Long before the term ecotourism was coined, an initiative in Nepal rooted in conservation and community was hailed as one of Asia’s best “Welcome to Tiger Tops. We’ll be leaving on the elephants for a jungle safari once the aircraft has departed, so please wait in the shade.” I greet the…
Andrew Laurie, Chitwan’s Rhino Man, did pioneering research into the endangered animals We thread our way between the thinning trees along an earthen trail back to Andrew Laurie’s research camp near Sauraha on the edge of Royal Chitwan National Park. Not more than a couple of tents and a wood hut,…
The pioneers of the early days of river running in Nepal One of the more turbulent rapids on the Trisuli River trip is named Snell’s Nose (or used to be). Col John Blashford Snell was on an early rafting recce helping Himalayan River Exploration to check out the viability of…
When Kathmandu Valley became the location for a Bertolucci film An old man taps the grey head of the carved lion in confusion. It had not been here last week, and only the hollow ring distinguishes it from the twin stone sculpture guarding the temple entrance. We are on the…
The Twin Otter lurched, and a blur of elephants and people flashed past the left wing The two pilots wore their Royal Nepal Airlines uniforms, but from my vantage point in the front seat of the Twin Otter it never occurred to me to notice that both were only qualified…