Nepal trekking and yoga holiday

Planet

Plastics: re-filling water bottles to avoid unnecessary plastic waste. I have a UV pen that you’ll be allowed to use, alternatively, Travel Straw are a company who have invested in water bottles with added technology which makes unsafe water safe to drink.

Picking up litter – we encourage you to carry a bag to pick up litter, Nepal has a litter problem but it is still the most beautiful country I’ve ever been to.
The accommodation uses solar panels for heating water and its electrictity. This means the lights and power chargers only start working at a certain time in the evening to conserve electricity. Respect their desire to preserve electricity and turn lights out and take short showers. The veg will be from their gardens and is mostly organic.

We avoid taking internal flights on this trip for two reasons: firstly, when the weather is bad they are unreliable, and as we would be taking them to get back to Kathmandu to get our flight home, this could be a problem. Secondly, we have increase our carbon footprint flying to this magical land and getting a 6/7 hour bus to reduce even more of a carbon imprint in a positive step. We encourage you to spend a longer time out in Nepal and fly less. There are amazing mediation retreats at Kopan Monastery which offer tools to find more peace of mind that can accompany a yoga practice.

We use Octopus Energy in our London office, which sources all electricity from renewable sources

People

Nepal has different social customs to us is the West. It is important to respect the local culture, dress and act modestly, and always seek permission before taking photographs. Doing yoga you may want to wear leggings and a skimpy top. Whist there is value to showing your body so I (the teacher) can help you with alignment, please respect the countries culture by avoiding skimpy tops and changing back into loose fitting clothing after the class. Women should have their legs and shoulders covered and men should wear full-length trousers and tops with long sleeves.

We get TIMS and Permits to enter the Annapurna sanctuary, funds from which go towards restoring and conserving the area of extreme natural beauty, as well as keeping the paths strong and safe to allow for continued tourism in the area. Walking around Annapurna Sanctuary there will be small boxes collecting funds for schools in the area, I encourage you to give small donations as it goes straight to the root of the cause.
We use a fairly paid Nepali guide and porters. Raman, our guide, is from the neighboring Manalu mountain range, you’ll learn from his about the local culture in Nepal.
The accommodation we stay in is mostly locally owned family run guesthouses, employing people within the village. There are laws in Nepal that prevent a non-local Nepalese from buying land outside the local area.
Choosing to adventure in Nepal provides invaluable economic input into the local economy.