Nepal where I have spent the bulk of the last three years plying an endless network of narrow roads and tiny trails . More than 500 travel days later , I would say the surface is sufficiently scratched , but there remain vast swathes of the country few , if any , outsiders have ever seen . I ’ m compulsively driven to those locales , often sharing my journeys with anyone willing to join me . Last autumn I met a group of friends in Kathmandu for such a trip , the last of the season before winter snows claimed the highlands .
For centuries Kathmandu served as the launch pad for expeditions into the Himalayas . It is a fascinating city sprinkled with hundreds of temples , shrines , and ancient palace grounds . A hopeless travel romantic , I ’ m easily lost to its mystique and often imagine famous explorers wan-dering small marketplaces as they readied to map , measure , and conquer the world ’ s tallest mountains . As captivating as
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