Sociologist and journalist based in Kathmandu. MA Sociology, BA Journalism and Mass Communication. Eight years teaching sociology at Campion College Nepal. Editorial Director at The Goreto.
Trekking
The permit system for trekking in Nepal changed significantly after 2023. What you need to carry depends on where you're going - and the answer is different for every circuit.
Chitwan
The Tharu were here before the tigers, before the park, before the buffer zones. A culture that survived malaria, displacement, and the tourism economy built on top of it.
Food & Drink
In March, the Ilam tea gardens are at first flush. The estate rows sit at 1,600 metres above sea level, the mist comes in from the east, and the picking season has just begun.
The Nepal-India border is technically invisible. People cross it daily without documents, goods move without declaration, and the towns on either side have more in common with each other than with their respective capitals.
Trekking
Nepal's largest lake sits at 2,990m in a district most travellers never reach. In October, Rara turns a colour that no photograph has ever accurately captured.
Culture
For eight days every September, Indra Jatra restructures Kathmandu. Chariot processions, masked dances, and a living goddess carried through streets that have not changed their route in 900 years.
Travel Planning
The guidebook figure for a daily budget in Nepal is outdated. Post-earthquake reconstruction, post-COVID pricing, and the 2024 permit changes have all moved the number. Here is what things actually cost.
Travel
Lo Manthang is a medieval walled city at 3,840 metres, an hour from the Tibetan plateau. The permit system, the drive in from Jomsom, and what you find inside the walls.
Culture
Nyatapola Temple in Bhaktapur has five storeys and has never fallen - not in 1934, not in 2015. Built in 1702, engineers still study its construction logic.
Trekking
Every EBC guide starts at Namche. The problem is the trek starts at Lukla, and the first two days - Phakding to Namche - are where most people make their only irreversible mistake.
Trekking
Teahouse trekking in Nepal is not cheap comfort. It is a specific economy - family-run lodges, dinner-for-a-room protocol, dal bhat at 4am, and rules that vary by region and altitude.
Travel
Shuklaphanta National Park in far western Nepal has the highest density of swamp deer on earth and almost no visitors. What makes it worth the very long detour from the tourist circuit.