Kathmandu, Jan. 17 -- It is a truism in tourism of the Himalaya that the closer we get to the mountains, the less we see of them. This holds for the Annapurna Base Camp Trek, which follows the narrow Mardi Valley where Machapuchre is hidden by towering cliffs. And it is true of the Everest Trek, where the highest mountain in the world is not visible after Tengboche, unless trekkers climb Kala Patthar.
For the best panoramas of the mountains, therefore, one has to step back to mid-mountain peaks, like Pathibhara in Taplejung for a view of Mt Kangchenjunga and Jannu, or Kalinchok for a grandstand view of Mt Gauri Shankar. Then there are peaks like Pulchoki on the southern rim of Kathmandu Valley, Bandipur for a tour d'horizon of the entire C...