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Everyone touches down in Kathmandu at some point, but for all its exotic bustle, the capital is rather rough going these days - logistically it makes a good base, but you won't want to spend lots of time there. Hindu temples, Buddhist stupas, rolling countryside and huddled brick villages provide incentives for touring the prosperous Kathmandu Valley , as do the historically independent city-states of Patan and Bhaktapur . The surrounding central hills are surprisingly undeveloped, apart from a couple of mountain view points, yet a few lesser routes, such as the road to the Tibet border and especially the Tribhuwan Rajpath , make for adventurous travel - especially by mountain bike or motorcycle.
The views get more dramatic, or at least more accessible, in the western hills . Pokhara , set beside a lake under a looming wall of peaks, is the closest thing you'll find to a resort in Nepal. Other hill towns - notably Gorkha and its impressive fortress, Manakamana with its wish-fulfilling temple, and laid-back Tansen - offer scenery with history or culture to boot.
It's in the teeming jungle and ethnic villages of the Tarai that Nepal's diversity really becomes apparent. Most travellers venture no further than Chitwan National Park , where endangered Asian one-horned rhinos are easily viewable, but Bardia National Park and two other rarely visited wildlife reserves are out there for the more adventurous. Lumbini , Buddha's birthplace in the western Tarai, is a world-class pilgrimage site, as is Janakpur , a Hindu holy city in the east. Rolling tea plantations, weekly markets and a rich cultural mix figure prominently in the spectacular and little-visited eastern hills , most easily reached from the Tarai.
And of course Nepal is probably the most famous destination in the world for a growing range of outdoor activities. Trekking from village to village through the hills and up into high Himalayan valleys is an experience not to be missed. The scenery varies from cultivated terraces to lush rhododendron forests to glacier-capped peaks, but the cultural interactions are often, in retrospect, the most rewarding part of a trek. Nepal's rivers, meanwhile, are the liquid counterparts to its mountains, and rafting offers not only adventure but also a different perspective on the countryside and wildlife. Yet another alternative means of locomotion, mountain-biking , brings you in contact with the land and its people at your own pace.
If Nepal is your only destination, flying direct to Kathmandu is the logical option. However, not many airlines serve this route, so you may well find yourself making several hops with two or even three different carriers. Flights in the autumn and spring...
Overland routes to Nepal
The classic Asia overland trip is still alive and kicking, despite periodic political reroutings. Leaving Europe behind at Istanbul, the usual approach from the west traverses Turkey, angles down through Iran, crosses Pakistan and enters India at...
Five seasons prevail in Nepal, but these are based on more than just weather: whenever you choose to go, you'll have to weigh other factors, both positive (mountain visibility, festivals, wildlife) and negative (crowds, disease).
Probably half of all tourists visit Nepal in the autumn (October to November), and for good reasons. The weather is clear and dry, and temperatures aren't too cold in the high country nor too hot in the Tarai. With the air washed clean by the monsoon rains, the mountains are at their most visible, making this the most popular time for trekking. Two major festivals also fall during this season. The downside, however, is that the tourist quarters are heaving and hustley, prices are higher and it may be hard to find a decent room, you'll wait ages for food and for trekking permits, and people are short on ready smiles and chat.
Winter (December and January) weather is for the most part clear and stable. It isn't especially cold at lower elevations - it never snows in Kathmandu, and afternoon temperatures are balmy - but the "mists of Indra" can make mornings dank and chilly (especially in unheated budget lodgings). Most travellers head down into India, leaving the tourist areas fairly quiet - too quiet, sometimes, as many restaurants pare down their menus for the season, and most trekking lodges close. This is an excellent time to visit the Tarai, where temperatures are relatively mild.
Spring (February to mid-April) brings warmer temperatures, longer days, weddings and more festivals. The rhododendrons are in bloom in the hills towards the end of this period, and in the Tarai the thatch has been cut, so despite the increasing heat this is the best time for viewing wildlife. All of which creates another tourist crush, albeit not quite as bad as in the autumn. The one factor that keeps people away is a disappointing haze that obscures the mountains from lower elevations, though it's usually possible to trek above it.
The pre-monsoon (mid-April to early June) is stifling at lower elevations, and dusty wind squalls are common. People get a little edgy with the heat; this is the time for popular unrest, but also for the Kathmandu Valley's great rainmaking festival. Trek high, where the temperatures are more tolerable.
Nepalis welcome the monsoon (June to September), which breaks the enervating monotony of the previous months, and makes the fields come alive with rushing water and green shoots. The rains rinse and renew the land. This can be a fascinating time to visit, when Nepal is at its most Nepali, but there are many drawbacks: mountain views are rare, leeches come out in force along the mid-elevation trekking routes, roads become impassable, flights get cancelled, and disease runs rampant as the rising water table brings the entire contents of city sewers to the surface.
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The monsoon
Listen to these humming downpours in the night and the doors to godly pleasures will unfold themselves. - Lekhnath Poudyal (1885-1966), "Thoughts on the Rainy Monsoon" Nepal's climate is...