 1957 British Machhapuchhre Expedition. It was Roberts that gave the mountain its descriptive name, Tent Peak. The peak was first climbed via the south-east ridge by members of the Japanese Annapurna South Expedition from Kyoto University in 1964, led by Dr. Harou Higuchi.

Walking On Thin Ice - By Dave Matthews My first night in Ngadj brought to me, the reality of what true Himalayan cold feels. During the day the sun was hot and even in shorts and a t-shirt, I still sweated like a beast of burden. Yet as soon as that bright sun dipped behind the ice capped mountains it became eerily cold. I had brought only one pair of thin quick dry pants, three shirts, one fleece, one windbreaker, a scarf, three pairs of socks and three pairs of underwear. This was not good. I wasn’t expecting the terrific views to start so soon. But a bright sun over a wind-swept mountain-scape soon put that right. By Jagat, we passed a truly massive pass where people were hammering away on the rock face with chisels and hammers in an effort to construct a road. It felt like a scene from an ancient explorer movie as we walked the four foot wide pass, rocks tumbling down into the raging aqua marine coloured river several thousand feet below us. We made it to Chamje that evening with the air rapidly cooling and I realised how terrible a squat toilet can be without foot wear. In just a single day’s walking, ice capped mountains started to appear larger and more majestic as we continued our forested ascent. We trudged up high narrow ledge passes leading to Timang Besi. The sun was setting and the mountains were showing off their pink shades of explosive colours. We sat ourselves into the smoke filled kitchen of our hotel for warmth. The local women were making buff momo, a sort of steamed or fried pastry dumpling with meat, for a celebration. I then remembered it was New Year’s Eve. I decided to try Yak Cheese momo as a treat and looked on as the Himalayas treated us to a mini light show. The mornings often felt the coldest; too cold for an essential squat position, though apple pancakes beforehand help! For the first time along the trek, it was obvious there were less people around. We were also walking across frozen ground into a snowy fantasy land. Wonderful frozen waterfalls soon became a regular occurrence as did streams frozen in time. At 3000 meters, Bhratang was a ghost town of a place with a bitter, cold wind whipping though it. A solitary crow cawed at us over lunch and Narayan took it as a bad omen. Dark clouds were moving in. The snow was coming. We only had days to make it to the top. My head was aching slightly due to the cold, though subconsciously I suspected worse. What also did not feel good was that there was no more toilet paper available. So I went the Nepalese way of the left hand and a bucket of water. I can confirm that at 6 am, water is frozen solid and cleaning yourself with ice is a strange and not a very enjoyable experience!