Nepal has always been magical and mysterious. Ever since it shed its Shangri-la style isolation and finally admitted Western tourists in the early 1950s, it has stirred the longings and fantasies of travelers of every stripe -- monks and mystics, hippies and yuppies.

Nepal, "a yam between two boulders," is at the crossroads where the Gangetic-lowland Hindu India literally collided into the Himalayan-highland Buddhist Tibet, producing a harmonious blend of cultures and traditions that remains maddeningly elusive, but quintessentially Nepali.

Nepal is renowned for its temples, shrines, palaces, amazing mountains and jungles -- and especially its riotous, colorful festivals. To the devotees, every day of the year is an auspicious day; one day they honor Shiva, the next day, the Buddha. The foreign spiritual seeker soon discovers that there are more temples, gompas, gurus, sadhus, and rinpoches to choose from than cereal brands in an American supermarket.

Notable authors include: Peter Matthiessen, Jeff Greenwald, Meg Lukens Noonan, Broughton Coburn, Diane Summers, Jimmy Carter, and Jan Morris.