Maury Mason was following a Shelduck gliding over the mirror calm water of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/suburban-tales/two-women-in-a-boat-and-some-tea">Begnas Lake</a> through binoculars from his rooftop when a motorboat cut through the stillness. The startled bird flew away. Mason came to Nepal from Canada 52 years ago, travelling across the country before reaching Pokhara and promptly falling in love with the city. He remained enamoured by the beauty of the valley, its lakes and its rich diversity of birdlife. Mason lives by Begnas Lake, having fled <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/pokhara-s-shrinking-phewa-lake">Pokhara’s overdevelopment</a>. He was not so bothered by tourists on row boats on the lake, but then came the motorboats. Residents of the Pachbhaiya village near Begnas were also shocked by the motorboats, which were introduced by local businessmen of the Begnas Lake Boat Traders Committee. Without a hint of irony, Ravi Raj Kandel of the committee says the boats were brought to “develop tourism” in Begnas. The motorboat can carry 10 people at a time, and each passenger is charged Rs400 for the ride. The Committee is promoting the motorboats for groups larger than ten rather than paddle boats. “We have introduced the motorboats for rescue operations and so pilgrims can visit the Baraha Temple on the lake,” says Dhak Nath Kandel, ward chair of Pokhara Metropolitan City-31, which includes Begnas. The 250 wooden paddle boat operators as well as the local fishing committee were not consulted, and it has affected their livelihood. Along with residents, they have protested against the motorboats.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20231116091140_0fafb32c6534f35522032838a47b145ba08b8a9d0d7267973220fbb258692bce.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20231116091140_0fafb32c6534f35522032838a47b145ba08b8a9d0d7267973220fbb258692bce" data-rendition-name="original" width="2016" height="1307" loading="lazy" alt="Boating in Begnas"> </figure>  Local fisher Tanka Jalari says the fish yield has decreased since the boats were introduced and his income has dropped from Rs30,000 a month to almost zero. Jalari adds that it is dangerous to go out on the lake when the motorboats are operating. “Our family has to constantly go back and forth across the lake, and those motorboats can easily capsize our small fishing boats,” he says. Manoj Gurung, a resident of Pachbhaiya, enjoyed the novelty of seeing motorboats in the beginning and thought it might boost tourism, but has now realised how harmful it is to the environment, livelihoods and tourism. On World Wetlands Day 2015, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/pokhara-s-shrinking-lakes">Pokhara’s lakes</a>, including Phewa, Begnas, Rupa, Gude, Khaste, Niureni, Dipang, Kamal Pokhari and Maidi were included in the List of Ramsar Wetlands of International Importance. The nine lakes are listed as the Lake Cluster of Pokhara spanning 64,514 hectares.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20231116091140_a166f5d9022b272235524b23b690f24e71eaa53d7f27b8eea1789f74554ac117.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20231116091140_a166f5d9022b272235524b23b690f24e71eaa53d7f27b8eea1789f74554ac117" data-rendition-name="original" width="1478" height="979" loading="lazy" alt="Boating in Begnas"> </figure>  Wetland ecosystems are crucial habitats for migratory birds, fish, amphibians and vegetation. Nepal’s 10 wetlands of Nepal, including the Lake Cluster of Pokhara are lprotected under the Ramsar Convention. All nine lakes of Pokhara were already in danger due to pollution, encroachment and over development. Businessman Ganesh Pariyar frequently sees fuel spillage from motorboats on the previously pristine Begnas Lake. “The peace of the lake and surrounding areas is constantly disturbed by visitors shouting along to music blaring from the speakers of the motorboats,” Pariyar adds. Nepal’s Local Government Operation Act 2017 stipulates that the local government has the authority to permit and regulate tourism business operations. However, the Begnas Lake Boat Traders Committee only applied for a permit three months after it began to operate the motorboats. There are concerns over the local government’s commitment to protecting the lake’s wetland ecosystem as Pokhara Metropolitan City wants to introduce 20 kinds of water sports to promote tourism in Begnas — including the operation of three-tier engine-powered boats on the lake.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20231116091140_89ff0a993ac15baa68e22516dc256c008a2bf12ce2c44eda98fa62bca3b5a15d.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="20231116091140_89ff0a993ac15baa68e22516dc256c008a2bf12ce2c44eda98fa62bca3b5a15d" data-rendition-name="original" width="1478" height="979" loading="lazy" alt="Boating in Begnas"> </figure>  The National Wetland Policy 2012 states that environmental impact assessments be done before plans for development and construction in and around wetland areas. No such report was done at Begnas Lake. Bishal Ghimire, secretary of the Ministry of Industry, Tourism, Forest and Environment of Gandaki Province, admits that even small-scale projects like motor boats on lakes require a basic environmental study. However, there is little communication between the local and provincial governments, and Begnas residents complain that the local government does not care about what is happening to their pristine lake. Begnas is not as well known as Phewa Lake, but that is now changing. Says Manoj Gurung: “It is really important for us to protect Begnas to leave it for the next.

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Begnas going the way of Phewa

