For many people hoping to undertake the Annapurna Circuit trek, the city of Pokhara is a convenient base to prepare before the trek itself, or rest and relax in once the circuit has been completed. However, the city of Pokhara is a fascinating place to explore in itself, and many trekkers [...]

While on Annapurna circuit treks some of your most memorable highlights will be your encounters with the local Nepalese people.  But remember, they live according to different traditions and customs to ours, and it is respectful to be aware of certain behaviours to adopt so you will not offend these lovely people.  One of the [...]

‘The Annapurna Circuit’ is the popular name for a 300 kilometre trek in Nepal, and one of the best-known treks around the Annapurna mountain range in the Himalaya. Reaching an altitude of 5,300 metres on the ‘Thorong La’ pass, the trek touches the edge of the Himalayan plateau. ‘Thorong La’ is the highest point on [...]

The Annapurna circuit takes you to the foot of one of the 14 highest peaks in the world – Mount Annapurna – and on April 26th 2010 one young woman made history by becoming the first female climber ever to conquer all 14 of those peaks, saving Mount Annapurna, the highest point of the Annapurna [...]

Trekking the Annapurna Circuit in Nepal is, for some, the culmination of a life’s dream and for others, simply the opportunity to explore one of the most remote mountain regions of the world. Passing through four provinces, the lower regions of Lamjung and Myagdi, and Manang and Mustang in the higher elevations, the Annapurna Circuit [...]

In April 2010, every commuter in London knew the face of Bonita Norris after she made the papers by becoming the youngest woman to summit Mount Manaslu. Later that month, with her sights on the British Everest youth record, she began a series of training climbs from Everest Base Camp. Trekking progressively higher up the [...]

It’s your first Everest Base Camp Trek and you’ve packed your clothing, bedding, food, emergency supplies and sundries. But you’ve still got at least a litre of space left in your backpack. What do you really need? What indulgence do you deserve? What will baffle and irritate your trekking mates even as they burn with [...]

With eight of the world’s ten highest mountains located in the North of Nepal, trekking in this region may seem a particularly daunting prospect.  But you do not have to scale Everest or reach the peaks of the Himalayas in order to experience the rich diversity or the beautiful scenery of this country.  Venture into [...]

Everest trekking is certainly not something attempted by many individuals, and climbing far beyond Everest Base Camp is reserved for the select few who have the bravery and physical fitness to consider attempting scaling the highest peak in the world. Here are three amazing individuals who reached the top of the world.
Reaching the Peak for [...]

Anyone who has visited Everest base camp or who cultivates an interest in the mountain will know that it stands at 8,848m. Something fewer people know is when this figure was discovered and who was responsible for it. The following is a question and answer session designed to satisfy your curiosity.
“Measuring Everest”: Q&A
How tall is [...]

The Sherpa people of Nepal bear a name indelibly linked to the legacy of their mountain homeland. For the 400 or so years that the Sherpa have lived amidst the Himalaya they have explored this fierce environment and taken part in the greatest feats achieved on the highest peaks on earth. Yet despite their achievements [...]

Leo Dickinson is an action sports filmmaker who gets a thrill from working at extreme heights. As a parachutist and mountaineer, he has used is expertise in the Himalaya to organise sky-diving holidays over the range that can include an Everest Base Camp Trek. Whether he is jumping into a cave, off a mountain, or [...]

Trekking to Everest Base Camp is an essential part of the route for every Everest summit attempt. There are various Everest Base Camp treks and most begin with a flight into Lukla airport at a height of 2860 metres. Each of these trekking routes provides a picturesque and rewarding way to tackle the rise in [...]

Most people can only dream of seeing the earth from space; and reaching the summit of Mount Everest (8,848 metres) is a formidable challenge that fewer than 3,000 people have ever achieved. In May 2009, American astronaut, Scott Parazynski became the first human to have done both.
In 2008, NASA astronaut Scott Parazynski embarked on his [...]

The name ‘Sherpa’ is often mistaken for a term meaning ‘mountain porter’ on an Everest trek, because we rarely see the word in any other context. The Sherpa people are in fact a distinct ethnic group of people living in the northern highlands of Nepal and the Khumbu, which we know as the Everest region.
Despite [...]

The actor Brian Blessed, with his bulky beard and booming voice, is probably the most recognisable person to have attempted to climb Mount Everest’s massive 8,848 metres. He is no stranger to Everest base camp, having been part of three expeditions up the mountain.
Blessed’s Everest Trek Emulates Mallory
He made his first run at the mountain [...]

