Nepal beyond the trail

Not every journey in Nepal climbs. The Kathmandu Valley alone holds seven World Heritage monument zones — the Durbar Squares of Kathmandu, Patan and Bhaktapur, the great stupas of Boudhanath and Swayambhunath — and most can be seen in a single well-planned day, with a guide who grew up among them. Add a sunrise from the Nagarkot ridge or an hour along the Everest range by mountain flight, and a day becomes a small expedition of its own.

Further out, the tours grow longer: three days among rhinos and river mist in Chitwan, the quiet gardens of Lumbini where the Buddha was born, a night in the hill town of Bandipur, the temple of Muktinath high in the Kali Gandaki. No boots are needed for any of it — just a few days, some curiosity, and someone who knows the way.