All Blog Posts (119)

“Upper Mustang(Forbidden land) trek”

We were 10 persons altogether in the group. Six of us including four French tourists took plane from Kathmandu to Pokhara and rest of the group had already gone there by Bus. Next day our flight was scheduled early in the morning from Pokhara, but had to wait little bit due to bad weather. Finally we flew to Jomsom. We gradually left the cloudy part and became face to face with snow capped mountains. It was really…

Following in the footsteps of thousands of pilgrims on an arduous rainy season trek to Gosainkunda also brought some environmental and conservation issues to the fore



I knew that going trekking during rainy season was not a good idea. During the lead up to the big day, a deluge of news reports on numerous rain-triggered road accidents was the order of the day in the media.



I, along with a team of scientists…

By Anand Gurung

I was walking hurriedly in Jawalakhel the other day, my eyes wandering to locate an office where I had a meeting, when my attention was briefly drawn to the Headquarters of British Gurkhas Nepal (BGN). The place looked clean, organised, and seemed to command importance like any other diplomatic missions, offices of bilateral and multi-lateral donor agencies and international NGOs in the cluttered huddle of concrete houses and buildings in the Kathmandu Valley.…

Kathmandu might seem the obvious place to do yoga, to take a course or retreat or just a yoga class from time to time. But it is more tricky than you might think. There are a range of places and yoga styles and schedules and the…

A formal announcement about the return of the Peace Corps to Nepal was made in Washington, DC on Tuesday.

“It gives me great pleasure to be here this morning to celebrate the return of the Peace Corps to Nepal. The Peace Corps has played such a special role in creating lifelong bridges of understanding and affection between the U.S. and Nepal,” said Robert O. Blake, Jr., Assistant Secretary, Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs in a statement released today.

He said Peace…

The Hanumandhoka Durbar Museum Development Committee has opened two ancient courtyards, Mohankali Chowk and Sundari Chowk, in the Hanumandhoka Durbar in Kathmandu for the public, coinciding with the New Year 2012.



Hundreds of Nepali and foreign visitors flocked to the ancient courtyards as they were opened for the public on Sunday. 



The Mohankali Chowk was built during the rule of then king Pratap Malla where important meetings would…

International visitor arrivals to Nepal via air have increased by an average of over 21.5 percent, totaling 501,264 visitors, the ever highest number in tourism history of Nepal during 11 months of the ongoing Nepal Tourism Year 2011. 



According to figures released by the Immigration Office, Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA), the visitor arrivals have also increased by 20.3 percent to 58,156 visitors in the month of November compared to the same month last year.



The…

On December 15 2006, Jal performed live in front of a crowd of 15, 000…

Hi, 

I thought I'd share some photos and a few insights from my recent trek to the Annapurna Base Camp. I visited Nepal with a group and we'd originally planned to visit Everest Base Camp. But due to bad weather at Lukla, we abandoned that attempt and flew out to Pokhara to attempt the ABC instead. 

As those living here will know, the weather hasn't been great in Nepal this autumn. Our guides told us it's the second such year - we should have clear skies but…

If big family get-together, large meals, drinking, gambling and merrymaking becomes much too overbearing during this festive season, opt for first class travel with Tiger Mountain Group into the deep jungles of Chitwan and beautiful surroundings of Pokhara.



We are driving from Meghauli in a sturdy, dark green Land Rover to Tiger Tops Jungle Lodge, deep in the heart of Chitwan National Park, one of Asia’s richest wildlife sanctuaries. There is a…

The weather is getting warmer and everyone is looking for a way too cool off. You could take a trip out to the International Swimming Complex at Satdobato. A nicer option is the 22 stone water spouts at Balaju.

5km from Kathmandu, the Balaju water spouts are found in a large…

I had been wanting to take a trip to Palanchowk Bhagawati temple in Kavre district for quite sometime but the realization of that plan was prevented by the dark specter of the perennial nuisance of Nepali life:  Bandhs.  To quote the wisdom of the Nepali language: baddar ko hat ma naribal. Having neanderthals for leaders is quite a burden to our Homo sapien populated country.  How would you explain the failure to draft a respectable constitution within two + one year…

Recently, I was visiting Nepal and became quite sick with the dreaded vomiting and diarrhoea. I was advised to visit get some tablets from the pharmacy and was very surprised to be given some antibiotics and other tablets without visiting the doctor. Unfortunately I had left it too late and had to go to one of the local hospitals for re-hydration and more antibiotics.

It was quite an eye-opener for me. On arrival I was surprised by the lack of medical gadgets and equipment.…

Indra Jatra

Born in Kathmandu as a Newar, I clearly have no idea just why it took me 28 years to witness my first Indra Jatra. It was only after seeing my first (last year), I realized how much value our traditions had and how foolish I had been all these years.

Indra Jatra (Kumari Jatra) is one of the greatest festivals celebrated in Kathmandu Valley. The festival is marked to thank Indra (God of…

Knowing your Pashmina and steps to taking care of it

Pashmina, also known as the “Diamond Fiber” and “The soft gold of high Asia” is reportedly the finest, softest and the warmest wool found in nature. It is derived from the under belly of the “Capra Hircus”, the mountain goat or as locally known “Changrya”, found in the remote regions of the Himalayas above 10000 feet from sea level and the Inner Mongolian highlands. The goats are never harmed in the…

hi.....

 can anyone provide me info on Kayaking school and how much does it cost for a weeks lesson.....

Travelling with ones hound is never easy, even when you have your own vehicle. Constant thoughts of: will he be okay, will he runaway, will some other animal attack him or someone hit him. Then of course there is the litany of cultural hurdles to be aware of: not to go inside the house, not to drink from the water pot, beware of plates on the ground. And if he is a black dog, like our Kailash, then the fear that he can bring to people is quite amazing.

But…

Chotu

My brother has a very loud voice, one reason maybe being my grandmother, who had lost her hearing when we were young and hearing aid had not yet been imported. So sometimes my brother sounds furious even if he has not reached that level. One morning my brother has this furious voice. “Chotu, idar ahao (Chotu, Come here)”. Takes him two floors top and points at some spots on the floor “Yeh kisney giraya? (Who spilled that?). My…

Rara Rendezvous

Back home, some people told us it was a day and half trek to the lake. We walked slow and we carried a lot. So we planned to reach the lake in two and half days, spend three nights at the lake and coming back down hill would be an easy two days walk. Don’t start laughing; the fun part for you is yet to come.

It took us around about 15 hours to…