Topping the list of things to do in Nepal is trekking. The Himalayas are an area 10 times the size of France and a landscape of superlatives: the highest mountains, bottomless gorges, and some of the greatest biodiversity on the planet.

Everest Base Camp is the leader of the pack. Though the route to the top has captivated (and killed) intrepid climbers for decades, the Base Camp is nowadays accessible to us mere mortals. Peak season can bring crowds, but takes nothing away from the sheer wonder and freedom of climbing the world’s highest mountain.

The breathtaking Annapurna Range is a horseshoe-shaped, 210km route that wanders through traditional Hindu villages and wild forests of oak and rhododendron. And then there’s Manaslu, a long and challenging trek that’s higher than Annapurna and making great strides as a relative new kid on the block. It’s the eighth highest mountain in the world and a brilliant teahouse trek, taking in as much culture as it does bright glacial terrain.

The Nepali culture is not just something that you experience, but something you remember; a rich tapestry of ethnic groups, each with their own customs, but all with religion at their heart.

Whether you’re trekking in Nepal, or seeing the country at a gentle pace, the country’s deeply ingrained culture will play a part in everything you do: it can be seen in the temple-lined city squares of Kathmandu and Patan; listened to on a spiritual walk with Buddhist pilgrims around the ancient stupas of the Kathmandu Valley; and learned about directly from the Newars and the Sherpas, two tribes of original Nepalese settlers whose cultural experience of the country spans decades of change.

You will be as curious to them as them to you, so smile and say ‘namaste’, an easy custom to adopt and one that will be met with much delight.

Southern Nepal is home to its wild and woolly national parks, where the treetops teem with exotic bird species and rhinos and tigers prowl the jungle alongside lumbering Indian elephants. Jungle walks are an eco-friendly alternative to jeep safaris, so they’re cheap, plus you’ll get a much more personal experience and the benefit of local knowledge. It takes 6 hours to drive from Kathmandu to Chitwan, so it’s likely you’ll want to stretch your legs anyway. Read more about our views on elephant trekking in Chitwan here.