The <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/rare-anti-cancer-tree-on-verge-of-extinction">Himalayan yew</a> has a chemical used to treat cancer, but it is an endangered coniferous tree which has been unsustainably harvested. Some rare species of orchids in the Nepal Himalayan are prized in Chinese <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/medicine-goes-back-to-its-roots">traditional medicine</a>, and are smuggled across the border. Nepali conservation scientist Reshu Bashyal has made it her life’s mission to save these two ‘flagship plants’ by protecting them from poachers and cultivating them sustainably to generate income for local communities. For her work, Bashyal was recognised with the £50,000 <a href="https://www.youtube.com/embed/hRc3dYG9hGA?si=Ii8DLCQnTkxiXAOP">Whitley Award 2025 </a>presented by Princess Royal Anne on Wednesday at the Royal Geographical Society in London. The awards are given out by the UK-based <a href="https://whitleyaward.org/2025/02/11/2025-whitley-awards-meet-the-shortlist/">Whitley Fund for Nature</a> that recognises individuals working to foster grassroots action on conservation. Bashyal works on research at the environmental non-profit <a href="https://www.greenhood.org/">Greenhood Nepal</a> which has been involved in protecting the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/people-tigers-trees-and-rivers">country’s biodiversity</a> by using <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/comment/unsung-heroes-of-nepal-s-tiger-recovery">indigenous knowledge</a> and finding ways to benefit local communities by <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/saving-nature-by-protecting-orchids">protecting nature</a>.&nbsp; “I first learned about the precarious status of orchids when I was in the field,” Bashyal told Nepali Times on the phone from London. “I had no idea about the scale at which they were being harvested. I realised there was a lot to be done.” Many <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/orchids-of-godavari-phulchoki">orchid species found in Nepal</a> are in high demand in Chinese and Indian traditional medicine as pain relievers, aphrodisiacs, ingredients in Ayurvedic medicine and as ornamental flowers. Orchids were allowed to be legally traded, until the Control of International Trade of Endangered Wild Fauna and Flora Act, 2017 came into effect. All but two species are listed in the CITES Appendix II, deeming all orchid trade illegal - unless a management plan was set up to support sustainable harvest. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/save-nepal-s-orchids">Save Nepal’s orchids</a>, Reshu Bashyal “Distinguishing traded plant parts is hard, because when they dry up they can be mistaken very easily for other plants, like himalayan gooseberry or potatoes,” says Bashyal, who holds an MSc in Environmental Science from Tribhuvan University and an MSc in Conservation and International Wildlife Trade from the University of Kent as a Chevening Scholar. Some harvesters are simply not aware that it is illegal, and raising awareness is one of the first steps. Restoring the habitat of orchids and reducing poaching come next. Bashyal hopes to form community-based task forces to monitor orchid smuggling, just as been done to stop<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/what-drives-wildlife-poaching"> poaching of tigers and rhinos</a> in Chitwan National Park.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250501030536_5d128776d43de18fe17869c643fe7b054075d49b171d12074b5d01124a463a4c.jpg" data-media-id="editor_11" data-image-id="20250501030536_5d128776d43de18fe17869c643fe7b054075d49b171d12074b5d01124a463a4c" data-rendition-name="original" width="7008" height="4672" loading="lazy" alt="Nepali wins Whitley Award 2025"> </figure>  Bashyal’s current project focuses on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EeDWxQ1kCAY">the Himalayan yew (Taxus wallichiana)</a>, especially the Maire’s yew, which are the most sought after for their leaves. Sadly, there are as few as 800 such mature trees left in the wild now. Maire’s yew is one of the <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/320225009_Yews_of_Nepal">three Taxus species found in the country</a>. Taxus wallichiana (Himalayan yew) is found in central to east Nepal, and the rarer &nbsp;Taxus mairei is found only in Kavre, Makwanpur and Sindhuli districts and is classified as ‘Vulnerable’ in the IUCN red list. Harvesting 10,000 kgs of leaves of the yew tree, known in Nepal as the Lath Salla, yields only 1-2 kgs of DAB-10, a white powder used to produce taxol, which is needed to treat early and late-stage breast, skin, and ovarian cancer.&nbsp; It has always been illegal in Nepal to harvest wild yew, although it is legal if the trees are cultivated. Part of Bashyal’s work is also to understand how best to grow the trees commercially.