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110151116/636d08219c7e80680e0a5ffejpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="595"/><figcaption>Pokhara on a clear autumn day. All photos: KRISHNA MANI BARAL</figcaption></figure>The once pristine Phewa Lake that used to reflect the majestic Annapurnas and Machhapuchre <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/pokharas-shrinking-lakes/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">is shrinking</a>, depriving Pokhara of its main attraction.Siltation from the river and streams feeding into it have reduced its area, the lake has become an urban garbage and sewage dumping site, and real estate speculators have encroached on the banks. Geologists have calculated that the lake accumulates more than 142,000 tonnes of sediment every year.Tourism-driven urbanisation and pollution mean that the famous lake is now devoid of its aquatic life, and there has been a visible decline in the number of <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/the-great-trans-himalayan-bird-migration/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">migratory birds</a> nesting here. Indicator insects such as <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/night-of-the-firefly/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">fireflies</a>, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/project-dragonfly/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">dragonflies</a> and butterflies that depend on clean water sources have also started to vanish.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110151116/636d08239c7e80680e0a5fffjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1600" height="1067"><figcaption>Parts of Phewa Lake have become an urban garbage and sewage dumping site.</figcaption></figure>But more worryingly, this important <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=18976" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">wetland</a> in Pokhara and a major Ramsar site is shrinking rapidly due to increased sediment load due to haphazard building and road construction on the slopes above the lake.<a style="font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/monsoon-hits-nepal-with-a-bang/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Unusually heavy monsoon downpours</a> last month in the Phewa watershed washed down silt into the lake, turning the water turbid brown, and submerging paddy fields in the river delta.In 1957, Phewa Lake was 1,119 hectares, but a survey earlier this year by Gandaki Province showed it had shrunk to 572 hectares. “At this rate, Phewa taal will be reduced to a mere pond in the next two decades,” says local Pame resident Shankar Aryal.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110151116/636d08269c7e80680e0a6000jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2568" height="1584"><figcaption>The original extent of Phew Lake. It has shrunk by half today.</figcaption></figure>Phewa Lake was originally <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/pokhara-six-decades-ago/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">stretched as far west as Chankhapur, </a>and boats would go up to Pame to transport goods. Traders from as far as Parbat district used these boats to bring their produce to lakeside, transfer them to mules bound for Pokhara’s market. But with the extension of the road to Pame in 1994, people started using vehicles for transportation.What used to be a boat dock is now a swamp and has been filling up with sediment for the past two years. The land mafia has encroached further on the lake by using tipper trucks to dump soil on the lake to sell for new residential plots.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110151116/636d082a9c7e80680e0a6001jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2500" height="1667"><figcaption>Boats docked at the shore of Phew lakeside in Pokhara last week on water made turbid by sediments.</figcaption></figure>“Wetlands are the earth's kidneys, they filter water at the source, which then flows into the lake. Their deterioration and disappearance do not bode well for our water bodies and causes the lake to shrink further,” explains conservationist Raju Acharya.<a style="font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-braces-for-monsoon-pandemic-double-hit/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Irregular precipitation patterns due to the impact of the global climate crisis</a> have added to the problem. Pokhara receives the most rain in Nepal even at normal times. Earlier this month, it recorded 210mm of rain (10% of the annual average) in just 24 hours, bringing down huge quantities of sediment and raising the lake bed in the shallow shore near Chankhapur.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110151116/636d082e9c7e80680e0a6002jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="683"><figcaption>Much of what used to be Phewa Lake has already been turned into paddy fields as the lake shrinks.</figcaption></figure>On one hand, the rise in water level allowed for invasive species such as water hyacinth found on the mouth of the lake to spread further and clog up the fish cages, resulting in financial losses for local businesses.But <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/heavier-than-usual-monsoon-in-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">heavy, incessant rains</a> also bring in large amounts of deposits. Landslides in the catchment area flow through the Khare River and into the Harpan River, the main source of Phewa lake. This in turn raises the bed of the lake, which like Pokhara’s other lakes, were formed after a catastrophic flood 800 years ago on the Seti River after a landslide dam burst upstream, covering the valley in debris 100m deep.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110151116/636d08309c7e80680e0a6003jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="683"><figcaption>The eastern edge of Phewa Lake has filled up with sediment, and this process is accelerating.</figcaption></figure>Much of what used to be Phewa Lake has already been turned into paddy fields as the lake shrinks. Pokhara Mayor Man Bahadur GC has vowed to clean up the lake and turn it back to its original condition. But his words have not been turned into action yet.Pokhara Metropolis with the Gandaki Province built <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/pokhara-lake-lowered/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">cofferdams and siltation ponds</a> last year to prevent soil and pebbles from the Harpan, Andheri River, Lauruk and Betayani Khola flowing in and then filling up the lake.But the check dam on Harpan Khola is already filled with sand and boulders from last month’s floods.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110151116/636d08339c7e80680e0a6004jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><figcaption>Tourism-driven urbanisation and pollution have depleted Phewa's aquatic and bird life. Increased siltation due to haphazard road construction in the watershed has turned the water brown this monsoon.</figcaption></figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110151116/636d08369c7e80680e0a6005jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1600" height="1067"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110151116/636d08399c7e80680e0a6006jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000">A total of four dams were approved, their construction began in December 2019 and by July 2020 they were completed at Rs281.6 million. But even as they were under construction, locals and experts alike claimed that they were not strong enough to check the siltation.“The water flow is too strong and the dams are too shallow for them to be of much use,” says local resident Bishu Dahal. “But the project people didn’t even listen to the experts, so it has just been a waste of money.”<h2>How big is Phewa Lake? Depends whom you ask.</h2><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110151116/636d083d9c7e80680e0a6007jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2600" height="1733"><figcaption>National and international surveyors have tried to calculate the exact area of Phewa Lake for the past 100 years, with different results.</figcaption></figure>Phewa Lake has a close to a century-long history of survey data from national and international experts to calculate its exact area:1924: British Survey of India 3.46 sq km1957: Survey of India 4.39 sq km1960: Nepal-India Support Mission 10.35 sq km1974: First Fort measurement 4.43 sq km1980: Nepal-UNDP Survey 5.80 sq km1994: IUCN Report 4.49 sq km2000: District Development Committee, Kaski 4.2. sq km2006: Pokhara Valley Urban Development Committee 5.03 sq km2011: Bishowoprakash Lamichanne Report 6.5 sq km2014: Ministry of Land Reform 5.07 sq km2020: Pokhara Metropolis 5.08 sq km2020: Gandaki Province Report 5.726 sq km

Pokhara’s shrinking Phewa Lake

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110111156/636cd9559c7e80680e092e95jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"/><figcaption>All photos: BHARAT BANDHU THAPA</figcaption></figure>With the spread of the road network, and airfields coming back into operation, pilgrimage spots like Khaptad are not as remote as they used to be.Even for people from Kathmandu, this sacred plateau made famous by the Hindu saint Khaptad Baba is now easily accessible, and there are tour groups selling packages that include air fares, hotel stay, meals and tented camps.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110111156/636cd9589c7e80680e092e96jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1618" height="1000">Located in Far-Western Province and touching the districts of Doti, Bajhang, Bajura and Achham, the undulating alpine meadows at 3,200 are snowbound three months in a year. It used to be difficult to get to Khaptad, and only local herders and those with helicopters ventured here, like King Birendra who flew here regularly to meet his guru, the Baba.The holy man himself was an authority in ayurveda and treated patients from the surrounding districts. These days, you do not have to be a king to take a helicopter to Khaptad. Chopper companies offer charters from Doti, Sanfebagar, or even Dhangadi.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110111156/636cd95c9c7e80680e092e97jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="785">However, to mix hiking pleasure with a pilgrimage to Khaptad’s holy Triveni Dham, there is nothing like a group trek. This involves taking a 1.5 hour flight from Kathmandu to Dhangadi and then a 20 minute hop to Dipayal airfield by the banks of the West Seti River.From the hot and humid valley it is a one hour drive straight up to the historic fort town of Silgadi for a night halt at one of the homestays there. In the evening, the devout can seek blessings at the Shaileswari Temple.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110111156/636cd95f9c7e80680e092e98jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="776"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110111156/636cd9629c7e80680e092e99jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000">The next morning it is a 1.5 hour jeep ride to the entrance of the Khaptad National Park in Jhigrana from where it is a steep but pleasant forest walk. Fit trekkers will take about eight hours, but it is advisable to break the journey for the night halfway at Bichpani where there are basic lodges.The next morning it is a four hour walk through thick forests alive with birds to Ghodadaun from where there are spectacular views of Mt Api and Mt Saipal in Nepal and Trishul and other mountains of the Indian Himalaya. Nearby is the tranquil Khaptad Daha with mirror-like reflection of the forests.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110111156/636cd9659c7e80680e092e9ajpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000">Further up the trail is the ashram of <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Science-Thought-Khaptad-Baba/dp/9994682806">Khaptad Swami</a>, who died in 1996 some believe at the age of 130, but where devotees still come to pray at a statue of the spiritual saint at his hermitage. The Swami believed that the tranquility of Khaptad was the ideal place for yoga, and many of the trekkers who come here combine yoga classes with their hikes.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110111156/636cd9699c7e80680e092e9bjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1842" height="1000">For those who are more interested in the pilgrimage aspect, there are side trips to the Bhageswar shrine in Dipayal and the sacred Baijanath Temple in Achham three hour drive away where Ravana is believed to have cut off one of his ten heads to please Shiva.The group can fly back to Dhangadi from Dipayal or Sanfebagar to catch the last evening flight to Kathmandu. Those who want to combine a wildlife safari can visit Sukla Phanta Wildlife Reserve before heading back to Kathmandu, which is 12 hour drive away if you do not want to fly.Buddha Holidays is offering a promotion package of Rs39,999 if there are eight or more passengers.<a href="https://holidays.buddhaair.com/">Buddha Holidays:</a> https://holidays.buddhaair.com/  +977 98513334000

