Dwarika's Hotel, Kathmandu

Nepal has won two World Heritage Site Awards, one for the Medieval City of Bhaktapur and the other for Dwarika's Hotel. The magnificence of Dwarika's is its buildings of intricate carved wood and terracotta work that must have taken 10 million hours of the best craftsmen in Nepal. Every brick is handmade and every piece of wood work a centuries old original. But Dwarika's is also about intimate luxury and the spirit and hospitality of the Nepali people. Dwarika's is a living example that tourism need not destroy heritage and the environment. On the contrary, it has demonstrated that a proper blending of cultural restoration and tourism leads to the preservation of historical artifacts and contributes to the growth of skills and culture that would otherwise have eroded from the crass commercialism of today.