&nbsp; “I talk to people who grow yew trees to understand how it is being done, and to learn and document the best harvest guidelines,” says Bashyal. Such information will be key for the work she plans to do with the prize money of £50,000 GBP over one year to focus research on five <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/reviving-nepals-community-forestry-success-story" target="_blank">community forests</a> in Makwanpur, where Maire’s yew is native.&nbsp; She and Greenhood Nepal also plan to restore 1,000 hectares of orchid habitat, plant 5,000 Maire’s yew, and create a 100-hectare community forest that will serve as a model to study and promote the best long-term practices. Bashyal has faced funding challenges for her work because most conservation grants went to protect <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/lesser-known-endangered-species" target="_blank">endangered animals</a> like tigers and rhinos. “We tend to think only of wild animals when we think about conservation, but all living species must be considered,” she says.&nbsp; Bashyal is the fourth Nepali to win the Whitley Award in the last four years. Past winners include <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/05/owl-conservationist-raju-acharya-wins-whitley-award-in-hat-trick-for-nepal/">Raju Acharya</a> in 2024 for safeguarding owls in Central Nepal, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/nepali-conservationist-wins-whitley-again">Tulshi Laxmi Suwal</a> in 2023 for protecting pangolins, and <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/nepal-conservationist-wins-whitley-award">Sonam Lama </a>for monitoring and conserving red panda in Eastern Nepal. <a href="https://whitleyaward.org/2025/02/11/2025-whitley-awards-meet-the-shortlist/">Whitley shortlists 12 candidates</a> each year, and awards are given to six candidates. This year’s shortlist included community-based conservationists from Tanzania, Indonesia, Colombia, Brazil and other countries in the Global South.

Vishad Raj Onta

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Nepali wins Whitley Award 2025

Ramprit Yadav was a ranger in the late 1960s before Chitwan National Park was even established. He later became the first warden of Nepal’s first national park in 1973, one that he helped survey. Those were the days when national parks were defined as wilderness areas with no human settlements, but Chitwan’s jungles were the home of the Tharu and other indigenous groups. The village of Padampur with 10,000 people, mostly Tharu, was relocated. The very people who had relied on the forest and protected it for generations were kept out. Ramprit Yadav remembers that when his team surveyed the Chitwan National Park 55 years ago, he did so without consulting the Tharu. “That was a mistake,” he says now. “I was 22 years old and had a theoretical knowledge of plants from college, but everything else about biodiversity I learnt later from the Tharu of Chitwan.” The Tharu had over generations learnt to sustainably manage their jungle, grassland and wetland habitat, taking only what they needed and allowing nature sufficient time to regenerate. When they were removed from the national park, it was not just the Tharu who suffered but also the nature they had helped preserve. The Tharu of Old Padampur had been farming on the flatlands for generations by creating a canal from the Chure Hills to the south. The traditional irrigation system brought down not just water but vegetation that fertilised their fields. After using the water they needed, they let the rest flow out, replenishing the wetlands that was an important habitat for rhinos and birds. In spring, the Tharu dug small ponds inside the forest to capture rainwater and raise fish. This practice also helped recharge the groundwater. But after 1973, the park put a stop to this, and ponds dried up. The number of rhinos dropped dramatically after Padampur was evacuated primarily because of the deterioriation of the wetlands, and later after 2003 when the park was expanded to the east and there was an increase in poaching. Bal Singh Chaudhary, 84, remembers that the ponds themselves were a favourite wallow for rhinos. “I used to see between 15-20 rhinos in one pond, but after we stopped using the ponds the rhinos were gone.” Today, park nature guide Ram Giri Chaudhary says it is difficult to even find one or two rhinos in what used to be the ponds. Paugi Chaudhary, a 70-year-old resident of Old Padampur, remembers as a boy bringing in up to 15kg of fish and 25kg of snail (ghonghi) from the family paddy fields. “All that came to an end after our relocation,” he says.  <figure><img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024081512088_260b0e2ac61e75678af678f485606e2a9b3fdf75455bd19f7ff5a949ffb736a8.