From wasteland to wonderland: a trek in Langtang

Today’s post is a whopper, so fetch yourself a cup of tea (if you’re British) or a coffee (if you’re Italian). Everyone else can grab a beer (and if you don’t drink then I’m sorry).

I’ve known for a long time that Nepal is a land of contrasts – from the jungle lowlands in the south, to the terraced farmland of the cultivated middle hills, to the towering snowcaps of the Himalayas in the north.

From the madness, pollution and crowds of Kathmandu, you can climb up into the hills and witness the...