Travel

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What Flying into Lukla Actually Asks of You

Lukla's runway is 527 metres long, set on a 12 percent gradient, and closes for days when cloud rolls in from the east. What the approach actually asks of you before the Everest trek begins.

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Sindhupalchok: The District That Is Still Rebuilding

Sindhupalchok lost more people in the 2015 earthquake than any other district in Nepal. A decade later, the reconstruction is still incomplete. This is what the district looks like now.

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Mustang's Cave Monasteries: The Paintings Nobody Has Seen

The cave monasteries above Mustang hold 55,000 square feet of painted murals dated to the 12th century. Getting inside requires a restricted area permit and some careful climbing.

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Eastern Nepal: The Part of the Country That Faces Sikkim

The part of Nepal that faces Sikkim, not Kathmandu, runs on a different clock. Tea estates at 2,000m, Rai villages, and a border that most foreign itineraries stop short of.

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Lo Manthang: The Walled City at the Edge of the World

Lo Manthang is a medieval walled city at 3,840 metres, an hour from the Tibetan plateau. The permit system, the drive in from Jomsom, and what you find inside the walls.

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Shuklaphanta: Nepal's Most Overlooked National Park

Shuklaphanta National Park in far western Nepal has the highest density of swamp deer on earth and almost no visitors. What makes it worth the very long detour from the tourist circuit.

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Janakpur: The City That Faces India, Not Kathmandu

Janakpur faces south toward the Indian border, not north toward Kathmandu. A palace-temple built in 1911, a Mithila culture that crosses the border freely, and a city the capital has spent decades overlooking.

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Sagarmatha National Park: Beyond the Base Camp Queue

Sagarmatha National Park is not just the trail to Everest Base Camp. The buffer zones and quieter valleys above the main route are where the park actually lives.