Destinations

Nepal

Overview

Few countries pack as much variety into so small a space as Nepal. The Himalayas form the northern horizon: the Annapurna range above Pokhara, the trans-Himalayan kingdom of Mustang beyond it, and the Sherpa villages of the east. In the southern lowlands, Chitwan and Bardia hold rhinoceros, tiger and some of Asia’s finest wildlife habitat. In between sit the three medieval royal cities of the Kathmandu Valley. You can string the lot together in a fortnight without ever feeling rushed. Every Red Dot journey to Nepal is private and tailor-made, designed around your interests and how you like to travel. Our planning is shaped by years on the ground and by the relationships we have built with the people who know the country best. The result is not a list of highlights, but something more textured and lasting. Nepal is also an incredible destination for families.

Why we love Nepal

Mountains that genuinely stop you in your tracks: Watching the Annapurna range turn pink at dawn from a teahouse terrace in Ghandruk, or stepping onto a private veranda above Pokhara with three 8,000-metre peaks in front of you, is the kind of moment most travel never quite delivers. We can match you to anything from a gentle two-night walk through Gurung villages to a multi-week trek across the high passes, or take you further north into Mustang and the trans-Himalayan landscapes beyond.

A jungle south that surprises everyone: Nepal is rarely thought of as safari country, but it is. In Chitwan and Bardia, one-horned rhinoceros graze the riverbanks, Royal Bengal tigers prowl the grasslands and gharial crocodiles drift along one of Asia’s finest wildlife rivers. The lodges we use are properly comfortable and the naturalists are excellent.

A spiritual depth you can feel: Nepal is the birthplace of the Buddha at Lumbini in the southern plains, and one of the quietly devout countries of the world, with monasteries threaded through the high valleys from Phaplu down to the Kathmandu Valley itself, and Hindu temples animating cities and villages across the country. We can build genuinely meaningful encounters into any trip.

The Newari heritage of the Kathmandu Valley: Kathmandu, Patan and Bhaktapur are three medieval royal cities sitting within an hour of each other, full of carved-timber temples, metalworkers’ workshops and pottery squares that still feel properly lived-in. Block-print a textile, watch a master thangka painter at work, or share a samay baji feast in a family home; we know the right people to introduce you to.

The slower pace: Nepal moves at a noticeably different speed to its bigger neighbours. Step beyond the cities and you find hilltop towns like Bandipur and Kurintar on the road to Pokhara, ridge settlements like Dhulikhel, Nagarkot and Lakhuri Bhanjyang on the rim of the Kathmandu Valley, and Sherpa villages tucked into pine forests around Phaplu. The roads are quieter, the cities smaller, the tone gentler. It is the country to come to if you want stillness alongside scale.