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="2024081512088_260b0e2ac61e75678af678f485606e2a9b3fdf75455bd19f7ff5a949ffb736a8" data-rendition-name="original" width="1056" height="640" loading="lazy" alt="Parks plus people"></figure>  Before being evicted, Tharu villages used to have up to 400 cattle that grazed in the grasslands along the Rapti floodplain. Grasslands made up 20% of the park area in 1973, but today it is down to 6%. The reason is that the Tharu had a sustainable way of using the grasslands for grazing and harvesting reed and thatch to maintain their homes and the temporary huts they built by the Rapti River. In winter, they set fire to the reed which allowed green shoots to sprout, fertilised by the nutrient rich ash. The park allowed the Tharu and resettled farmers from the mountains to cut and burn the grass for 15 days every year, but this practice was stopped during the Maoist conflict. “The condition of the grasslands in the national park was better where the grass used to be burnt rather than when it is cut by machine,” explains Aashis Gurung of the National Trust for Nature Conservation (NTNC). The decline in grasslands has affected the population of native and migratory birds like the Bengal Florican, Lesser Florican, Slender-bellied Babbler, and Jerdon’s Babbler. When the grassland area fell, so did the insect population. The ban on grazing removed the dung that used to fertilise the soil and allowed insects to proliferate in the siru grasslands. And with the insects gone, the birds had nothing to eat. Park officials at the time did not grasp this cycle of sustainability in which the Tharu people were a crucial part. Chitwan’s wetlands and grasslands are now much reduced, affecting the population of rhino, deer and other wildlife. Part of the credit for Nepal’s success in tripling its wild tiger population goes to the indigenous people of Chitwan, whose descendants now suffer disproportionately from wildlife attacks and crop damage in the fringes of the park where they were resettled in 1973. Birendra Mahato is an elected member of the Ratnanagar Municipality Ward 6 and Founder Chair of the Tharu Culture Museum Research Centre in Sauraha.

Parks plus people

The Kangchenjunga Trek in far-eastern Nepal is a remote and less-crowded adventure that offers raw wilderness, diverse cultures, and breathtaking terrain below the world’s third highest mountain. Kangchenjunga (8,586m) grabbed the world’s attention before Mt Everest ever did because its imposing rampart dominated the northern horizon from Darjeeling, the summer refuge for the British in India. The Kangchenjunga massif is more a mountain range rather than a peak, its high ridge stretching 25km from Nepal to Sikkim.  <figure><img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20251211111236_1f51f10becbb6bd01248f5845c6055479201365b1357fbbc6479b6724ea2185c.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20251211111236_1f51f10becbb6bd01248f5845c6055479201365b1357fbbc6479b6724ea2185c" data-rendition-name="original" width="938" height="726" loading="lazy" alt="Kangchenjunga trail map"></figure>  Sikkim considers the mountain sacred, and has banned mountaineering expeditions. But the various prominences of Kangchenjunga are increasingly popular for climbers via the north face in Nepal. For non-mountaineers, even the Kangchenjunga trek can be arduous, especially in winter. It is one of the last pure wilderness areas in Nepal, traversing sparsely populated valleys that are rich in biodiversity because of the high annual rainfall. Even when Nepal was a forbidden land, among the first foreign visitors was British botanist J D Hooker who explored the Nepal side of Kangchenjunga in 1850 to collect plant samples. The peak was first climbed in 1955, two years after the first ascent of Mt Everest.  <figure><img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20251215071228_7dd4ddc943554012654df0a2f5065ed364b8349c31888ac8cbe175b4540d1dfd.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20251215071228_7dd4ddc943554012654df0a2f5065ed364b8349c31888ac8cbe175b4540d1dfd" data-rendition-name="original" width="1280" height="597" loading="lazy" alt="Kangchenjunga in winter NT"></figure>   <figure><img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025121509128_a857e5e9cfc7fea2f5f0b060b8f6e9f6582abc1ac1fd1a60abad90a9d55adbff.