Letter from Nepal:Tourism is returning to Nepal at a rate of knots following the ending of a 10-year Maoist-led insurgency. Our bus crawled through the infamous traffic of Katmandu, until we reached a pass that leads out of the fertile and populous valley to the town of Pokhara, close to the Himalayan, Annapurna range.
Despite the fact the journey is the same distance as Dublin to Cork, the drive takes five to six hours; or 30 minutes by plane. A story is often told of a team of Swiss engineers who came to Nepal, a number of years ago, to advise the government on how to tunnel and build bridges to overcome the notorious rugged countryside. However, such was the scale of the problem they encountered, they abandoned the plan and returned home!
Similarly, Maoist roadside "checkpoints" on the road to Pokhara have also packed up and, requests for "contributions" are no longer made of hapless tourists and locals plying the roads following the signing of the peace accord, last November.
On April 1st, the Maoists joined a cross-party alliance to form a government of "national unity" until general elections are held in the coming months.
In the meantime, flights to Nepal are packed again, with tourists flocking to the trekking nirvana of the Himalayas, as well as reinforcements of the recently-arrived hundreds of international bureaucrats of a newly-created United Nations Mission in Nepal (UNMIN).
A local newspaper, the Katmandu Post, recently reported a 35 per cent increase in the number of arrivals so far this year. The insurgency had seen tourism numbers plunge, and with it, a vital source of foreign currency.
I am travelling with my 16-year-old twin nieces whose eyes and thoughts along the way are a refreshing lens to view this far-away and exotic land. They are in their transition year and are spending it following less academic pursuits, before getting down to the hard work of the Leaving Certificate.
They were not expecting Nepal to be so poor - a "third world country", they said. "The concept of third world we associated with Africa, not Asia!"
While here for three weeks, they will see the famous ancient temples and cultural heritage of Katmandu - the city is sometimes referred to as the Florence of the East, for its rich and colourful architecture; spend a few nights in the jungle at Chitwan - to see elephants and, if lucky, a tiger; and to trek in the Himalayas.
While Nepal may be a materially poor country, the experience of trekking in the mountains is anything but.
The Annapurna sanctuary trail is a popular trek for its combination of Buddhist towns and dramatic natural scenery.
We left the main road to follow a well-trodden path along a fast-flowing glacial river before ascending for walks of about six hours (a day) to reach the Annapurna base camp (ABC) at 4,100m. The camp is a snowbound, natural amphitheatre of 6,000 to 8,000m bristling mountain peaks; and final launch point for climbers to make their courageous assault on the surrounding peaks.
We spent nights in basic accommodation known as tea houses, where food and board are provided for €3 to €4 a night.
We had taken advice from others about what to expect, but nothing prepared us for what we were to encounter: Steep descents and ascents in and out of huge forested valleys; crossing gushing glacial rivers on rickety wooden and, precarious, swinging suspension bridges dangling above huge boulders left behind by glaciers thousands of years ago.
We passed through remote farming villages, without any mechanisation, built in stone and embellished with intricate wooden carvings around windows and posts.
We shared the paths with wandering cattle, mountain goats, chickens, ducks, and the occasional colourful mule trail, carrying gas bottles and other essential supplies from village to village.
While the walks were incredibly tiring, the beauty, fascinating surroundings and remoteness of the deep countryside, kept our spirits up.
However, nothing was more arresting than the first vista of the actual Himalayas themselves. Late one afternoon, the clouds ahead of our path started to part, to reveal huge white mountains peaks of the Annapurna south (7,219m) and Machhapurchhare (6,993m) mountains.
Cut off from the road by days, the mountains seem far away from the political intrigue and fighting in the capital and other parts of the country.
The red hammer and sickle flags draped from Maoist mountain checkpoints are gone, and with them a much-disliked mountain permit charge. Today only, the colourful, traditional Buddhist flags, with their sacred prayers enclosed, are blowing in the wind.