Trek to Mount Qomolangma Base Camp has been placed in seventh position in a list of top 10 "Once in a Lifetime Trips" compiled for the year 2004 by a leading international travel and tourism company.

The base camp is located in northern Nepal, which is the only South Asian country to be chosen in this prestigious list, shows the list released Tuesday by iExplore.com, the Chicago-based tourism company.

"Champagne Flight to the North Pole" has been registered as number one in the ranking, which is followed by "Travel to Timbujtu in Mali and Back" and "Sea Kayak the Panama Canal."

The others ranking in top 10 include "Stay With a Mongolian Family in the Gobi Desert", "Cage Dive with Great White Sharks in South Africa", "Camel Caravan Across the Sahara Desert", "Take a Hot Springs Bath in Iceland", "Balloon Safari Over the Serengeti in Tanzania" and "Walk Rainforest Tree Canopies in the Amazon."

Founded in 1999, iExplore.com is the leading online seller of adventure and experiential travel. The company offers hundreds of made-to-order, guided tours that visit the farthest corners of the earth, particularly the man-made and natural wonders of the world. 

The Observer, a British weekly, has also ranked the base camp in seventh position in "20 Journeys of a Lifetime," Nepal Tourism Board said Tuesday in a press release.

(Xinhua News Agency March 9, 2005)