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="2025121509128_a857e5e9cfc7fea2f5f0b060b8f6e9f6582abc1ac1fd1a60abad90a9d55adbff" data-rendition-name="original" width="720" height="1280" loading="lazy" alt="Kangchenjunga in winter NT"></figure>  The establishment of Kangchenjunga Conservation Area in September 2006 was accompanied by tragedy when 24 people, including Nepal’s nature preservation pioneers were killed in a helicopter crash. The Conservation Area is now the only one managed completely by the local indigenous people. It has 70 varieties of orchids, 30 rhododendron types, and 15 out of 28 endemic plants of Nepal. Kangchenjunga still gets very few of the 200,000 foreign trekkers who visit Nepal every year, but improved road access in recent years is making it more popular. Trekkers have a choice of exploring the North Base Camp (Pangpema) or the South Base Camp (Yalung Glacier), or combine both for the full Kangchenjunga Circuit (map). This trek is considered strenuous, with long walking days, high altitude, and tea house accommodation that is much more basic than the Everest or Annapurna regions. Trekkers have to be fit and with prior hiking experience. Most teams take tents and camp, and carry most of their food.  <figure><img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025121509128_895ccc1d918f88c255dbeccea19c990bcaa792f384750559cb7257b99f177be7.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="2025121509128_895ccc1d918f88c255dbeccea19c990bcaa792f384750559cb7257b99f177be7" data-rendition-name="original" width="1280" height="597" loading="lazy" alt="Kangchenjunga in winter NT"></figure>  FULL CIRCUIT Because the region is restricted, trekkers must obtain a permit and be accompanied by a licensed guide. A full circuit can take three weeks, while doing only the North or South Base Camps will take two weeks, including flying from Kathmandu to Bhadrapur and jeep to Taplejung or a rough trail to Hellok. The lower forested stretches are teeming with wildlife, and this is red panda and snow leopard country. The streams and ponds have amphibians and reptiles, some of which have not yet even been classified. The route also passes the homelands of the Limbu, Rai and Tibetan communities with the local culture and architecture more intact than in most other mountain areas of Nepal.  <figure><img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025121509128_90c129a639376621ece0aa067a601573f8b06d934c089a0fa929a7ce9c12018b.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="2025121509128_90c129a639376621ece0aa067a601573f8b06d934c089a0fa929a7ce9c12018b" data-rendition-name="original" width="1280" height="597" loading="lazy" alt="Kangchenjunga in winter NT"></figure>   <figure><img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025121509128_f51e595e5a18d573365cc611dbf1a49cfb19b2b8ee40164ed500179e2a2b04f8.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="2025121509128_f51e595e5a18d573365cc611dbf1a49cfb19b2b8ee40164ed500179e2a2b04f8" data-rendition-name="original" width="720" height="1280" loading="lazy" alt="Kangchenjunga in winter NT"></figure>  The best seasons to trek are spring (March–May) and autumn (September–November). There are fewer trekkers and climbers in winter, and many of the birds and wildlife have migrated down to warmer climes. Despite its beauty, trekkers should be prepared for challenges like long distances between villages, unpredictable weather, and limited emergency rescue options due to the remoteness of the area — all even more challenging in winter. Norbu Lama is an international hiking guide with www.dolpocaravantreks.com and just returned after leading a trek to Kangchenjunga Base Camps.

Kangchenjunga in winter

Ancient heritage meets dern distillery craft as the US-based The Nepali Spirit Company this month makes its global debut with Kathmandu Ayla. Inspired by Nepal’s ancient rice whiskey tradition, the product is the first of four handcrafted spirits that brings Kathmandu Valley’s 1,000-year-old ayla tradition to the world stage. “The first four products combine history, culture, and tradition and it has taken eight years to get to this launch point,” says CEO of The Nepal Spirit Company Kashish Das Shrestha, who is also publishing a book on the history of alcohol in Nepali culture. The other three ayla products are Masala Whiskey aged in Brazilian Amburana casks and spiced with black cardamom from Nepal, Annapurna Ayla, and Haku Chaku Himalayan Espresso Liqueur made with organic Nepali coffee, and chaku (dark molasses).  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20251216141244_ab74945dc60ce5ff83fe7a88596fc032c18705e7cda9dc62df21694d3ad83b85.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20251216141244_ab74945dc60ce5ff83fe7a88596fc032c18705e7cda9dc62df21694d3ad83b85" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="The American Ayla NT"> </figure>  “I started visiting international whiskey auctions six years ago and after reading about distilling, my passion for spirits grew, and I felt the urge to tell the story of Nepal’s heritage spirits to the world,” explains Shrestha. Once poured in Nepal’s royal courts, ayla is a clear rice whiskey that is a millennia-old living heritage of Kathmandu used in rituals from birth to death and traditional life milestones of its inhabitants. Ayla is distilled to capture the classic aromas and flavors, with a soft sweet after taste. It can be enjoyed neat, sipped through meals, or enjoyed as shots. With more than 15% of Nepal’s population living and working abroad, there is a cultural demand for ayla in the diaspora from Asan to Amstredam to Australia.