besthike.com

Newsvine tipped us to this NYT article.

(Not that we were worried about the Maoist terrorists in the past.)

WITH political stability returning to Nepal, so too are adventure-oriented travel companies, many of which had discontinued their trips to the country over the last few years.

For the first time since 2002, Country Walkers, based in Waterbury, Vt., is returning to the Himalayan nation of Nepal with special tours in the fall, said to be the ideal time for trekking in the region.

Other outfitters, like Mountain Travel Sobek of Emeryville, Calif., and Wilderness Travel of Berkeley, Calif. — which had halted all trips but those to the Khumba or Everest regions in the northeast — are now offering trips to the Annapurna region in central Nepal. Mountain Travel Sobek is also starting treks to the remote Dolpo and Humla regions in the northwest, which they deemed off limits because of the political unrest.

After more than 10 years of bitter conflict, the Nepalese government signed a peace deal with Maoist rebels in November. …

And Maoists have stopped collecting money from tourists along trekking routes.

… GEOGRAPHIC EXPEDITIONS, which continued to operate trips to Nepal during the unrest but only to the Kathmandu region, is planning two new excursions. One, a rigorous 27-day trek through the Kingdom of the Mustang in the spring and fall, starts at $4,695 a person for a group of eight people. Another 31-day trek, Around Manaslu, to be offered in the fall, starts at $4,995 a person for eight people.

There are some added benefits to being among the first tourists to return to Nepal. “For the moment,” said Mr. Steigerwald, “it’s really a treat to be there without crowds.”

As Political Unrest Eases, Travel Picks Up – New York Times