Highest peaks
Everest and Lhotse.
Vyacheslav Argenberg — CC BY 4.0 · Vyacheslav Argenberg — CC BY 4.0 · Vyacheslav Argenberg — CC BY 4.0 · Vyacheslav Argenberg — CC BY 4.0
The national park that holds the world's highest peak, Everest, which Nepalis call Sagarmatha. Founded in 1976 and listed by UNESCO as World Heritage in 1979, it also takes in other giants such as Lhotse and Cho Oyu, and Ama Dablam, counted among the world's most beautiful mountains. The park climbs from deep valleys of pine and rhododendron forest that blooms red and pink in spring up to high pastures, glaciers and turquoise lakes, home to rare animals such as the snow leopard, red panda and Himalayan tahr. The Sherpa people live in its valleys in small villages with monasteries and walls of prayer stones, crossed by the famous Everest Base Camp trail, about two weeks there and back, and other routes to the Gokyo lakes and high passes. Foreigners pay NPR 3,000 for the park, per visitor guides, plus a local municipality permit. Altitude sickness can strike anyone above 2,500 metres, so climb slowly, take acclimatisation days and descend at once if symptoms worsen. The monsoon brings landslides in the mountains, and Nepal now requires a licensed guide on many treks, so check permit and guide rules before you travel. The clearest months are October to December and March to April; in the June-September monsoon the mountains hide behind cloud.
Everest and Lhotse.
Spring bloom.
Monasteries.
Khumbu region, north-east Nepal on the border with Tibet
About two weeks there and back from Lukla with acclimatisation days; the best seasons are October-November and March-May.