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20251216121236_0db0ec396832736fef60b636d7012a917be65471408c81383a40613f928f9e78.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20251216121236_0db0ec396832736fef60b636d7012a917be65471408c81383a40613f928f9e78" data-rendition-name="original" width="1000" height="1270" loading="lazy" alt="The American Ayla NT"> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20251216141236_a84ede74c67a61e75af2f0cc1c985b4d04ff2292c6bd0bd0b841f4d2c7b593aa.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20251216141236_a84ede74c67a61e75af2f0cc1c985b4d04ff2292c6bd0bd0b841f4d2c7b593aa" data-rendition-name="original" width="1778" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="The American Ayla NT"> </figure>  &nbsp;“We also believe ayla is a wonderful way to tell Nepal’s story to the world,” says Lilu KC Shrestha, Chief Operating Officer of the company. “We intend to use our platform to promote Nepal in any way we can, and also find ways to give back to the country. It was high time a world-class Nepali spirits brand entered the global market, and we are proud to take the lead.” Aside from the ayla itself, the bottle and packaging was conceived by New York-based designer Sahara Shrestha to reflect a complete Nepaliness. “Each bottle and box is a love letter to Nepal, and every detail is an expression of respect and appreciation of Nepali heritage and our desire to share it with the world,” says Kashish Das Shrestha. “And ayla itself is a sacred part of our culture, so we wanted to make sure the bottle reflects this reverence.”  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20251216141244_d2746204c64802ff81453d7a8749f516bf3c62538fe3c98400a9b3978c03b273.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20251216141244_d2746204c64802ff81453d7a8749f516bf3c62538fe3c98400a9b3978c03b273" data-rendition-name="original" width="1920" height="1475" loading="lazy" alt="The American Ayla NT"> <figcaption>Aylarita</figcaption> </figure>  The bottom of each bottle has an embossed Mandala representing the universe and its interconnectedness. A glass molding of Himalayan peaks Chomolungma and Nuptse signifies the earth and heaven. The bottle cap is a black and gold rendering of the metal plates that hang from Kathmandu’s temples. The logo of The Nepali Spirit Company is also inspired by the unti, a traditional vessel used to pour ayla. While its top is typically adorned with a peacock, the company’s design replaces it with rice stalks. This motif is also on the label of Annapurna Whiskey named in honour of both the mountain and the goddess, the giver of grain. For a new take, ayla can be paired with a lime wedge lathered in honey, cumin, and salt, or on the glass rim. It can also be mixed into cocktails to make Aylarita, Aylatini, or Aylapolitan. <a href="http://www.thenepalispirit.com/" target="_blank">www.thenepalispirit.com</a>, @TheNepaliSpirit

The American Ayla

Amber Tamang leads his group of trekkers through Lumsa village, past traditional houses with sturdy stone walls and hemlock tile roofs. He stops on the trail to point out his childhood home.&nbsp; He is taking the team to Pikey Peak (4,065 m), the ideal lookout from where on clear days eight eight-thousander peaks from Annapurna to Kangchenjunga, including Everest, are visible. Tamang, founder of the Three Jewels Adventures agency, takes his clients to lesser-known trails as part of his Lower Everest trekking route, on the way up to Pikey.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20251211111236_baf0c06386d4fee07a2105020459033e959e30c269e6ece7338f4b28c0a44ba8.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20251211111236_baf0c06386d4fee07a2105020459033e959e30c269e6ece7338f4b28c0a44ba8" data-rendition-name="original" width="815" height="808" loading="lazy" alt="Pikey Peak Lumsa Trail"> </figure>  Trekkers usually do not take the Lumsa route because the quaint villages do not present as much excitement as the scenic panorama of mountains.&nbsp; But hiking through the bucolic countryside provides insight into the community’s deep Lamaist faith reflected in the chorten, mani walls, sacred inscriptions on stones, prayer flags on houses, the festivals and in the way the villagers interact with one another.&nbsp; “I wish more people would soak in the villages and their culture on their trek, rather than just wanting mountain views,” says Tamang.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20251214091212_862b5098bec366ac32bde26b95a126889a5a1cf9b20eb8c7f09c1025fe293d72.