This trek combines the delightful Gokyo Lakes trek with the ever popular Everest Base Camp trek. A truly spectacular journey through the heart of the Sherpa homeland known as Khumbu.

At the end of another trekking and climbing season and the monsoon imminent, I find myself here in the garden of a comfortable hotel in the tourist quarter of Thamel, Kathmandu with some rare spare time in which to sit at my keyboard and tap out a few lines to tell you a little about this delightfully crazy city.

The hotel is a quiet and comfortable haven of escape from the jostling crowds and the traffic, tiny Suzuki taxis, rickshaws, motorbikes and bycicles with horns blaring and all competing for the limited space in the streets outside. Also from the touts attempting to grab the unwary and direct them to dodgy "trekking company's" and souvenir shops that abound in this area.

Family-treks. This Nepal Experience includes several days in Kathmandu with sightseeing, a short trek in the Annapurna area reaching a maximum altitude of 3210m, a few days in the popular lakeside resort town of Pokhara and a three day Jungle Safari.