Holy hike to the sacred Khaptad Plateau

The past year will go down in history as one great global disaster with the coronavirus pandemic leading the pack of calamities from fires to floods that have left their stamp on a world sadly lacking in informed and enlightened leadership. It was therefore great pleasure to escape from Kathmandu in search of clean air and adventure in the wilderness of West Nepal.Road works leaving the capital and between Narayanghat and Butwal meant that a journey that I normally reckon to take seven hours, instead took nine and could have been worse if we had not had a fairly clear run, over the Chure Pahar at Daunne. To be fair to the Department of Roads, the work in progress will improve matters greatly in the long term and the absence of foreign tourists has provided an opportunity to do so with less disruption than might otherwise be the case. Hotels, meanwhile, are taking the opportunity to work on upgrades that will, hopefully make for a better future. We spent the night at an old favourite, Club de Novo, which is currently undergoing renovation.Life looked up as we continued to head West along the Mahendra Highway, making for <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/its-a-jungle-out-there/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Bardia National Park</a>. We made good time and, on a whim, stopped at the headquarters of Banke National Park in search of information on this, the newest of Nepal’s National Parks.Covering an area of 550 square kilometers, Banke adjoins Bardia National Park to the West and the two are connected through a system of wildlife corridors comprising community and national forests to Suhelwa and Katarniaghat Wildlife Sanctuaries in neighbouring India. In its entirety, it forms one vast protected area for which both governments deserve credit. The Chief Warden, Shyam Kumar Saha, and his staff were most helpful and offered to provide a Game Scout as guide, should we wish to visit the Park on our return.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110111148/636cd7769c7e80680e092ddfjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="924"/><figcaption>Golden Mahseer, Babai Bridge, Bardia National Park</figcaption></figure>We continued to Bardia, with a brief stop at the Babai Bridge to <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepalis-go-salmon-fishing-in-kamchatka/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">look at the fish</a> and crocodiles in the pool below the barrage. We stayed at Bardia Jungle Cottage, just outside the Park gates at Thakurdwara and enjoyed a pleasant day exploring the Park’s buffer zones and taking note of the changes in progress since my last visit eighteen months ago.From Bardia we progressed westwards, visiting the garden built as a memorial to the late King Mahendra at Tikapur, also popularly known as Tikapur Park. The park has a historical connection to King Mahendra, who was taken ill there whilst on a hunting trip, and is now sanctified in the form of a beautiful, well- maintained lush garden.There is also a viewing platform adjoining the Park, where, in the past, I have observed Gangetic dolphins frolicking in the Mohana River. On this visit, the river was full and the current too strong for the dolphins to show themselves, but with luck, the waters may subside and return to their past tranquil state and we may once again be able to enjoy the company of these beautiful creatures.Our next stop was at Ghodaghodi Tal, a Ramsar listed wetland comprising a series of interconnected lakes that provide habitat for many species of both resident and migrant waterfowl. The small temple on the site has now expanded into a religious school and the increased human activity seems to have driven many of the birds away from the new view tower constructed for the purpose of watching them.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110111148/636cd7799c7e80680e092de0jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="3086"><figcaption>Tikapur Park, Kailali</figcaption></figure>There is also a gate nowadays in front of the lake and a ticket counter where one has to buy a ticket in order to see the site. Legend has it that a hermit cursed the Hindu god, Shiva and goddess Parvati and turned them into horses, leaving them to encircle the lake, and so a temple dedicated to them appears by the lake.Another story relates how, a great flood once inundated several villages in the area. The raja sent out his trusted advisor mounted on his best Ghoda stallion to investigate. They never returned. The raja then sent another of his men mounted on his best Ghodi mare to find out what had happened. They too, never returned. And that is how the lake came to receive its name. It is said that, on still nights, one can still hear the sounds of the ghosts of the villagers who were drowned in the flood. I have never stayed to test this story out!<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110111148/636cd77c9c7e80680e092de1jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="864" height="399"><figcaption>Godaghodi Tal</figcaption></figure>Three kilometers East of Mahendranagar, we stopped to check in to Suda Farm Sanctum, a very pleasant little hotel with a garden and fish pond that attracted several species of waterbirds. In the evening we drove to the gate of Suklaphanta National Park to buy tickets for the next morning. The staff on duty seemed a little reluctant to sell us the tickets, saying that we would not be able to get a refund if our plans changed – which they very nearly did.The next morning, after an early breakfast we drove out onto the Highway only to be stopped immediately by the police who informed us that the road was closed due to a bundh! After explaining our plans they very kindly provided us with an escort to the Park gates, where we were met by our guide for the day, Mahananda Joshi. Once inside the Park, we were in a different world. Away from burning tyres and shouting mobs, we were able to enjoy the peace and quiet of the jungle, the only sounds being bird calls and the occasional alarm of a the Chital deer.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110111148/636cd77e9c7e80680e092de2jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="932"><figcaption>Hikmat Bhist’s former Silent Safari campsite, Suklaphanta National Park</figcaption></figure>A visit to Hikmat Bhist’s former camp site reminded me of the many pleasant evenings spent in that place listening to Hikmat’s tales of the past around a blazing fire, cupping our glasses while food would be prepared by chef Mangal, who we sadly lost Mangal to a tiger attack. I remembered, too, Peter Byrne, who had been given permission by Prince Basundhara to hunt in the forests of West Nepal with his high paying clients and who did much to contribute to the development of the Park. Many of the friends with whom I enjoyed Hikmat’s hospitality have now passed on, as has Hikmat himself, but they will always be remembered in that very special place.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110111148/636cd7829c7e80680e092de3jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1498" height="928"><figcaption>Barasingha, Suklaphanta National Park</figcaption></figure>We pressed on to the grass plains that give the Park its name and enjoyed the sight of herds of not only Barasingha (Swamp deer), for which <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepal-villages-learn-to-cope-with-climate-crisis/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Suklaphanta</a> is famous, but also Laguna (Hog deer), Chital (Spotted deer), Ratuwa (Barking deer) and the occasional Bandel Wild boar. We drove to boundary pillar 26, that marks Nepal’s border with India.I recall that Hikmat had once asked me to come to photograph squatters who were encroaching on the Park from the Indian side. He wanted evidence to produce to the concerned authorities. Whether or not my photographs had any effect I have no idea, but the squatters are now gone and the Indian side is also protected as the Philibit Tiger Reserve.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110111148/636cd7859c7e80680e092de4jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="937"><figcaption>Boundary Pillar, Nepal – India border, Suklaphanta National Park</figcaption></figure>On our return to Suda Farm through the bazaar, we could see signs of the protests that had taken place during the day. The highway was still blocked in one place, but a short detour took us around this and back to the sanctuary of the hotel.The following day, we started our return journey by driving to Nepalgunj, where we spent a very comfortable three nights’ stay at the new Soaltee Westend Premier Hotel. The next day, we decided to go exploring East of Nepalgunj, where the Rapti River disgorges itself into India, in search of ruins from the 4th Century BC. We did not find any ruins, but did stumble across Kanchanpur Forest, a beautiful patch of greenery amidst picturesque villages. We returned early to the hotel to enjoy a sauna and a plunge in the very cold swimming pool.The next morning we left after an early breakfast and drove to the Kohalpur office of Banke National Park. There we purchased our tickets, samosas and pakoras before continuing to Obari, the Park Headquarters, where we picked up Game Scout, Gopal Chand, who was to be our guide for the day. He proved to be an excellent guide and was very knowledgeable about the Park and related conservation issues. Infrastructure is still a work in progress, but there were sufficient roads to cover a lot of ground and appreciate the beauty of this lovely wildlife sanctuary.We did not see many mammals, but mainly monkeys (Rhesus macaque and Grey Langur) and deer and quite a variety of birds and came across fresh leopard tracks on a river bank. What animals we did see had not yet become accustomed to seeing vehicles and fled at our approach, but this will change over time and the park looks set to become one of the finest wildlife tourism destinations in Nepal. There are a number of waterholes under construction and several machan towers have been built throughout the area. We thoroughly enjoyed our day out.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110111148/636cd7889c7e80680e092de5jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="729"><figcaption>Banke National Park</figcaption></figure>Next morning we enjoyed a slightly later breakfast before checking out of the hotel and heading for Butwal. We stayed at D’Arcy’s Hotel, next to the bus park, but were given a quiet room at the back where we were able to spend an undisturbed night after a pizza dinner at the appropriately named, Lavish Lounge.In order to avoid the highway construction works, we decided to drive South to Bhairahawa and take the Postal Road via Parasi to Bardaghat, just short of Daunne. This also allowed us to visit Ramagrama, the site of the only undisturbed <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/buddhist-relics-in-western-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Buddha relic</a> stupa. The other seven stupas where the ashes of Gautam Buddha were interred after his Mahaparinirvana and cremation, all in India, were opened by the Emperor Ashoka in the 3rd Century BC to coincide with the spread of Buddhism to countries such as Sri Lanka and Thailand.According to folklore, when Ashoka went to open the stupa at Ramagrama, he was prevented from doing so by a Nag cobra that was protecting the site. It is only relatively recently that the site has started to be investigated by the Department of Archaeology and it receives few visitors. A raised wooden walkway has been placed around the stupa in an attempt to prevent people from walking on the remains.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110111148/636cd78b9c7e80680e092de6jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="729"><figcaption>Ramagrama Relic Stupa, Nawalparasi</figcaption></figure>We were fortunate to have a relatively clear run over the hills at Daunne and arrived in Narayanghat just after midday and continued on to Jagatpur Lodge, where we had reserved accommodation. This was my third visit to Jagatpur and only reconfirmed my opinion that it is the finest wildlife lodge in Nepal. Our accommodation was in a spacious safari tent, complete with air conditioning and bathroom with hot and cold running water and a deck overlooking the watercourse in front of the lodge. This pool is a remnant of the former course of the Rapti River, which now runs further to the South, but gives onto community forest that is the habitat of many wild animals.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110111148/636cd78e9c7e80680e092de7jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="946"><figcaption>The view in front of Jagatpur Lodge</figcaption></figure>Hog Deer (Laguna) were an almost constant presence at the water, together with resident mugger crocodile, as well as many species of waterbirds. We also saw Chital, Ratuwa and on our last evening, a female rhino with a calf, come down to drink water. A member of the lodge staff once also saw a tiger right in front of the lodge. I have been most impressed, on recent visits to Jagatpur, with the network of community forests that form a buffer zone bordering the core National Park. Owned and managed by the local communities, from which they derive revenue, one’s chances of spotting many species are as good nowadays in the community forests as in the park itself.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110111148/636cd7929c7e80680e092de8jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="821"><figcaption>Dhurbe, the wild bull elephant</figcaption></figure>Our stay at Jagatpur was not planned in advance, but a last minute reaction to an announcement of political rallies across the country. Instead, we were able to enjoy a full morning in Chitwan National Park with guide Saran Darai and driver Resham, both of whom were excellent. Here, we were able to add Sambar to the list of deer species we encountered on our journey and were entertained by many dancing peacocks as a backdrop, while a rhino crossed the road. I also had my first wild elephant encounter in Chitwan in the form of Dhurbe, a wild bull, so named because he had killed a Nepal Army soldier of that name at a nearby outpost. The outpost is now also known as Dhurbe Post in memory of the unfortunate soldier.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110111148/636cd7949c7e80680e092de9jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="729"><figcaption>Rhino crossing the road with Peacock dancing behind, Chitwan National ParkFdhur</figcaption></figure>After a second night in the comfort of our luxury tent, it was time to head back to Kathmandu. We had had a good time and were back home in the early afternoon, in time for a cup of tea.