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20251214091212_862b5098bec366ac32bde26b95a126889a5a1cf9b20eb8c7f09c1025fe293d72" data-rendition-name="original" width="3000" height="680" loading="lazy" alt="Pikey trek via Lumsa in winter NT 1"> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20251214091212_321cea9eab93e109efc09f45d1de9086b4626f84f77a9b2e4ae52b9fd4777be5.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20251214091212_321cea9eab93e109efc09f45d1de9086b4626f84f77a9b2e4ae52b9fd4777be5" data-rendition-name="original" width="2000" height="1125" loading="lazy" alt="Pikey trek via Lumsa in winter NT 1"> </figure>  Jangbu Sherpa owns the Lama Hotel in Lumsa, one of just two accommodations in the village. There is no signage along the trail advertising his business, and guests are still few and far between. So in the evenings, he calls his neighbours over to his lodge for some beer, conversation, and dancing. And on special occasions, a group welcomes guests with a traditional Syabru dance.&nbsp; “I’m working on expanding this little lodge,” he says with a smile. “Lumsa could become a buzzing stop on the trekking route.” Jangbu’s son Nima is a porter-guide, and is preparing to take a group of trekkers to Pikey Peak and the Thupten Chholing Monastery above Junbesi.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20251214091216_2fea6bc873eed2de1ddf4d129a771bcefcb0e67c3526838b718b7f409b01c4d5.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20251214091216_2fea6bc873eed2de1ddf4d129a771bcefcb0e67c3526838b718b7f409b01c4d5" data-rendition-name="original" width="2000" height="1125" loading="lazy" alt="Pikey trek via Lumsa in winter NT 1"> </figure>  There is a downhill bicycle route from Pikey, and lucky trekkers might even spot red pandas on the forest canopy. “I saw a red panda with my own eyes once,” interjects Pemba Tamang, a veteran guide, from across the room. He begins listing other wildlife he has encountered enroute to Pikey — danphe pheasants, their wings resplendent in the sun, ghoral blue sheep jumping nimbly on rock cliffs, a lumbering black bear, and once, memorably, a leopard.&nbsp; Amber Tamang, Nima Sherpa, and Pemba Sherpa are among the men in Lumsa who are most often away from home, leading trekking and mountaineering expeditions. Some from the village have summited Everest multiple times. To get to Pikey Peak, drive up the BP highway to Dhap, with Numbur and Karyolung towering up the valley to the north.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20251214091216_2fea6bc873eed2de1ddf4d129a771bcefcb0e67c3526838b718b7f409b01c4d5.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20251214091216_2fea6bc873eed2de1ddf4d129a771bcefcb0e67c3526838b718b7f409b01c4d5" data-rendition-name="original" width="2000" height="1125" loading="lazy" alt="Pikey trek via Lumsa in winter NT 1"> </figure>  Up in Pikey Base Camp at 3,700m is the Tunga Baje Lodge, now operated by his son Pasang Lhamu Sherpa. If they are lucky, guests will catch baje in a performance, singing and strumming his tunga.&nbsp; The trek can be made a circuit— hikers do not have to come down the same way they went up. Winter is not the best time for a Pikey hike, but the views of the mountains, especially after snowfall, are dazzling. It is best to go in early spring when forests are ablaze with rhododendron. The region is home to 32 different types of the flower.&nbsp; Says Pasang Lhamu: “Tourism is picking up, but it is tough to keep things running. I hope for stability &nbsp;so we can invest in the lodge.”&nbsp;

Going offtrek in Solu

When Winston Churchill addressed the Canadian Parliament in December 1941, he recalled that generals of Nazi-occupied France had said that England would “have her neck wrung like a chicken”. Churchill went on to quip: “Some chicken.” As the laughter and applause subsided, he added: “Some neck.” (Even longer laughter and applause) We do not know who first started calling the narrow corridor that joins India to its northeastern states a 'Chicken’s Neck', but there also was the hint of a Churcillian connotation. Akhilesh Upadhayay in his new book In the Margins of the Empires: A History of the Chicken’s Neck, uses this strip as an entry point to explore a region adjoining Nepal, Bhutan, China, Sikkim, Darjeeling, India’s northeast and the tectonics that shaped its geo-strategic terrain.