Nepal

                                 

Nepal is a landlocked country situated in South Asia. It is bordered by China and India and sits directly on the Himalayas mountain range. Nepal is well know for the Himalayas and has eight of the worlds ten tallest mountains, including Everest, the highest point on earth.  I visited Nepal in 2008 for 2 weeks and had the chance to not only see the capital, Katmandu, but also walked an 9-day trek on the Annapurna Trail.

The Annapurna Trail is a route through the central mountain range of the Annapurna mountains and is around 160-230 km long depending on the exact route taken. This trek was a definite highlight of the trip to Nepal as it enabled us to see the true country side and stay in small villages with close knit communities. The trek begins by heading north of the Great Himalayan Divide where the landscape of the Tibetan Plateau becomes stark and the small communities are predominantly Buddhist. The trail then leads down the Kali Gandhaki Valley, known as one of the deepest gorges on earth as mountains tower 7000 meters above before completing the trek at Pokhara. I completed this exhilarating trek with my family though the company World Expeditions which assisted in the organization and final outcome of the whole trip.

Not only was the trek an unreal experience but the capital Kathmandu also has plenty to offer from street markets to religious temples and sites. Nepal is also special in that it has the only national flag that is not rectangular. According to the official description of the flag the red colours stand for victory in war and courage, the blue signifies peace and the curved moon is a symbol of the calm nature of the Nepalese, while the sun represents the fierce tenacity Nepalese warriors

Lauren