2) Everest Base Camp Trek with Gokyo Lakes Extension, Nepal

This one feels fairly self-explanatory, but not so many know that the Everest Region boasts dozens more attractions than just the Big One herself. From quaint, stone-built tea-houses, Buddhist-inspired rock art and glorious alpine lakes to herds of roaming yak, the ever-accommodating Sherpa people and 6000m+ peaks everywhere you look, the Solokhumbu (the region’s main valley) is an attraction even without the 8848m behemoth at its far end. The scenery on Base Camp trek is, in fact, truly epic from start to finish. Pumori, Cho Oyu, Lhotse, Nuptse, Island Peak, Ama Dablam and Makalu all provide the backdrop to foregrounds of jagged, sweeping glaciers and stupendously pretty alpine lakes and meadows.

If the trekking experience isn’t enough (it will be, we’re sure!), you can add a spiritual dimension with visits to the region’s gompas – some of the highest monasteries in the world! The Everest Base Camp trek is best combined with a return journey via Gokyo, where you’ll find the some of the most beautiful lakes and indescribable views of Everest et al from Gokyo Ri.