On the road in West Nepal

https://youtu.be/-9rP1yNydLs<h2>Beat the crowd to Khayer Lake</h2>Sewa Bhattarai in MyagdiThe Ghorepani-Poon Hill Trek? That is so last century. Now that road access makes the scenic viewpoint easily reachable with a night stop, more and more trekkers venture on up the ridge to Tadapani, Khopra and the hidden holy Khayer Lake.This extension to the traditional Poon Hill hike is worth it even for those who have done Ghorepani-Ghandruk Ridge before. Strike off the path through rhododendron forest at Tadapani to Mulde Peak for a overnight stop, and then it is another day’s walk to <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=15474" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Khopra.</a> An alternative route from Ghorepani is to descend to Swanta and up again to gain the ridge.The only warning to trekkers is to make sure there is a tea house as night falls, and to keep your eyes on the narrow trail because the views of Annapurna, Machapuchre and Dhaulagiri are so dramatic. <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/mulde-peak,1759" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mulde Peak</a> itself is about 700m higher than Poon Hill and beats the view from there by leaps and bounds. The view of a full moon rise from behind Machapuchre is an out of this world sight.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110811114/636a29d59c7e80680e0458ebjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1400" height="1050"/><figcaption>Photos: SEWA BHATTARAI</figcaption></figure>Khayer Lake with Annapurna I peering over the ridge (pictured above) is a further 5-6 hours walk away with a small temple of Khayera Bharani sacred to the local Magar community. Hindu pilgrims from down valley also walk up to the lake on Janai Purnima festival in July-August.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/go-take-a-hike/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Go take a hike</a>, Sewa BhattaraiDuring the monsoon, the slopes are ablaze with fresh flowers and you do not want to step on them and spoil the beauty. Shepherds graze herds of sheep on the fresh young grass, and people buy sheep from them to sacrifice at the Khayer Bharani shrine.At this time of year, the lake is partially frozen and the ground is still brown and barren. The trekking season has not started yet, so the trails are deserted.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110811114/636a29da9c7e80680e0458ecjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1400" height="1050">“About twenty years ago when this area was uninhabited, we used to see big groups of foreigners trek up to the lake to camp and bring their own food and we saw the potential for a lodge here,” says Bhakta Tilija, who operates the lodge at Khopra Ridge. Word about the ethereal beauty of Khayer Lake is now spreading and in the trekking season the dozen rooms at Khopra are full, and so are the outhouses made for porters and unsuspecting Nepali guests.Social entrepreneur and rural internet pioneer <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/blogs/kundadixit/2013/02/19/innovating-a-new-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mahabir Pun</a> founded the lodge in 2007 with prize money from his Ramon Magsaysay award. The proceeds from the lodge go to a school in the nearby Paudwar village. He has set up a string of eight other lodges in the area, including in <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/Wonders-of-Nepal,1240" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mohare Danda.</a>“We know that we need to expand the facilities, and we are looking for funds to build another lodge,” Pun told us. “Mostly, tourism does not benefit the local community so much. We try to get the community to run the lodges and plough the profits locally.”<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110811114/636a29dd9c7e80680e0458edjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1400" height="1050">Proceeds from the lodges have been invested in building a 50KW micro hydropower plant, which supplies electricity to the lodges for lighting, heating and wifi routers. “Eventually we intend to make the lodges smoke-less zero carbon,” says Pun.As the better travelled destinations become passé and remote ones become more attractive, Khopra Ridge (pictured, above) is poised to rival the more popular ABC Trek this spring.And with the road access now making the Annapurna Circuit less pristine, Khopra and the neighbouring Mardi Ridge to the east will be attracting more visitors. The question is how soon the facility will manage to <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/regular-columns/GUEST-COLUMN/nepal-trekking-needs-a-quality-upgrade,383" target="_blank" rel="noopener">keep up with the influx</a>.<h2>Gosain Kunda's Six Lakes in Spring</h2>Sikuma Rai in Rasuwa<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110811114/636a29e19c7e80680e0458eejpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1400" height="933"><figcaption>DIVINE REFLECTIONS: Many people do not know that besides the main Gosain Kunda (pictured) there are six sacred lakes in the vicinity. They are Nilkantha, Barda Kunda, Rakta Kunda, Chandra Kunda, Ama Kunda and Surya Kunda.</figcaption></figure>Gosain Kunda is a place to avoid in July-August when tens of thousands ascend to the holy waters at 4,380m for the Janai Purnima festival. But now is the time to go as the winter snow starts melting, the rhododendrons start coming out in full bloom, and the trails are relatively deserted. You will have the mountains, and the lakes, all to yourself.Being so close to the city, the <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/buzz-gosainkunda,639" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Gosain Kunda</a> trek is a quick getaway for trekkers and pilgrims. The forest path may look easy at first, but it can be a grueling two-day climb from Dhunche at 2,090m on the highway.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110811114/636a29e49c7e80680e0458efjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1200" height="800"><figcaption>Nilkantha. Photo: AVIV ADHIKARI</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110811114/636a29e79c7e80680e0458f0jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1200" height="800"><figcaption>Barda Kunda. Photo: RAVI RAUT</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110811114/636a29eb9c7e80680e0458f1jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1400" height="933"><figcaption>Rakta Kunda. Photo: RAVI RAUT</figcaption></figure>Gosain Kunda can be either a destination, a stopover, or a traverse. As a destination, it can be done in a relaxed way in five days, giving oneself enough time to acclimatise and take in the views. It is better not to rush it.Trekkers can also just stopover in Gosain Kunda and continue along a narrow path around a steep spur and descend to <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/the-reincarnation-of-a-holy-valley/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Langtang Valley</a> two days away. As a traverse, hikers from Dhunche can cross the pass and descend to Helambu and back to Kathmandu. Or, if you really want to punish yourself, you can do that route counter-clockwise. The trails are now much more stable after the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/aint-seen-nothing-yet/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">earthquake</a> four years ago.The simplest itinerary is to take a 5-7 hour bumpy jeep ride to Dhunche, and if you want to get away from the sound of trucks, head off immediately to Deurali for the night. Those relatively more fit can climb on to Sing Gompa at 3,250m, a smallish settlement with tea houses and a monastery. It also has a government dairy outlet run by Chatra Bahadur Tamang where you can stock up on yak cheese.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/the-tamu-trek-trail/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Tamu Trek Trail</a>, Jit Gurung<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110811114/636a29ee9c7e80680e0458f2jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1400" height="933"><figcaption>ChandraKunda. Photo: RAVI RAUT</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110811114/636a29f19c7e80680e0458f3jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1400" height="934"><figcaption>Ama Kunda. Photo: SIKUMA RAI</figcaption></figure>After morning breakfast in Sing Gompa the trail goes up and up to Lauri Binayak (3,700m). More and more of the mesmerising vista of Ganesh Himal, Langtang Lirung, and Manaslu become visible as you gain altitude, and the scenery energises exhausted walkers. This time of year, rhododendron buds are popping open all over the forest.The really steep bit comes after Lauri Binayak, and this is where the pace will get slower on the endless uphill. The tea shops at Gosain Kunda look deceptively close, and it is still another few hours of hard slog to reach the ridge to look down at Saraswati Kunda.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110811114/636a29f59c7e80680e0458f4jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="693" height="417">When you get there, you find that Gosain Kunda is not one but a series of lakes at over 4,380m. The air is thin and crystalline, and the mirror surface of the lakes reflect the sunset in all its hues. The stunning views, the sacred energy of the spot, and the exhilaration of the climb will make even the most non-religious person slightly spiritual. For true Hindu, Buddhist or Animistic believers, however, this is a <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-power-and-pull-of-pathibhara/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pilgrimage</a> of a lifetime.Those still not sated by the view can <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/trekking-in-Nepal-turns-50,2658" target="_blank" rel="noopener">trek</a> on to Lauribina La (4,610m) to inspect six other lakes, and the trip is rewarding and therapeutic as the lakes hidden behind ridges glisten like jewels in the sun.There are 108 lakes in the Langtang National Park region but more are popping up due to global warming, and many do not even have names yet.

