Nepal

Nepal sits on a 250-km north-to-south transect that drops from 8,849 m (Mount Everest) to 59 m (the southern lowlands). No country on Earth packs as much altitude variation into so little distance — eight climate zones and the world's densest concentration of high mountains.

The country has been an independent kingdom since 1768 — never colonised — and absorbed waves of Hindu, Buddhist, Bon and animist influence over 2,000 years. The Buddha was born at Lumbini in 563 BC. The pagoda architectural style was invented in the Kathmandu Valley. The first ascent of Everest happened from Nepal on 29 May 1953.

Modern Nepal is a federal democratic republic of ~30 million people, divided into seven provinces. For travellers it is the easiest Himalayan country to reach (visa on arrival), with an established teahouse network, government-regulated permits, and the world's most experienced trekking guide community.