THE WORLD’S MOST BEAUTIFUL COUNTRY - NEPAL: SMH TRAVELLER

Mirror mirror on the world, which of 195 (or is it 197?) countries on planet Earth is the most beautiful of all?

There is, certainly, a difference between glamour and true beauty. Glamour is show-stopping, loud, perfect. It’s the stuff that knocks us off our feet - the people and places we might find on the covers of magazines. But true beauty?

Well, that’s more quiet and unassuming, more nuanced and deep and real. It’s what lies beyond the obvious and, when we’re around it, what makes us feel more alive.

By this measure, then, Nepal must surely be the world’s most beautiful country.

Aesthetically, one could argue that Nepal is show-stoppingly gorgeous. Home to Mount Everest and seven other of the world’s 14 highest peaks, it offers some of our planet’s most spectacular landscapes.

Add to that the raw desertscapes of the Mustang region with its ancient Tibetan Buddhist monasteries and mysterious sky caves; the lush jungles of Chitwan or Bardiya national parks, home to Bengal tigers and rhinos; and the intricate hand-carved palaces, temples and shrines of Kathmandu’s royal durbar squares, and you could have something edging close to glamour - but isn’t.

Maybe it’s the deep spirituality that infuses Nepal that keeps it firmly in the realm of true beauty. Prayer is a constant here, as evidenced by the infinite number of fluttering prayer flags and spinning prayer wheels.

On a trek in the Everest region last year, I spent a day hiking through forests and valleys, past small villages and organic farms and Buddhist stupas, stopping finally at Thupten Chöling monstery.

My gentle Sherpa guide and I spent the evening there, watching hundreds of monks and nuns chant and pray and immerse themselves in ritual. It was like slipping through a portal into another world, one where kindness and compassion reigned. It was one of the most unforgettable days of my travelling life.

Which brings me to the Nepalese people, who are the real source of this small country’s beauty. Nepal’s history is rife with hardship – civil war, natural disasters, fuel shortages, border clashes and poverty.

Yet no matter where I’ve gone on my three trips to the country so far, the locals seem unfailingly optimistic. Always ready with a smile and a laugh, always wanting to help and to give.

This is why this year, despite the fact that this once voracious traveller has travelled overseas just once - to Nepal - in the past four years, she is heading right back there later this year. Because the thing about true beauty, is that it needs to be admired.

This story was part of a larger feature, which first appeared in print, and online here.