Holy Waters

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108101148/636a260e9c7e80680e0439f7jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="3000" height="1437"/><figcaption>This week's heavy snowfall has turned Nepal into a winter wonderland. This is Rara Lake from Murma Peak in northwestern Nepal on Thursday.</figcaption></figure>Rara Lake is the biggest lake in Nepal, and its remoteness protects its pristine beauty.Although almost as hard to get to as Phoksundo Lake in neighbouring Dolpo, Rara had remained blissfully untouched. Lack of proper lodgings kept foreign tourists away, and only 95 visited the Rara National Park in the past year. However, the Karnali Highway has now arrived nearly at the perimeter of the Park, and the airfield in Talcha that also serves Mugu district, has been upgraded.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/snowbound-rara/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Snow bound in Rara</a>, Achyutraj BhandariNepalis now make up most of the visitors to Rara National Park, and they thronged to the lake after the heavy snowfall of the past weeks turned the mountains surrounding the lake into a winter wonderland.Located at an altitude of 2,990m, the lake is surrounded by peaks up to 4,000m with a low forested ridge to the north keeping the water in. The thick pine, oak and rhododendron forests are home to rich biodiversity, with the lake itself harbouring an indigenous species of trout found nowhere else in the world and home to thousands of migrating water fowl.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/frozen-shivapuri/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Frozen Shivapuri</a>, Min Ratna BajracharyaRara is not a stopover, but a destination, a place to linger and contemplate nature. The lake changes it colour every hour of the day, from pastel sunrise to fiery sunsets, the metallic silver of a rising moon and by ghostly starlight. There is no better place on Earth to let its healing power cleanse the soul.Photos by Bharat Bandhu Thapa<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108101148/636a26129c7e80680e0439f8jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="3000" height="1141"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108101148/636a26169c7e80680e0439f9jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="3000" height="1269"><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108101148/636a26199c7e80680e0439fajpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2999" height="1496"><figcaption>Sunrise over the snowbound lake.</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108101148/636a261c9c7e80680e0439fbjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="3000" height="1200"><figcaption>With the arrival of the Karnali Highway and the upgraded airfield in Talcha, Rara is becoming increasingly popular with Nepali visitors.</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108101148/636a26209c7e80680e0439fcjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="3000" height="1430"><figcaption>Horses are available for hire for visitors.</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108101148/636a26239c7e80680e0439fdjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2999" height="1160"><figcaption>The lake with Murma Peak in the background.</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108101148/636a26269c7e80680e0439fejpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="836"><figcaption>Talcha Airfield in Mugu district is a three-hour walk from the lake.</figcaption></figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108101148/636a26299c7e80680e0439ffjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="3000" height="1704"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108101148/636a262e9c7e80680e043a00jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2999" height="1723"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108101148/636a26319c7e80680e043a01jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2000" height="1011"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108101148/636a26359c7e80680e043a02jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="3000" height="1347"><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108101148/636a26389c7e80680e043a03jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="3000" height="1196"><figcaption>The placid lake from the entrance of the Rara National Park.</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108101148/636a263c9c7e80680e043a04jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="637"><figcaption>A mother and baby waiting for the first flight in Talcha Airfield near Rara Lake after heavy snow closed the airport for five days.</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108101148/636a263f9c7e80680e043a05jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="667"><figcaption>A visitor flies the national flag on Murma Peak above the lake.</figcaption></figure>Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/snowbound-rara/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Snowbound Rara</a>, Achyutraj Bhandari

