Destinations
Destinations to explore across Nepal
Garden of Dreams
- Grade
- Easy
- In
- Kathmandu
Kaiser Shumsher Rana's 1920 Edwardian garden behind a wall in Thamel — six season pavilions of which three survive, restored with Austrian funding and reopened in 2007. The easiest Rana-era building in Kathmandu to get inside.
Gokyo Lakes
- Grade
- Hard
- In
- Solukhumbu
A string of six turquoise glacial lakes near 4,700–5,000m in the Everest region — a Ramsar wetland and a quieter alternative to Everest Base Camp.
Gosaikunda
- Grade
- Moderate
- In
- Rasuwa
A sacred alpine lake at 4,380m in Langtang National Park — the holiest of a basin of 108 glacial lakes, where pilgrims bathe each Janai Purnima.
Kathmandu Durbar Square
- Grade
- Easy
- In
- Kathmandu
The historic royal palace square in the heart of old Kathmandu, a UNESCO World Heritage Site with stunning Newari architecture and living Kumari goddess.
Lo Manthang
- Grade
- Moderate
- In
- Mustang
The walled medieval capital of the former Kingdom of Lo in Upper Mustang, with a royal palace, Tibetan Buddhist monasteries, and four-storey whitewashed mud-brick houses at 3,840m.
Narayanhiti Palace
- Grade
- Easy
- In
- Kathmandu
The Shah kings' palace on Durbar Marg — built for King Mahendra in the 1960s to Benjamin Polk's design, site of the 2001 royal massacre, and a public museum since 2009. Shah-era rather than Rana, and deliberately so.
Panch Pokhari
- Grade
- Hard
- In
- Sindhupalchok
Five sacred high-altitude lakes at 4,100m below the Jugal Himal — the ninth-highest wetland on earth and a major Janai Purnima pilgrimage site.
Phewa Lake
- Grade
- Easy
- In
- Kaski
Pokhara's iconic lake at 742m, where the Annapurna and Machhapuchhre reflect on calm mornings and the island temple of Tal Barahi draws a steady stream of boat-borne worshippers.