Nepal

Satellite dishes and garlanded shrines; shell suits and saris; Goa trance and Buddhist chants; corporate fatcats and emaciated holy men; Kathmandu is the site of a head-on cultural collision.

Market traders sell their humble produce alongside tarpaulins strewn with replica trainers, watches and bootleg CDs.

Around the medieval pagodas in Durbar square you can find seedy moonshine dens, Tibetan restaurants and luxury hotels. Trekkers head for the staggering landscapes of the Annapurna and Everest regions, leaving the sublime hikes around the Kathmandu valley open to a lucky few.

Here are medieval-looking villages, monasteries and rustic temples that are the legacy of the ruling Newar people. The highlight of the valley is Bhaktapur. Once a separate kingdom, the town is a maze of cobbled alleyways and tottering mud-brick houses. Even the humblest dwelling is decorated with exquisitely sculpted wooden door and window frames.

Witnessing Hindu, Buddhist and animist rituals are a fascinating part of any trip to Nepal. At the eerie temple complex of Dakshin Kali scores of goats and chickens are victims of the daily whirlwind of worship and sacrifice. Less gory are the red and gold pagoda roofs and multi-limbed deities that watch their subjects through startling painted eyes.