Rara’s rare beauty

In the black and white photograph, General Wangdu smiles broadly in front of the dusty cactus garden in Kathmandu’s Annapurna Hotel. With an ill-fitting jacket and shaggy hair he looks benign enough, but this was the last leader of the Tibetan freedom fighters who led the resistance against the Chinese from their remote mountain hideouts in <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/comings-and-goings-in-mustang">Mustang</a>. Five months later, Wangdu was dead. Snapped in March 1974, I had only recently arrived in Nepal. How did I meet this legendary fighter? Possibly with his devoted camp follower, Lynne Klapecki, and probably in the Om Restaurant near Freak Street which was the preferred <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/hippie-trail-nostalgia-in-kathmandu">hippie hang-out</a>. Om Lobsang and his brother Yeshe were <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/page/earthquake-brings-back-memories-of-camps-for-tibetan-refugees">refugees from East Tibet </a>whose cafe offered a friendly welcome and<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/momo-loco"> the best momos</a> - they became my in-laws after I married their eldest brother Tenzin, but that was a decade later.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025052403054_4573b34282b0f5395c007243d6bef12c7ba76bfd520419e994cdcea048d795a1.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="2025052403054_4573b34282b0f5395c007243d6bef12c7ba76bfd520419e994cdcea048d795a1" data-rendition-name="original" width="1000" height="1583" loading="lazy" alt="The last days of the Khampa NT"> <figcaption>Photo: LISA CHOEGYAL</figcaption> </figure>  Wangdu’s English was enthusiastically rudimentary, but even riding around town with him on the back of an aging <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/kathmandu-s-new-motorbike-museum">motorbike</a>, he was a commanding presence. Always flanked by armed outriders, impressive scars marked his forearms and a pistol hung from the cord around his neck. A charismatic guerrilla leader, Wangdu was celebrated by his followers for his tough commitment and respected for his measured pragmatism. He seemed so young to have shouldered such a responsibility of command, leading hundreds of hardened <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/50-years-after-the%20raid-into-Tibet,1012#google_vignette">Khampa combatants </a>through what had been a particularly <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/heavy-snowfall-over-nepal-himalaya">brutal winter in Mustang</a>, the last bastion to hold out against the Chinese invasion of their Tibetan homeland.&nbsp; The freedom fighters of Tibet, known as the Chushi-Gangdruk, had emerged to resist the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/territorialism">Chinese takeover</a> of Tibet during the 1950s. Estimated to be 80,000-strong at the time of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/what-or-who-after-the-dalai-lama">the Dalai Lama</a>’s final escape to India in 1959, the sheer number of Chinese deployed into Tibet eventually forced the Chushi-Gangdruk to retreat to Mustang, From this high Himalayan stronghold, they continued cross-border raids on the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) throughout the 1960s.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025052403054_8a4a935ba25ae79dc3a63bb5c14626927020e5ec098093c45ccb9a5982e009fd.jpg" data-media-id="editor_10" data-image-id="2025052403054_8a4a935ba25ae79dc3a63bb5c14626927020e5ec098093c45ccb9a5982e009fd" data-rendition-name="original" width="1114" height="676" loading="lazy" alt="The last days of the Khampa NT"> <figcaption>Guerrillas known as the Chushi-Gangdruk emerged to resist the Chinese annexation of Tibet during the 1950s. Photo courtesy: MIKEL DUNHAM</figcaption> </figure>  Their Kathmandu base was a small discreet lodge in a back lane near Rani Pokhari. Sipping sweet tea from a blue mug with a chipped lid, I sat bemused in a corner of the Mustang Hotel room whilst Wangdu and his cohorts received a battered brown suitcase from their CIA connection, a tousle-haired American in a leather jacket. Heaved onto the dingy bedspread that covered the thin mattress, it was clicked open to reveal piles of neatly stacked dollar bills.&nbsp; I cannot think why Wangdu allowed me to witness this handover but I was clearly no threat, a newly arrived world traveller with no understanding of the stakes nor any Nepali or <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/tibetan-music-in-nepals-sacred-valley">Tibetan language</a>. Despite armed guards in the corridor,Wangdu radiated confidence and bravado, and there was a practiced familiarity to the tense transaction. This deadly dance for many years had been funded by the Americans, tolerated by <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-kingdom-within-a-republic">Mustang’s residents</a>, and permitted by King Mahendra and the Nepali authorities who it suited to turn a blind eye.&nbsp; But Mahendra died in 1972, and times were changing. Richard Nixon’s ping-pong diplomacy thawed the cold war and signalled a fresh entente with China. Nepal’s yet-to-be-crowned <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/if-birendra-was-alive-nepal-could-still-be-a-monarchy">King Birendra </a>was under pressure to curb the irritating incursions against the PLA launched from the Nepali territory of Mustang. Keen to appease his northern neighbour, on several occasions the King summoned Wangdu for peace talks but, despite increasingly overwhelming odds, Wangdu refused to surrender.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025052403054_a8efd5cfb92cd997bd7cb74296a936fef46e2f7428f9cd642b03f1ac4ea11ecb.jpg" data-media-id="editor_14" data-image-id="2025052403054_a8efd5cfb92cd997bd7cb74296a936fef46e2f7428f9cd642b03f1ac4ea11ecb" data-rendition-name="original" width="1055" height="885" loading="lazy" alt="The last days of the Khampa NT"> <figcaption>General Wangdu flanked by two Tibetan resistance fighters in Mustang in the 1970s. Photo courtesy: MIKEL DUNHAM</figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025052403054_75969125a745847a2ef82b6fe8b9106c0b21a116d85b8efdf5d2ee89a347bb31.jpg" data-media-id="editor_15" data-image-id="2025052403054_75969125a745847a2ef82b6fe8b9106c0b21a116d85b8efdf5d2ee89a347bb31" data-rendition-name="original" width="1044" height="792" loading="lazy" alt="The last days of the Khampa NT"> <figcaption>King Birendra with General Wangdu (right in dark glasses) taken in 1974 possibly in Mustang after one of their few attempts at negotiation. Photo courtesy: RAJRNDRA KUNWAR</figcaption> </figure>  While I naively rode pillion around Kathmandu in the spring sunshine, Wangdu was in the midst of what turned out to be his final round of negotiations with the Nepal government. Refusing to cease hostilities with the Chinese, Wangdu must have suspected the cost of his decision, making his cheerful smile in the photograph all the more poignant and brave. It was only much later that I appreciated the significance of the moment. Wangdu had been sent to replace the first resistance leader in Mustang, Baba Gen Yeshe, a much derided corrupt character who stole money meant for his troops and exploited fleeing refugees by seizing their treasures. Baba Gen Yeshe never forgave Wangdu,and sought revenge in May 1974 by betraying him and his commanders to the Nepal authorities. Renewed Chinese incursions from the north, active PLA collusion with the Nepali forces under the new King, and treachery from within the Chushi-Gangdrukranks combined to seal their fate.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025052403054_e0987a7c90d76431b0d7d5e6115ebfe3dbda7ab939e5941e079c18d722e884c0.jpg" data-media-id="editor_16" data-image-id="2025052403054_e0987a7c90d76431b0d7d5e6115ebfe3dbda7ab939e5941e079c18d722e884c0" data-rendition-name="original" width="1400" height="769" loading="lazy" alt="The last days of the Khampa NT"> <figcaption>British television journalists George Patterson and Adrian Cowell embedded themselves with Khampa guerrillas and accompanied them from Tsum Valley on a cross border raid on a Chinese Army convoy in 1964. Photo: ESSAYS ON NEPAL / SAM COWAN</figcaption> </figure>  Mikel Dunham, renowned author of Buddha’s Warriors, writes: ‘It is possible that Wangdu was waiting for some cue from the Dalai Lama’s government-in-exile in Dharamsala, India. It is equally possible – during that last, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/the-human-cost-of-nepal-s-yarsa-gold-rush?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR31-Cqw8oyIwMPzf_35e4Skr0ululJvLf3_vDkzHn-AYG2h8uPw2rqqErg_aem_tGVn5coY1-jA7fze_xqhew">desolate winter </a>– that he made the decision to go out in glory rather than admit defeat. Over the last fifteen years, Wangdu had experienced Tibet’s organized resistance being squeezed and shoved around by every conceivable outside force.&nbsp; First they had been pushed out of their own country by the PLA; then they had been refused sanction while on <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/borderlines/nepal-india-trans-boundary-bonds?fbclid=IwAR0PpJ5zUEbwdug3g_U3ar6FUugngRY0S8Tl2v_7wqzrsHmXWcXsKjvL4t4">Indian soil</a>; then they were abandoned by the Americans because, apparently, Nixon wanted to make friends with Wangdu’s mortal enemies, the communists; then they had been betrayed by the vampiric Baba Gen Yeshe – a Tibetan and, even worse, a fellow Khampa; and now, finally Wangdu’s army was being evicted by the Nepalis. One thing was certain: Wangdu was a warrior. To imagine Wangdu simply giving up and settling down in the pacific squalor of a <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/elderly-left-in-bhutan-refugee-camp">refugee camp </a>was unthinkable.’  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025052403054_8fc1ffef4ae751628b90ae781b66e11e51e4fdde2787207c9042efbee345ce49.jpg" data-media-id="editor_20" data-image-id="2025052403054_8fc1ffef4ae751628b90ae781b66e11e51e4fdde2787207c9042efbee345ce49" data-rendition-name="original" width="500" height="746" loading="lazy" alt="The last days of the Khampa NT"> <figcaption>The much derided Baba Gen Yeshe, the first Tibetan resistance leader in Mustang, who betrayed Wangdu for personal gain. Photo courtesy: MIKEL DUNHAM</figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025052403054_b1d833cdb00d3ac4416b844d8730475cd88c238caaaf8da69889a584eea229a3.jpg" data-media-id="editor_21" data-image-id="2025052403054_b1d833cdb00d3ac4416b844d8730475cd88c238caaaf8da69889a584eea229a3" data-rendition-name="original" width="500" height="656" loading="lazy" alt="The last days of the Khampa NT"> <figcaption>Aditya SJB Rana of the Royal Nepal Army whose team ambushed Wangdu and his cohorts at the top of Tinker Pass in Darchula, West Nepal. Photo courtesy: GAUTAM SJB RANA</figcaption> </figure>  By August 1974 the game was up. Wangdu and six of his exhausted party were killed on their horses by <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=7270">the Royal Nepal Army</a> on the brink of escape. The officer in charge, Aditya SJB Rana, cleverly predicted their route into India after they failed to silence a police radio in Yari. A carefully laid ambush trapped them near the summit of the Tinker Pass in Darchula,at 5,000 meters the highest military operation of its time. Wangdu’s body was helicoptered to Kathmandu, and a big show made of the royal Nepal victory.&nbsp; The Tibetan armed insurgency against China had reached its end.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250524030520_3ff9c6fc85a65bc9a2c3afe9736d9f5f9413de752e790a5d9dca0981ea94f9b4.jpg" data-media-id="editor_23" data-image-id="20250524030520_3ff9c6fc85a65bc9a2c3afe9736d9f5f9413de752e790a5d9dca0981ea94f9b4" data-rendition-name="original" width="1136" height="702" loading="lazy" alt="The last days of the Khampa NT"> </figure>

