Head Above the Clouds (Nepal)

Eleven nights in a loop from Kathmandu, guided, through Mustang and Chitwan on a Royal Enfield Himalayan, with no trekking involved.

Daman comes first up a narrow steep road, for a panorama that takes in Everest at 8,848 metres along with most of the central Himalaya, which is a view trekkers walk for days to earn and here arrives by lunchtime.

Chitwan follows on the plains, where the one-horned rhinoceros population is the reason the park exists, though no sighting can be promised. The operator declines to offer elephant rides and substitutes a canoe safari, which is the right call and worth noting. Pokhara comes next on its lake under Annapurna, then Kalopani with river crossings and a suspension bridge walk, and Muktinath at 3,800 metres up the Kali Gandaki gorge, which runs between two eight-thousand-metre peaks and is among the deepest in the world. Tatopani follows with Dhaulagiri, Tukuche and Nilgiri in view, orchards and old monasteries, then a rest day at Pokhara and Nuwakot before Kathmandu.

The bike hire is included; the full inclusions are not itemised on the operator’s page and are worth confirming at booking. October to April is the season, since the monsoon between June and September makes the hill roads unpredictable. Twelve days covers Nepal from the Terai to the high valleys without a day’s walking, which is unusual for the country and the point of the tour. The paragliding, bungee and ultralight flights at Pokhara are all optional on the rest day, and the lake alone will do for anyone who would rather not.