When I think about Nepal, the first thing that springs to mind is the image of a snow covered Everest shooting into the sky with strings of multicoloured prayer flags flapping in the crisp wind. Even though Everest is an iconic part of Nepal, the country has more to offer adventurous travellers than I had ever imagined.

From the majestic mountains of Annapurna to the exotic wildlife of the national parks. The activities are endless, from white water rafting in icy mountain rivers to trekking up to Everest Base Camp, there are wildlife safaris and rowing  on the lake in the picturesque town of Pokhara. All of these are experienced with the beautiful backdrop of the Himalayas!

The variety of wildlife in Nepal is astounding and to me was surprising. On a wildlife safari in Chitwan National Park you may see tigers, rhinos, elephants, sloth bears to name a few. The park covers almost 1000 square kilometres and is home to over 43 species of mammal, 45 species of reptile and amphibian and an incredible 450 bird species!

You can explore the culture and religion of Kathmandu, visit temples, go mountain biking or walk in the footsteps of Sir Edmund Hillary on your way to Everest base camp. Nepal has endless opportunities for visitors which are as varied as it’s climate,  from the steamy flats on the border of India to the whitecaps of the ‘Abode of Snows’ (Himalaya in Sanskrit)  Nepal will blow you away and will make you want to revisit over and over.

Encounters Travel offer 3 different itineraries for Nepal and cover both the Himalayas and the national parks. The First is an 11 day itinerary called Nepal Exposed, that gives you a taste of its beautiful mountain scenery, ancient cultures and religions, lush wildlife parks, remote hilltop villages, and includes time to relax in the lakeside town of Pokhara.

The next one is a 15 day  trip, Classic Nepal. This combination tour gives you a taste of everything this beautiful Himalayan country has to offer, including sightseeing in the Kathmandu valley, a taste of white-water rafting, wildlife safaris, and a short trek to Poon Hill.

And lastly, the 18 day Everest Base Camp trek. This trek gives you a once in a lifetime chance to get right up close to Everest. It is a tough trek that needs some preparation, but immensely rewarding. We pace the itinerary sensibly with acclimatisation days en-route, and time in the Kathmandu Valley at either end of the trek.

Iconic Russia Tour with Encounters Travel

For those wanting guaranteed snow this Christmas, Encounters Travel (www.encounterstravel.com / 0800 088 6002) is offering a saving of £200 off their eight-day Iconic Russia tour, departing 24 December. Available for a reduced rate of £749 per person, the price includes return airport transfers in Russia, accommodation in three-star hotels, plus an overnight train journey on a mixed board basis. The tour offers the perfect introduction to this vast country, beginning in historic St Petersburg before travelling through the 10^th century town of Veliky Novgorod on the way to discover the world famous landmarks of the capital, Moscow.

Famous for its freezing temperatures, dramatic history, hearty food and of course vodka, highlights of this all-encompassing eight-day trip include a full day exploring the former Russian capital of St Petersburg with a visit to the infamous Yusupov Palace, before travelling to the magnificent Pavlovsk Palace followed by the old Russian city of Veliky Novgorod. Next, the tour takes to the rails with an overnight train journey to Moscow followed by a tour of the nearby religious site of Sergiev Posad, which is the spiritual centre of the Russian Orthodox Church. Home to a museum rich with Russian history, the group has the whole day to explore before returning to Moscow. More information is available on the tour here: http://www.encounterstravel.com/russia/iconic_russia_tour.html?action=Itinerary

Contact Encounters Travel to book your place. Email tours@encounterstravel.com.

Hermitage Museum-Winter Palace - Russia

He stood on the fortress of Nyenskans in Nven-town. Below him was the neck of the River Neva in the Gulf of Finland, and Tsar Peter the Great of Russia was pleased with himself. He’d just conquered this part of the Swedish Empire — Swedish Ingria. To celebrate, he renamed Nven-town and called it Schlotburg — which meant ‘Neck-town’. But Tsar Peter had much bigger plans for where ‘Neck-town’ stood — a brand new capital city! So, after tons of demolition work, in 1703 Saint Petersburg was staked out to be built on the rubble of ‘Neck-town’.

Tsar Peter greatly admired classically-inspired architecture in the west, so he set his standards to be “a window to Europe”. Tsar Peter chose the Flemish renaissance for his architects’ theme; and among many buildings on their drawing boards, a ‘winter’ palace was included. Tsar Peter’s first royal residence in Saint Petersburg was actually a humble log cabin, ‘Domik Petra l’. It was lashed together in 1704 as a kind of glorified building-site office. Work nearing an end, in 1711 it was dismantled and removed to the Petrovskaya Embankment — where you can see it today.

Soggy marshland was drained, and Saint Petersburg was built by over 40,000 serfs in biting frost and sub-zero temperatures. Tens of thousands of serfs died — many daily — others tried to escape the freeze of the Finnish Gulf. But each victim was instantly replaced by another. Tsar Peter’s Winter Palace took a year to build, and like much of the rest of early Saint Petersburg, it was finished in 1712.

In 1730, Francesco Rastrelli designed and built the capital’s first ‘summer’ palace for Empress Anna on Tsaritsa’s meadow. Problem was — it was built out of wood. So when Elizabeth became Empress in 1741, she told Rastrelli to demolish that woodpile and build her a proper “Venetian-style” Summer Palace — out of bricks. It was completed in 1744.

The Summer Palace was inherited by Empress Catherine the Great. Under her rule, more palaces were put up in Saint Petersburg than anywhere ever — before or since. In 1762, Catherine the Great moved her court to a brand new Winter Palace which was, from 1732 to 1917, the official residence of the Tsars. Situated next to where Tsar Peter’s first Winter Palace stood, today’s 18th-19th-century State Hermitage Museum-Winter Palace is the 4th Winter Palace. And the famous ‘Storming of’ it in October 1917 was a major part of the Russian Revolution.

Today, The State Hermitage Museum-Winter Palace is Saint Petersburg’s main attraction; it displays highlights of a 3-million-piece collection of Russian art and culture. Walk its galleries and you’ll see works by Rembrandt, Da Vinci, Michealangelo, Reubens and other greats — part of the largest collection of paintings in the world.

For more information on our exciting Russia Tours, visit http://www.encounterstravel.com/russia.html.