Nepal ranked 4th among top travel destination

There is nothing quite like settling into a tea house, drying socks strewn above the carcogenic heater, blister-inspiring boots cast outside, at the end of a long day’s trekking. And there is nowhere quite like Annapurna, with its elusive Fish Tail mountain popping in and out of the clouds as if coming up for air, to do it. Maoist regimes, natural disasters and lack of developed tourism infrastructure have deterred travellers from visiting Nepal over the years, but this is part of the Himalayan nation’s charm. You are still more in danger of being trampled by a donkey than a fellow rambler, and isolation is assured in the more remote parts of your trek, especially if you time your trip for the less popular wet season.

However, now the country has once more been given the green tourist light, this might not be the case for much longer, so 2018 might well be the time to visit Nepal. If you do, then make sure you hire a guide and a porter, unless your back is still that of a hardy twenty-something, and indulge in momo, sickly sweet tea and the ubiquitous dal baht. The friendliness of your hosts is sure to stay etched in your memory for ever, even when you are burning leaches from your feet. And if you travel with one of the responsible tour companies that arrange trips to the region then your money will help develop the local tourism industry and benefit those who have suffered more than most in recent years.

Source: Mark Bibby Jackson , Travel begins at 40