Is Nepal Safe to Visit? What the Advisories Say Now
Is Nepal safe? For most travellers, yes, as long as you stay out of the flood-hit area of Rasuwa, north of Kathmandu. The US, UK and Canadian governments all advise…
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Luxury Everest Base Camp Trek: Where the Comfort Ends
A luxury Everest Base Camp trek is comfortable for the lower half of the climb, and no further. The good lodges on the route stop at Deboche, just below Tengboche…
Everest Base Camp Helicopter Tour: Where You Can Land Now
An Everest Base Camp helicopter tour flies up the Khumbu, passes over Base Camp and, when the weather allows, lands at Kala Patthar. Landing at Base Camp itself is not…
Muktinath, Nepal: A Pilgrimage Site, Not a Viewpoint
Muktinath is a temple complex at about 3,800m in Mustang, sacred to Hindus and Buddhists alike, and it is the busiest place in the district by a wide margin. The…
Marpha and Kagbeni, Nepal: Lower Mustang’s Two Villages
Marpha and Kagbeni are the two villages that give Lower Mustang its character, and both are reached and returned from Jomsom inside a day. Neither needs a restricted area permit.…
Jomsom, Nepal: The Flight, the Road and What Changed
Jomsom is the administrative centre of Mustang district and the way into the whole valley, set on the Kali Gandaki between the Dhaulagiri and Annapurna massifs. The short answer on…
Lo Manthang, Nepal: Inside the Old Kingdom of Lo
The Kingdom of Lo was a Himalayan kingdom whose capital, Lo Manthang, still stands behind its earthen wall at around 3,800m in Upper Mustang. The short answer on whether it…
Upper Mustang, Nepal: What It Actually Takes to Get There
Upper Mustang is the restricted half of Mustang district, north of Kagbeni, and it needs a permit costing USD 50 per person per day on top of the ordinary conservation…
The Old Kingdom of Mustang, Nepal: Upper and Lower
Mustang is a district in north central Nepal. It was a kingdom in its own right until 1950, and it is split in two by law. Lower Mustang is open.…
A Tour Plan for Nepal: How to Structure Two Weeks
A tour plan for Nepal works best built around three or four places, not eight. The country is small on a map and slow on the ground, so the itineraries…