Nepal sits uneasily on the shoulder of the southern Himalaya, wedged between China to the north and India to the south. In length and breadth it is just another small country, but in height it's a world-beater. Not only does it have the world's tallest mountains, including the cloud-hugging Everest and Annapurna, it also has the youngest - and they're still growing. Apart from its four mountain ranges - Chure Hills, Mahabharat Range, Himalaya and the Tibetan Marginals - Nepal also has vast plains in the south, fertile valleys in the midlands and high-altitude deserts in the north. The heavily cultivated belt between the Mahabharat Range and the Himalaya supports the bulk of the country's population.

There are over 6500 species of trees, shrubs and wildflowers in Nepal. The height of floral glory is in March and April, when Rhododendrons, the national flower, burst into colour. Nepal also boasts an astounding diversity of animal life, with 800 bird species and exotic mammals such as the royal Bengal Tiger and Snow Leopard, as well as Rhinoceros, Elephant, Bear, Deer, Monkey and Jackal. Unfortunately, due to habitat degeneration and poaching, opportunities for seeing wildlife are usually restricted to national parks, reserves and western Nepal, where the human population is sparse.

Because of the varied topography, the weather in Nepal can vary wildly from one district to another. As a general rule, temperatures fall and rainfall decreases the higher up you go. In the high-altitude deserts of the Tibetan Plateau, temperatures hover just above freezing for most of the year and it almost never rains. From March to April and October to November - the best times to visit Nepal - days are generally warm with little rain, decent sunshine and temperatures in the 24-28°C (75-83°F) range. From November to March, night-time temperatures can drop close to freezing, and snow can block mountain passes, though Pokhara and Kathmandu rarely see more than a few flakes. May and early June are unbearably hot and sticky and rain buckets down most days from May to September. Kathmandu is generally drier than Pokhara at this time of year, while the Terai positively drowns.