The Last Days of the Khampa

Starting 17 September Turkish Airlines will fly daily to Seville, one of Spain’s major tourist draws. This is Turkish’s sixth destination in Spain after Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Malaga, and Bilbao. Seville is in the Andalusia region on Spain’s south coast with a rich Moor history. There are approximately 30,000 Nepalis living in Spain.&nbsp;

Turkish to Seville

The newly-formed Himalayan Art Council is set to launch Nepal’s National Art Protection Platform that seeks to preserve <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/the-history-of-heritage">Nepal’s unique cultural heritage </a>using<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/artificial-censorship"> AI-powered tools</a>. The Council seeks to safeguard <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/nepali-art-going-places">Nepali art works</a> from neglect, theft and counterfeiting as well as preserve existing artwork and celebrate living masters by giving them a cultural space to continue the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/sacred-survival">sacred art traditions</a>. "We are introducing a new digital platform designed to preserve, verify and elevate <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/nepals-new-generation-of-alternative-artists">Nepal’s art for generations to come,</a>” says a statement from the Council, adding that the digital platform will use AI told for authentication and blockchain to keep track of works of art. Artists can now be protected by <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/ayo-ai?fbclid=IwAR1uwmTVq4gUB70ljfRezjzukD9ArWXPuMnUikopeQ8PoiZMjicToPSwhKE&amp;=1">AI tools</a> that detect forgeries, identify their work even when unsigned, and ensure they receive proper recognition and credit. The archives will be searchable with translated inscription and interactive guides. Says curator Meena Lama: “AI and blockchains are tools that give us the power to detect fakes and identify unsigned paintings and track every piece. With these tools we can restore trust, secure authorship and give artists the dignity they deserve.”  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250514170544_2ab58f6313c0458f75114a692b0016bd9efb3b59d5f8f07f0da72e1e37b82f53.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20250514170544_2ab58f6313c0458f75114a692b0016bd9efb3b59d5f8f07f0da72e1e37b82f53" data-rendition-name="original" width="1300" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Artwork at the Traditional Art Exhibition at Patan Museum."> <figcaption>Artwork at the Traditional Art Exhibition at Patan Museum.</figcaption> </figure>  The Council is also holding an exhibition of Nepali cultural masterpieces with 50 historical <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/Buzz-the-art,671">thangka and paubha </a>by past masters and <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/between-the-sacred-and-everyday">contemporary works by current artists</a>. This curated collection is a living tribute to <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/when-yaks-go-so-does-culture">Himalayan culture</a> with economic depictions of deities, mandala and sacred narratives. The exhibition at <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/a-portal-into-patan-s-past-and-present">Patan Museum</a> also provides an opportunity to meet painters and custodians of art and culture. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/golden-deities">Golden deities</a>, Sewa Bhattarai ‘The exhibition is only the first step in a long journey to ensure that Nepali art is no just seen but fully understood, <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/Narratives-of-Faith-and-Memory-Remembering-the-Lost-Sculptures-of-Kathmandu-exhibition,987">protected and remembered</a>,’ the Council says. Artist Kailash K Shrestha of Artudio has spent decades promoting thankha and paubha traditions because of their beauty and devotional meaning. But he also says artists are underpaid, exploited and ignored. He adds, “AI and blockchain are not just buzzwords, they are powerful tools that can protect Nepal’s artists from fraud, verify authenticity and build a permanent record of provenance.” Traditional Art Exhibition Till 17 May Patan Museum

