Painting holidays in Nepal

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This magical Himalayan kingdom of Nepal, with its palaces and gilded temples, wooden carved shrines, lush green valleys and yak meadows filled with butterflies, snow topped mountain peaks, clear blue skies and prayer flags in the breeze like bunting.

The magnificent mountain ranges of the Himalayas with their snowy peaks, are reflected in serene crystal clear lakes fed by springs.

The stupa Buddhist temples are an awe-inspiring sight; these white domed edifices are like a vast iced wedding cake, monuments to world peace or the peaceful meditative practice of the Tibetan Buddhist monks, their gilded spire decked with lines of prayer flags.

Impressive architecture, palaces and mansions tell of Nepal's regal history. Towns are filled with tiered pagodas typical of the Newari architectural style. A nature trail through the lush green Kathmandu Valley and wooded hills leads to Hindu shrines, Buddhist stupas, historic monuments to cultures that have lived peacefully side by side for centuries.

At Pashupatinath in Kathmandu Valley, the holiest Hindu temple to Shiva is alive with activity. Devotees in vivid yellow robes cluster on the steps of the temple to bathe in the sacred water in hope of release from karma and the cycle of earthly reincarnation.

In Panauti, a charming village where rivers meet at a sacred shrine, temples are dotted along the river and a pilgrims' house with frescoed walls. In the royal city of Bhaktapur, with its Newari pagodas dating from the medieval era, the city is organised by caste. The exquisite metalwork monument of the Golden Gate and the National Art Gallery in a 15th century palace, in the Durbar Square, contrast with scenes of a simpler existence. Yarns of many colours are hung out to dry around the shared public water reservoirs around where people gather to wash clothes, or conduct religious ceremony. In the potters' market square families work in the open air, making sun-baked bowls, jugs and oil lamps.

Bazaars are filled with colourful local crafts produced in the traditional way by rural communities. In Bandipur, a trading outpost on a mountain ridge, silk farms of mulberry bushes produce silken thread from cocoons for carpets and textiles. Mule trains can be seen camped on the outskirts of Pokhara, bringing goods to trade from remote regions of the Himalayas. Caves and waterfalls, butterflies fill the meadows and valleys and north of Kathmandu, in Pokhara, a palette of green and blue paints scenes of unspoiled nature.