We often hear about the successes of mountaineers who head up the world’s highest mountain, and return part of a select group who reached the top of the world. But we don’t often hear of the good work that goes into getting people as far as Everest Base Camp, especially if they don’t intend to [...]

The world’s highest mountain has found itself at the centre of the global debate on the environment. In recent years, mountaineers at Everest Base Camp have attracted criticism because of the accumulated high-altitude litter left by summit expeditions. Environmentalists have also used changes to the environment on Mount Everest (8,848 metres) to highlight the issue [...]

Canada and South Africa are not the only countries where tourism is closely linked with sport. Ahead of Nepal’s Tourism Year of 2011, the Himalayan country is hoping to boost tourism and capitalise on the popularity of Everest Base Camp. Trekking is the major activity in the region, and vital for Nepal’s tourism, with adventure [...]

The Annapurna Circuit is a longstanding trekking route in the beautiful mountain landscape of western Nepal. At a height of 8,091 metres, Annapurna is the tenth highest mountain in the world. Although it is not as well known as Mount Everest (8848m), many visitors to Nepal walk the Annapurna trek to take in the region’s [...]

Following the success of her high profile Gurkha Justice Campaign, Joanna Lumley went to Nepal in August for the first time. She visited villages set in the Annapurna trekking region of astonishing mountains and valleys, and received a rapturous welcome.
Joanna Arrives in Nepal
Joanna Lumley had originally planned a “quiet, private visit” to Nepal, but following [...]

For many people, television and film images are their only window onto Mount Everest (8,848m). However, TV pictures rarely manage to capture and preserve for prosperity the unique majesty of the mountain. The striking impact of good photography – such an expressive art form – is the only medium that truly does justice to this [...]

The bustling capital of Kathmandu, which lies at the heart of the Himalaya, is both the start and the finish point for many visitors trekking the Annapurna circuit. Once believed to be the inaccessible Shangri-La, the capital is the perfect base from which to start your Annapurna trek.  
Many visitors like to spend a few days [...]

It was almost inevitable that a high mountain like Mount Everest (8,848m) would become a high profile platform for environmental issues. On December the 7th 2009, the UN Climate Change Conference will begin in Copenhagen, but green campaigns are already under way to put pressure on world leaders to curb greenhouse gas emissions.
The most daring [...]

Learn more about the myth of Shangri-La, the heaven on earth Buddhist kingdom that has fascinated and baffled scholars and travellers for centuries.
Nepal and Tibet are now hugely popular destinations for trekking holidays (with the Annapurna Circuit and the Everest Base Camp trek reckoned as two of the best treks in the world) but it [...]

Nepal’s capital, Kathmandu lies right at the heart of the Himalayas and for many visitors, trekking Nepal’s Annapurna circuit, it is both the start and end point of the circular trail. Kathmandu was once believed to be the beautiful but inaccessible Shangri-La, and is the perfect place to begin your Nepal trekking.
The bustling centre of [...]

Yaks are synonymous with life at high altitudes. They are strong creatures capable of carrying heavy loads, but more than this, they are the ultimate all-purpose beasts of burden. In Nepal, you are likely to encounter them on the Everest Base Camp Trek, where they are used as pack animals on the trail. They are [...]

Sir Ranulph Fiennes, one of Britain’s finest adventurers, famous for polar expeditions and feats of endurance, has published his memoirs following his expeditions up Mount Everest (8848 m) the world’s highest mountain.
In May 2009, Sir Ranulph Fiennes finally achieved his ambition of reaching the summit of Mount Everest, having tried the Everest trekking routes up [...]

The majority of Everest’s visitors reach Everest Base Camp by trekking along the classic trails through Nepal. This month however, there was an unconventional approach to the mountain from the sky, as part of a bid for the high-altitude parachute landing world record.
The world’s highest mountain was the setting for a dramatic record-breaking attempt in [...]

The Everest Base Camp Trek is quite an undertaking, so can you imagine how athletes do it at running pace? In November, the 13th Everest Marathon will take place and the trail from Namche Bazaar to Everest base camp will have running shoes pounding along it, rather than the usual hiking boots.
The Everest Base Camp [...]

For a long time Everest Trekking was seen as a male-dominated pursuit, with the majority of climbers to have made the peak being men. But there are several notable female climbers who have successfully trekked from Everest Base Camp to the summit.
The first woman to trek from Everest Base Camp at an altitude of 5,360 [...]