Cycling tour in Kathmandu Valley, Nepal

Planet

This trip is awesome to avoid jeep or bus rides when exploring the Kathmandu valley.
In this area, it is very important not to litter as nobody cleans it on a daily basis and we want to leave this place as we want to see it ourselves. We ask not to bring anything in plastic: bags, snacks, wet tissues. Let's keep our land and water plastic-free. We ask to refuse accepting plastic from locals when you buy fruits or local delicacies.

We will stay in locally-owned hotels that are rich on history and match our values: eco-friendly innovations that will comfort their life and environment with the right balance, portable gas cookers, solar system to heat water, locally-grown food, no use of plastic toiletries.
The tap water is too precious here, remember about it when you brush your teeth or taking showers.

We build, restore and equip using carefully sourced local materials and in a style that tells the cultural or geological story of the landscape. Most of our hotels belong to the Newari culture which is famous for hand wood carvings, low door entrance and really thick walls that are earthquake resistant.

This a cycling trip which is a low carbon form of transport.

People

We will meet local ethnic communities on our way each time and people there are quite conservative even if it's only 1 hour away from the city. Dress properly, respect customs and traditions, learn about them a little bit in advance, greet locals on your way, smile and be open to everything new. The best way to immerse in a culture is to join for a celebration or a festival, drink a tea, speak to locals, have a small talk, teach your language. We'll visit important temples, please take off shoes where needed, don't take photos if there is a sign - this is a holy place for Buddhist people. By visiting these places we learn about the life of monks and can contribute some money that will help the temples and monasteries to survive.

Support local shops and restaurants - buy fruits and veggies, local delicacies, share with everyone, play football with children, learn about local projects and how you can help them. Donate to local organizations and keep in touch after you return home.

If you are happy with our team, tip your guides, drivers and mechanics as tourism is the only source for locals to make money for life and support their families.

All our guides are locals who know Kathmandu valley the best. We provide good wages to them: salary, insurance, equipment, meals.
We'll eat delicious Nepali cuisine in local restaurants that grow organic food and not imported from other countries.

On the last day, we could visit local manufactory that educates and employs vulnerable women of Nepal by giving them opportunities to support themselves and their families, learn more about their projects, how we can help them and buy some useful souvenirs that they make from recycled materials.