INSIDE HIMALAYAS | NEPAL | TIBET | BHUTAN
INSIDE HIMALAYAS | NEPAL | TIBET | BHUTAN
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“A Community For Adventure & Local Experience’’
and one that has worked—is to provide an independent
livelihood for the women who run the homestays. Women
who otherwise would have relied primarily on their
husbands have developed networks with each other, take
English lessons and donate money to local projects. We
have welcomed these women into the Royal Mountain
Community, and have even provided some office jobs
at our Kathmandu headquarters. We hope that each of
the homestay networks throughout the country can be
as successful as Panauti’s. For more on the Community
Homestay initiative, look to Elen Turner’s story in this
edition of Inside Himalayas magazine.
For a couple of years now, Royal Mountain Travel is
proud to have been developing a network of community
homestays, through CommunityHomestay.com. Our
flagship programme in Panauti, a Newar town not
far from the Kathmandu Valley, has been extremely
successful, and has provided the model for numerous
other homestays around the country. Now, travellers can
stay in family homes in Palpa, two locations in Chitwan,
Nuwakot, Nagarkot, Patan, Patlekhet and in various
places on the Annapurna Community trek. This mix of
urban and rural locations means that by staying at a
community homestay, travellers to Nepal can really get
to know the true essence of all parts of Nepali society.
But, how do we define the success of these homestays?
The programme is not just about making a profit, as per
traditional forms of accommodation. The intention—
We offer an exciting range of articles from inside the
Himalayas in this year’s edition: winter trekking in the
Annapurnas, searching for the yak in Ladakh, visiting rural
towns in Bhutan, and much more. We hope you will be
inspired with fresh ideas for your first, second, or tenth
visit to our beautiful Himalayan region.
If you’re looking for further information and inspiration
after finishing the pages of this magazine, check out our
Inside Himalayas website (www.insidehimalayas.com),
which is continually growing and sharing the beauty and
diversity of the Himalayan nations. We regularly feature
stories from around our region, as well as share tips about
how to get the most out of your travel here. Everest from the Seat of a Helicopter ........................................................................ 14
Let us know how we can help you plan your trip, and see
you soon! Alone but Never Lonely: The Annapurna Circuit in Winter ................................. 28
Contributors
Tashi Sherpa, Ross Adkin, Elen Turner, Devorah Klein Lev-
Tov, Joshua Cook, Kerry Tolson and Igor Kulishov
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Getting Local in Nepal’s Community Homestays ................................................. 32
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Life and Death in a Remote Bhutanese Village ....................................................... 25
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Published by
Royal Mountain Travel - Nepal
Lal Durbar Marg, Kathmandu, Nepal
Tel: +977-1-4444378 Web: www.royalmt.com.np
Clouds of Wildflowers and Rain ..................................................................................... 20
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Editor
Elen Turner
Executives, Production
Sudeep Singh and Sudan Budhathoki
In Search of the Yak in Ladakh ......................................................................................... 17
Shiva Dhakal
Managing Director
Managing Director
Shiva Dhakal
Cover Photo
Hemis
Cover Story
Making a Social
Call in Manaslu
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in whole or part in any form without the written consent of the publisher. The opinions
expressed by contributors are not necessarily those of the publisher, who cannot accept
responsibility for any errors or omissions. All editorial inquires and submission to Inside
Himalayas Magazine must be address to [email protected]
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