From the exotic magic of Kathmandu, through remote hill villages with their different pace of life, and the steamy, hot jungles of the southern plains, to the awe-inspiring, almost incredible majesty of the high Himalayas, Nepal has something special for everyone. Nepal is less than 900 km from East to West, and only 150 to 200 km from North to South, and for 80% of the country, vertical is the main orientation. Up-and-down "ukaalo-oraalo" s the determining fact of life; access is predominantly by foot of man or beast or via a few isolated mountain-top STOL airstrips. A country of superlatives, Nepal has our world's highest mountain (Mt. Everest 8848 m) and its deepest gorge (Kali Gandaki); it has even been said that if Nepa's landscape could be somehow detached from its rugged terrain, and stretched out flat, it would be nearly as large as mainland Europe - whereas in reality... read more about Nepal