A number of the popular trekking routes offer you wonder views of these peaks and some visit the base camps used by mountaineering expeditions. Mountain flights may give you superb views, but there is absolutely nothing like waking up on a crystal-clear Himalayan day and seeing an 8000m peak towering over you.

The snow-capped mountains may be the most obvious scenic attraction, but there are plenty of other treats for the eye. A typical trek climbs out of the subtropical lowlands of terraced fields, oak and chestnut, through whistling stands of pine and forests of stately rhododendrons, until emerging through stunted birch or juniper into the treeless alpine zone at the foot of the great peaks.

Trekking in Nepal is not like hiking through an uninhabited national park. Local people are constantly passing by on the trails, usually carrying extraordinarily heavy loads of unexpected items. And along many routes there are regularly spaced villages in which to pause and find shelter. In the villages you can meet people from a diversity of ethnic groups. The warm, outgoing nature, general friendliness and good humor of Nepalese is often noted by trekkers. Religious festivals can make trekking even more enjoyable and interesting.