Collaboration with UNESCO

The Nepal Trust’s Eco-tourism and Trekking Promotion programme started with support from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in March 2002.

Coinciding with the UN’s declaration of the International Year of Eco-Tourism 2002 and International Year of the Mountains, UNESCO began its support of eco-tourism and income generation in six countries in Asia, and the Nepal Trust was selected to implement a 2-year programme in Humla District.

Click here to download the project document from the UNESCO portal

This project fitted well with the development plans of Humla district where the local government and associated NGOs agreed that one of the major development priorities for Humla is to stimulate tourism in the area as a way to promote economic opportunities and employment. The project sought to preserve and promote the richness and diversity of the local culture and the environment, and to create much needed job training and local income.

Through this collaboration, the Nepal Trust worked to promote tourism within Humla, by developing activities and practices that would benefit the local economies, such as linking trek companies in Kathmandu and abroad with the area and encouraging communities to provide facilities for tourists.  For example, we opened up the Limi trekking route, through a very remote valley of NW Humla with a rich Tibetan culture, where only a handful of Western tourists had ever walked before. This is the location of the Halji Monastery which underwent intense renovation by the trust.

There is still much to do, the local communities welcome tourists, very few people in the Hidden Himalayas have interacted with Westerners before and are always welcoming, and curious!  Come with us and see for yourself this beautiful and remote area.  For information on treks, click here.