&nbsp; Upadhyay’s Chicken Neck is an organic whole, connected through centuries by transboundary traders, travellers, monks, spies, missionaries, mountaineers, and more. And as infrastructure and connectivity improves, smaller countries like Nepal and Bhutan (and earlier Sikkim) are caught up in the region’s rivalries. The tri-junction of the Chicken’s Neck is a potential flashpoint that has obsessed India’s military strategists ever since Partition in 1947 and the formation of East Pakistan, and the Chinese annexation of Tibet. India found itself squeezed between Chumbi Valley in China to the north and Pakistan to the south. So, when Sikkim started acting too independent for its own good 50 years ago, India engineered its annexation and turned it into its 22nd state. The 1962 Sino-Indian war elevated its strategic importance even more. Alarm bells ring in New Delhi each time there is trouble around the Chicken’s Neck: the Naxalite uprising had to be swiftly crushed, the Indian military moved in to liberate Bangladesh, Gorkhaland and ULFA activities were dangerously nearby, Bhutan had to be appeased. Every once in a while things would flare up between India and China, as in the 2017 Doklam standoff.&nbsp; And last year’s regime change in Bangladesh has rattled New Delhi enough to deploy its Rafael fighters and BrahMos cruise missiles in the Chicken’s Neck. It is now the most densely militarised strip of real estate in this part of the world. &nbsp; As a journalist and former editor of Kathmandu Post, Upadhyay also peers at the Chicken’s Neck through Nepal’s perspective. After all, Jhapa (where the author is originally from) sits right there astride India’s strategic lifeline.&nbsp; Geopolitics is at the front and centre of the book that takes readers back to the time Nepal was a closed Himalayan kingdom.&nbsp; Nepal may be a yam between two boulders, but it may just as well be a thicker Chicken’s Neck as far as New Delhi and Beijing are concerned. Nepal’s rulers have always had to walk the tightrope between China and India. Khampa guerrillas, covertly helped by American and Indian intelligence, raided Chinese military convoys from bases in Nepal, and King Mahendra had to do some intricate diplomatic footwork. India is often described as Nepal’s closest friend, but our relations with China go back as long in terms of the Lhasa trade, Bhrikuti and Arniko, religious exchanges and people-to-people relations. While Nepali researchers are wary of touching on Chinese, Indian or American sensitivities, Upadhyay’s journalistic background means he has no qualms about tackling the subject head-on, and objectively. He spent more than a year researching the book, sniffing around Siliguri, Bagdogra, Naxalbari, Darjeeling and the villages on the Jhapa side. Then he travelled to Olangchung Gola to listen to ordinary people of the Himalayan rimlands. Despite the perception about rigid frontiers between nation states, the book hints at how absurd the notion is. The Chicken’s Neck is also a wild elephant migration corridor, disturbed by the India-Bangladesh border fence, new expressway embankments, airport runways, and expanding cities. Similarly, the people on the Nepal-tibet border used to cross over to graze yaks — this expanded the gene pools of not just the yaks but also the nomadic humans who moved with the herds.&nbsp; Despite the hard borders, trade flourishes. Upadhyay marvels that a shop in Phungling in Taplejung has embroidered saris from Siliguri and fluffy jackets from China. he finds that residents in the northeastern and southeastern tips of Nepal have more in common with kin across the border in Tibet or India than with someone from Kathmandu. Nepal was once one of the biggest trade hubs in ancient times, and our products were treated as equals in Indian border cities. People too, could move freely, especially if they were and are from bordering Tarai cities.&nbsp; Nepal’s rich history and culture was shaped by the proximity to neighbours, and despite borders it is still cemented by marriages and trade — especially in the Nepali-speaking lands to the east. Its geographical positioning makes Nepal not landlocked but land-linked, adjacent to the largest emerging economies of the world. Nepal needs to deploy its soft power with effective diplomacy to take advantage of these two empires, and not be choked by their rivalry. The book was going to press when the GenZ protests ignited in September, but Upadhyay nevertheless managed to insert the current political transition into the pages with deft editing. &nbsp;The final section of the book examines at least three possible scenarios that may unfold as South Asia continues to be shaped by great power rivalries and imperial contests that have weakened the unilateral influence of the west.&nbsp; Akhilesh Upadhyay extrapolates from the Chicken’s Neck, zooming out for a wider perspective on the Subcontinent. &nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025121912124_0ae772e7736a65f53a99599b5724ca133a64fdea0e61c7170ea81f9dd95c7af0.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="2025121912124_0ae772e7736a65f53a99599b5724ca133a64fdea0e61c7170ea81f9dd95c7af0" data-rendition-name="original" width="1136" height="702" loading="lazy" alt="In the Margins of Empires: A History of the Chicken’s Neck NT"> </figure>

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