By KAEDENCE EAMES Sneha Shrestha was working at a trekking agency in Thamel when the idea for Sneha’s Care first came to life. She didn’t quite have the money to open her shelter yet, but she carried dog biscuits in her purse to feed any street dogs she passed. Sneha’s Care, a shelter primarily fit…
By HATTIE BATCHELDER Deep in Nepal’s Annapurna Conservation Area, trekkers are surrounded by dense forests, mist-covered trails, and lively teahouses. The region is famous for its dramatic mountain scenery and biodiversity, but another resident is impossible to ignore. Tiny vampires lurk in the dewy leaves and the cracks of the rocky trails, blood suckers otherwise…
By EMMA WHITE UM Journalism Abroad came to Nepal forewarned about many large, dangerous creatures. Elephants could trample us, rhinos could charge us, tigers could steal into our camp at night and attack. But so far, the most insidious beast we have encountered is one of much smaller stature: the land leech. We came upon…
By HENRY DOELLINGER Dogs bark as boxes of medical supplies and large nets are loaded into a white four-by-four truck with a cage in the place of its bed. Himalayan Animal Rescue Trust veterinary doctors Sagar Ghimire and Prakash Chaudhary looked over a list of rescue calls, ready to start their weekly roundup. By 10…
By HANNA GRASS Phewa Lake is a freshwater lake in Pokhara, Nepal, known for its scenic backdrop of the Annapurna ranges and the reflection of Mount Machhapuchhre. Phewa Tal, as it is called in Nepali, is Nepal’s second-largest lake. It serves as a vibrant hub of Pokhara and exploring it was a perfect way to…
By VIVIANNE OSTHEIMER One thing I learned in Afro-Brazilian Dance – the first college class I took ‘just for fun’ – is that balance is dynamic. “Don’t be afraid to shift your center!,” Julia, the 20-something Brazilian-American instructor would call out. We would try to dip lower and sway farther, flailing our limbs ungracefully in…
By NOAH EPPS In the mid-1970s, the crocodile-like gharial was nearly extinct from its traditional range. Conservation efforts in Nepal have stabilized their decline, but climate change-related weather irregularities still threaten the vulnerable species. The gharial is a critically endangered crocodilian species native to the Northern India subcontinent. It is known for its long, beaklike…
BY JULIAN CLEMMER Getting around Nepal can be tricky. Busses, cars and trucks all weave in and out of traffic. Driving on the left-hand side of the road keeps American pedestrians on their toes crossing streets. The passenger vehicles driven on the streets of Nepal are often much smaller than their American counterparts and two-wheelers…
By HAVEN SAGER Tara Upreti was 12 years old when her father died from a heart attack. His death changed the trajectory of her future. Upreti was born and raised in Subhang, Panchthar, a small, green-hilled village in eastern Nepal. She grew up in a family of sustainable farmers that consisted of five sisters, three…
By HAVEN SAGER When I climbed into the rickety safari truck with my LifeStraw water bottle in hand, sweat slicking back my hair, I felt excited. We were in a community forest at the edge of Chitwan National Park and the gateway town of Sauraha. Sauraha is a place where rhinos stroll down sidewalks, goats…