Digital protection for Nepal’s art

<a href="https://www.instagram.com/prabalgurung/" target="_blank">Prabal Gurung</a> left Nepal for New York in 1999 to escape years of bullying, sexism and homophobia, and to pursue his dream of becoming a fashion designer. He <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KqN0VaoAI5w" target="_blank">realised his dream</a>, but did not escape discrimination and racism in the new world. Propelled by passion for fashion, Gurung overcame everything America threw at him. He has attained <a href="https://www.vanityfair.com/style/story/prabal-gurung-recalls-his-first-met-gala-when-zoe-saldana-was-at-his-side?srsltid=AfmBOooy-H0oGgxMit864FnW_Pmw8mUnV8rYrh-co-f6OyYK6m2ip5hP" target="_blank">fame and recognition</a> for his haute couture dress designs while remaining true to his Nepali roots, and is even more resolute in <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSmNauyzACk" target="_blank">fighting prejudice</a> in all its forms. Prabal Gurung’s newly-released memoir <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Audible-Walk-Like-Girl-Memoir/dp/B0DG11HCDQ?fbclid=IwY2xjawKZfpxleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHuZcIJO2OXyXcRm1oq1iG6wzeoF7VJFrQ7GXOFI0YxuZZ4id_CNvSZSZZIna_aem_pG_mOKG73RTnYvN8JaC4fA">Walk Like a Girl</a> is a saga of harrowing abuse in boarding schools in Nepal and India, only finding himself facing a different kind of bullying in the US. He prevails over it all to be where he is today: an award-winning American fashion designer with his own label. Walk Like a Girl was launched last week in New York at a time when everything Gurung fought for — tolerance, inclusion and diversity — are in retreat in his adopted country because of a president who has espoused a culture of bullying. The book is a searing, raw exposé of how cruel and abusive people can be even at a young age in school. On the other hand, it also shows that there are generous, compassionate and open-minded souls out there. In his book, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4le_uWX7YE">Prabal Gurung</a> calls out those who tormented and tried to hold him back (some of their names have been altered). The moral of his story is: resist, never stop believing in yourself, do not let others define you, never lose sight of your dream, and help those who have been kept out. “Walk like a girl” was a slur used by bullies back in school in Nepal and India for Gurung’s effeminate ways. He fought back then, and he is still resisting by turning those words into something to be proud of.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250519170544_4ffc9c3f565dd2cfa754d10b224816897b82bb31ebaee91b6d79d469fc96f14e.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20250519170544_4ffc9c3f565dd2cfa754d10b224816897b82bb31ebaee91b6d79d469fc96f14e" data-rendition-name="original" width="1000" height="1253" loading="lazy" alt="Prabal Gurung NT"> <figcaption>Prabal Gurung at home in Kathmandu in the 1990s.</figcaption> </figure>  “Living through it all was one thing, but writing about it is one of the hardest things I have done in my life,” admitted Gurung during the launch. “I broke down constantly during the six-year writing process.” He continues: “I did not want this to be a victim’s book. I did not want to burden my readers with my emotions. I wanted my struggle to be an inspiration for others facing what I faced. I am grateful to those who bullied me in school, they made me a stronger person ready to face the world.” Indeed, this book is a departure from his earlier one titled simply, Prabal Gurung (Abrams, 2019), which was a lush pictorial autobiography of his career in fashion. Walk Like a Girl is not a typical fashion book, it is an intimate tale of <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=16997">Gurung’s travails and triumphs</a>, and how he willed himself to succeed. Prabal pays a lavish tribute to his mother Durga Rana. We find out she is a descendant of the first wife of the eldest son of Jang Bahadur Rana who was banished to Palpa in the late 19th century. Prabal’s father served in the Singapore Police and that is where he was born before the family returned to Nepal when he was four. Gurung relates with brutal honesty about the violence his mother endured from his father. Durga raises three children as a single mother in Nepal, and Prabal credits her for his fierce determination to resist patriarchy and injustice, which in time manifests itself in his hyper-feminine and subversive dress designs. Writing the book has been a cathartic experience for Gurung, who says he is now relieved of the burdens of his past. It no longer haunts him, and he does not have to prove anything to anyone anymore. Walk Like a Girl has life lessons not just for the <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DJmOcSgxdWz/" target="_blank">fashion industry</a>, but for every other profession. How can my job serve a greater cause? Gurung tells us his work is <a href="https://asiasociety.org/blog/asia/why-designer-prabal-gurung-doesnt-want-just-stick-fashion" target="_blank">bigger than just making clothes</a>, it is about making the world a better place because it could do with a lot of improvement.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250519170544_d75296ad8bfdc00d88935f40d23543c6fea3d4d6a10e61a99d6cfc6127f2ee5b.png" data-media-id="editor_10" data-image-id="20250519170544_d75296ad8bfdc00d88935f40d23543c6fea3d4d6a10e61a99d6cfc6127f2ee5b" data-rendition-name="original" width="1516" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Prabal Gurung"> </figure>  This story of chasing the American dream may sound familiar to many immigrants: knocking on doors for jobs, rejections, trying to survive from day to day on expensive rent, and dealing with subtle racism in white America. Gurung finds racism is rife, and he is often mockingly called ‘gaysian’. He writes: ‘There was a strong hypocrisy — this idea of independence felt like a marketting ruse … and for all the talk of feminism in America, these high society women were trapped by the patriarchy just like in Nepal and India.’ After a trek to the Khumbu region in 2013, Gurung is inspired to use the colours, palette and textures of Nepal for his collection exhibited on Manhattan’s 8th Avenue. A major buyer tells him bluntly: “Stick to making pretty dresses … if I need to see a collection like this, I could buy a copy of National Geographic.” The New York Times was equally dismissive: ‘The designer tries to draw connections between blistered techo-fabric used to construct it and the topography of his homeland, Nepal. But, at the moment, he has lost his map.’ One potential investor tells Gurung he cannot design for Americana because “you do not look American”. Gurung wants to use expletives, but restrains himself. After a fundraiser in New York for the Nepal earthquake in 2015, some belittled his effort, saying: “Here comes the saviour."&nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/prabal-gurung-by-prabal-gurung">Prabal Gurung by Prabal Gurung</a>, Kunda Dixit The Gurkha DNA must be dominant in Prabal Gurung’s genes because he does not take such mistreatment lying down. When asked by a fashion publicist why he was designing clothes for fat people, he snaps back: “Because of people like you.” He joins the Black Lives Matter and #MeToo movements, launches the Shikshya Foundation charity in Nepal, and has powerful allies among celebrities who wear clothes he designed: Michelle Obama, Oprah Winfrey, Sara Jessica Parker, Kamala Harris, Deepika Padukone … it is a long list.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250519150556_48a5f4211991a23fa85b64bbd5377575ca7081d97309d7542035591dda5180fe.png" data-media-id="editor_12" data-image-id="20250519150556_48a5f4211991a23fa85b64bbd5377575ca7081d97309d7542035591dda5180fe" data-rendition-name="original" width="1114" height="1534" loading="lazy" alt="Being Prabal Gurung by design"> <figcaption>Nigerian novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie wearing Atelier Prabal Gurung’s design for Met Gala 2025 in which the theme was ‘Superfine: Tailoring Black Style’. </figcaption> </figure>  “I don’t dress women to look beautiful, they already are,” Gurung says. “I try to bring out their innate strength and grace.” <a href="https://www.instagram.com/stories/highlights/17908766880140171/" target="_blank">Admirers</a> tell Gurung he makes it all look so easy, but he used to put up a strong facade to not show his own vulnerabilities in public. “I was closed because of my childhood experiences,” he says. “I was always on guard to defend myself because I never knew where the next punch would come from.” But in <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PPVepzPA210" target="_blank">Walk Like a Girl,</a> Gurung comes to terms with his vulnerability, and bares his soul. It has not been easy, it took sustained will power and support from his mother, sister Kumudini and a circle of close friends. “I made unbelonging my power,” he says. “Nepal is where I still have my heart and soul. Nepal grounds you. It is where people go to find themselves. But I escaped.” Recently appointed vice-chair of the <a href="https://cfda.com/about-cfda" target="_blank">Council of American Fashion Designers</a>, Gurung says: “I can’t believe I am here, it feels like it is happening to someone else. Writing this book, the healing has finally begun.” <h2>‘Everything is better in color’</h2> The Met Gala was two weeks later, and my table was an example of everything I’d been fighting for all these years as my guests represented everything I believed in: dynamic, powerful, influential women who were unapologetically original and unabashedly graceful. I was grateful to Anna for inviting me to host and dress a table that reflected my ethos—and for her guidance in doing so. I was also aware of the privilege as one of the first-­ever Asian fashion designers—not just from Nepal, but from the entire continent— to get the opportunity to do so. That fact was not lost on me. I reached out beyond the expected Hollywood celebrities and well-­known socialites to curate a table of exceptional women who inspired me. I invited Deepika Padukone and Alia Bhatt for their first-­ever Met Galas, as well as Michelle Yeoh, Mindy Kaling, Camila Cabello, Ashley Park, Denée Benton, KiKi Layne, Quannah Chasinghorse, and Grace Elizabeth. Together we checked many boxes: Asian, Black, Latinx, and Indigenous, each woman undeniably chic and powerful, a dazzling array of skin tones and experiences that proved my decades‑in‑the-­making hypothesis: everything is better in color. Excerpt from Walk Like a Girl Viking © 2025 by Prabal Gurung  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250519170520_6b91d560e9f072c37d16876901058c073a51ffa05e7ad1b9461d19e1c9c28215.jpg" data-media-id="editor_16" data-image-id="20250519170520_6b91d560e9f072c37d16876901058c073a51ffa05e7ad1b9461d19e1c9c28215" data-rendition-name="original" width="1136" height="702" loading="lazy" alt="Prabal Gurung book details NT"> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250519170520_345240c21be400e2ce2ec629b52bd82bb53890e5bd86fe95b48340d84b5f1748.jpg" data-media-id="editor_17" data-image-id="20250519170520_345240c21be400e2ce2ec629b52bd82bb53890e5bd86fe95b48340d84b5f1748" data-rendition-name="original" width="1136" height="702" loading="lazy" alt="Prabal Gurung book details NT"> </figure>  &nbsp;