Nepal

Although hemmed in by giants – India on one side and China on the other – tiny Nepal still moves to its own unique rhythms. In this one-time Himalayan kingdom, Hinduism and Buddhism flow together like the rivers that gush down from the high Himalayas and drain out into the Indian plains. Tiered temples and medieval monasteries perch atop mountain passes, and mountaineers and trekkers throng to trails that climb through rhododendron forests and high-altitude deserts to the summits of the world’s tallest peaks. Then, there are the overlooked lowlands sprinkled with wilderness reserves that shelter tigers, elephants, and rhinos. Disasters – both natural and man-made – have often pushed the country to the brink, but somehow, Nepal always bounces back. If there’s a better stand-in for Shangri-La anywhere on Earth, we’ve yet to find it.