Nepal

It’s so good to be back in Kathmandu! This is our third visit to Nepal and it will be our longest. We are in possession of 3 month tourist visas and have plans to make the most of them. Empty time stretches ahead of us, no more rush, stress or anxious preparations. Let’s just do …

It may surprise you to know that you don’t need to be Ironman fit (as I am) to trek in the Himalayas. You won’t want to be a couch potato either, but the average person should do fine up there with no training needed. My wife has been up twice, at 52 and in her …

Patan Durbar Square is in the city of Lalitpur, Nepal. It is one of three Durbar Squares in the Kathmandu Valley and all are UNESCO listed. The other Durbar Squares can be found in Bhaktapur and in central Kathmandu at the Hanuman Dhoka Palace Complex. Durbar Square simply means Royal Square and describes the plazas …

I posted already about the various ways of getting to and from Lukla from Kathmandu, Nepal. Flying into Lukla isn’t the only way to start  your Everest region or Everest Base Camp trek, there are various bus, jeep and walk options. We feel that flying is the best way to go based on our experience, …

On our return trek from Tengboche Monastery, we took a different route to Namche Bazaar to take in some important locations and stunning Himalayan viewpoints. A major highlight for us was being granted admission to the ancient Khumjung monastery and being allowed to see a fascinating sacred relic kept under lock and key. The yeti …

A few days ago somebody on social media asked me what my favorite, all time, travel memory was. Without hesitation I told the lady-of-travel that it was the time I trekked to Tengboche Monastery ( via Lukla and Namche Bazaar) with my son, then 11 years old. I added a footnote, that I doubted he …

Without doubt, when you step off the plane into the hustle and bustle of Kathmandu you know you’re in no other place. The smells, sounds, and sights as you negotiate from the airport into town, assault your senses. Many come to Nepal for the incredible Himalayas and the trekking that they offer, but the chaotic …

What trekking gear do you really need for Nepal? Trekking gear companies tell you to buy x, y and z before you even think of setting foot on the Himalayas for fear of death. I’m here to be more realistic. You don’t need everything they try to sell you. So keep your money in your …

I’ve threatened to share this story for months, I finally got around to it. Let’s go back to Kathmandu, it wasn’t so long ago but feels like a lifetime. Time passes more slowly when you do loads of different things and not same, same, every day. So, Kathmandu, Nepal, we were not long back from our …

I’ve posted already about how much we loved the experience of trekking in Nepal’s Everest region, so don’t take what I’m about to say the wrong way. Just because I was scared half to death regularly and frequently by the scariest of scary bridges ( and the odd path with precipitous drops, mud slides and general …

Lukla is where most Everest region treks start and Lukla Airport – Tenzing Hillary Airport – is often described as the most dangerous in the world. Lukla is in the Solukhumbu region of Nepal at an altitude of  2,860m. The single, sloped runway of Lukla Airport started life in 1964, on the initiative of Sir …

If you follow our Facebook page and Instagram feed you’ll know that we’ve been trekking around the Everest region, with kids age 9 and 11, for the last 12 days and that pre-kids we did some other treks in the Himalayas. It’s an incredible experience, a top highlight not only of the last 3 years of …