“A mind that is stretched by a new experience can never go back to its old dimensions.”
- Oliver Wendell Holmes
We offer bespoke specialty excursions with an insider’s view, giving you a unique holiday full of local experiences.
Take a walk with us down the backstreets with the local daily lives in action, take a coffee break by the verandah of that café with a glorious view. Or simply bond and learn together with your children and gain a different perspective of life. Immerse yourself on a discovery life journey as we highlight the cities’ hidden secrets that only locals know.
From Crop to Cup — Himalayan Organic Coffee
For a coffee connoisseur, Nepal offers the chance to experience one of the rarest coffees in the world. The unique climate and terrain allows for a very high quality coffee to be grown which has a very distinct taste. The Arabica beans are grown here between 900-1800 meters in some of the most picturesque plantations one could think of.
We take you up close and personal with the coveted Himalayan organic coffee, set against the majestic Himalayas backdrop. You meet coffee experts who will tour you privately around the coffee estate, visit the production chain processes and taste freshly roasted coffee.
It will change your perspective about your coffee!
Up Close and Personal with Nepal’s Social Entrepreneurs
Join us on a journey to meet the pioneers who are transforming Nepal.
It is a motivating, enlightening and often humbling experience to meet exceptional personalities who demonstrate the power of individuals through their achievements and dedication. Go on our inspirational tours to meet Nepal’s change makers and learn about success-models to create meaningful change.
Together we visit inspiring social entrepreneurs, innovators, activists or artists to understand how they are tackling some of society’s challenges with creativity and determination. You gain a deeper understanding of intelligent solutions that improve people’s lives. You learn about social entrepreneurship and market-based development approaches. You get connected with like-minded people and explore Nepal beyond the usual itineraries of great views, trekking and culture.
Gastronomic Gourmet — Cook like a Local
Learn to cook like a Nepalese!
Why are home made momos the best? How do you concoct the local curry spices? Learn about the infamous achar that comes with every traditional Nepali meal at home.
Visit the traditional bazaar in Kathmandu with a friendly food guide to learn about the fresh local ingredients followed by a private cook-out session with our local chef and enjoy your very own home-made Nepalese lunch!
Art of Pottery — Master at Work
An integral part of Nepalese culture, the art of pottery goes back milleniums, with the oldest being found in Lumbini with a recorded age of over 2,600 years old. These pots are used in everyday life, be it storing, transporting water, decorative purposes, lamps and even for making liquor. Made on a traditional potter's wheel, and adorned with traditional Nepali designs, this is quintessential Nepali culture at its best!
Learn about how to get the clay to the optimal moisture level for moulding and have lots of fun with the pottery wheel! Once you have your basic shape hammered out, then take your time to adorn it with beautiful patterns and inscriptions. Our pottery master can also show you a variety of Nepalese patterns and explain what they all mean. Come join our pottery course and try making one for yourself to bring home!
Get Intimate — A Day in the Life of a Nepalese
Kathmandu urbanises, livestyles are changing in the suburbs, from agriculture to other trades. We experience this phenomenon in the Kathmandu Valley, walking through hidden villages, meeting the locals in their saturday routines: doing the laundry by hand, drying the chili, worshipping etc in the twin villages of Bungamati and Khokana, south of the valley.
Two little hidden spots, off the beaten tracks, surrounded by amazing landscapes. Come and discover the peacefulness of those villages, the smiles of their inhabitants, the beauty of their architecture… Meet the people during their only free day of the week and even see some woodcarving experts in action.
This day trip fits perfectly for children, as the walk through the two villages is not strenuous. Did you know that on Saturday, Nepali children are playing outside in the sun as they don’t go to school? Interesting to see, and even to join in!
Artist in the Making — Watercolour Workshop
For a select group of Nepali artists, watercolours provide a medium of expression that brings a distinctive vision into being. This workshop gives you a chance to explore how local styles have blended with a traditional Western art form, and to create a unique piece of your own.
In the tourist districts of Nepal, you can see the streets lined with the works of artists who display anything from the majestic Himalayas to portraits of ordinary Nepalese. You will be guided gently into the world of painting by the artist himself with intimate sharing of the local art industry and how paintings are created in the mountainous regions or in the busy backstreets of Nepal filled with heritage and cultural elements.
All you have to do is envision your painting and relive the youthful experience of filling a blank canvas with colour.
Taste of Nepal — Mustard Oil Mill
Mustard oil is an extremely pungent, yellow-colored oil that comes from pressed mustard seeds (Brassica juncea). Mustard oil is used as the primary cooking oil in many Nepali households. Nepalese also apply mustard oil to hair to promote healthy growth and use it to as a massage oil for relief from aches and pains. Good quality Mustard oil stores well. It is used in deep-frying and also as a natural preservative in many pickles and chutneys. Furthermore, many Nepali Sandheko dishes (salad-like dishes), stir-fries employ mustard oil to provide added flavor.
Enjoy a private tour to the oil pressing plant and the highlight activity of watching a real old-fashion way of pressing the mustard seed to extract the oil.
A Touch of History — Narayanhiti Palace Museum
Few things speak clearer to the political changes that have transformed Nepal over the last decade than this walled palace at the northern end of Durbar Marg. King Gyanendra was given 15 days to vacate the property in 2007 and within two years the building was reopened as a people’s museum by then prime minister Prachandra, the very Maoist guerrilla leader who had been largely responsible for the king’s spectacular fall from grace.
Full of chintzy meeting rooms and faded 1970s glamour, the palace interior is more gaudy than opulent. The highlights are the impressive throne and banquet halls and the modest royal bedrooms. Stuffed gharial, tigers and rhino heads line the halls next to towering portraits of earlier Shahs and photos of the royal family taken with other doomed leaders – Yugoslavia’s Tito, Romania’s Ceaușescu and Pakistan’s Zia ul-Haq.
The locations where Prince Dipendra massacred his family in 2001 are rather morbidly marked. Bullet holes are still visible on some of the walls. Just as interesting as the building are the locals’ reactions to it, as they peek at a regal lifestyle that for centuries they could only have dreamed about.