The insistent drumbeat echoes under the starlit sky as Gurung ladies sway to its rhythm, in red velvet tops with heavy beads, nose rings and big gold earrings framing bold smiles.

A gentle 20-minute walk down from Mala Lodge through a patchwork of fields and rice terraces brings you to a village where log hives made from hollowed tree trunks hang under the eaves.

In the crisp morning light, you’ll break warm gurung bread alongside fellow guests, sharing a table with the world’s best views.

Sweet milky tea is the language of hospitality in Nepal. Whether in a Sherpa or a Gurung home, along a trekking trail, or on first arrival at your lodge, you will be offered a cup—or more usually a glass—of Nepali chiya.

To stand with a mug of tea warming your palms, gazing at the magnificent amphitheatre of white mountain peaks, the climax of the Annapurna Sanctuary trek, is to feel both humble and privileged.

At almost 500m deep, 50m high in places, Siddha Cave is the largest cave in Nepal, and the second largest in all of Asia. It is known as the place where the Siddha Baba found enlightenment.

Take in the warm waters and spectacular scenery of the Seti River, and you’ll know why it’s one of the grandest family-friendly white-water river trips in the world.

Named one of the prettiest towns of Asia by CNN Travel, the high-altitude village of Ghandruk is a unique slice of Himalayan life.

A single flagstone street smoothed by centuries of village life, flanked by ancient temples and handsome homes whose balconies spill over with crimson bougainvillea, all set against magnificent valley views.

In Spring and Autumn, visitors gather to witness honey-hunting locals in their daring collection of wild nectar from beehives on perilous cliff faces in the deep Modi Khola.