Do you wish to immerse yourself into the tranquility of majestic Himalayas of Nepal or beat the incredible feat of reaching the base camp of some of the tallest mountain peaks of the worlds? Perhaps you find yourself craving to experience the exotic culture and snowy peaks of Nepal, but before doing so, it is important for a traveller to tip themselves with the environment, culture and lifestyle of the destination they are about to reach. Since the past few years the outflow of Nepalis packing their bags and heading to explore Nepal instead of opting to go on a vacation abroad is whacking. And it’s clear eyed that this has been possible with the help of some extraordinary travel vloggers exhibiting the beauty of cerulean snowy environment and extreme variation of Nepali culture through their vlogs. Riving the stereotype of traveling abroad for vacation, Ghumante portrays the blended culture and emotion of Nepal. Ghumante undeniably is one of the erotic travel bands travelling across Nepal onto the off-the-beaten-paths sharing exciting travel stories through their vlogs. Kanchan Rai, one of the ghumantes, shared his travel stories with TNM over a cup of coffee that ended up being three.

From searching for a good diving place to riding three hours to swim in cold running river, the odyssey of a travel blogger began even before Rai thought about blogging. He lived in Bangkok for four years and the only reason he visited Nepal was to explore the home country with his friends.

He used to search for a place to delve into and his friends would make plans for the journey. The journey of a Ghumante had started. An IT student, Rai seemingly was fascinated by the beauty of Nepal and wanted to share it with others so he started the website as ‘Ghumante’. The name itself is very unique and Nepali. But sojourning towards YouTube came when he and his wife returned to Nepal for good. “The beginning is always difficult and threatening to start, especially when it comes to social media, but it has always been in our favour to reach where we are today,” he says. However, his friends who used to accompany him on his trips had moved away. But he found people with equal passion for travelling during his trips, who now are a part of Ghumante. “Earlier, we used to travel on our own expenses but since 2019, we have had people reaching out to us to sponsor us. This has further encouraged us to explore the untouched parts of Nepal,” he adds. From photographers to content writers and producers, Ghumante is a team of talented young people who share a similar zeal for exploring.

When asked about how expensive travelling in Nepal is, he replies, “Travelling in Nepal is very affordable. We travelled to Api with only handful amount and interestingly it was more than enough.” He further adds, “People here are very friendly. When we travel to remote areas they offer us food and help us in every possible way. I think that is one of the significant features of Nepalis.” He can’t be truer about the nature of Nepali people though. Nepali culture and people are diverse, the mountains, hills and plain land separates the culture, tradition and food and when Rai has already been on a trip to more than 60 districts of Nepal, it was no doubt asking him about the food culture. “I have tried the yak blood sausages when trekking to Api and surprisingly they were very tasty,” he shares. Visit Nepal 2020 campaigns have been going on in full swing. Ghumante are also doing their part in promoting the country as a travel destination. “There is always some extraordinary feeling about travelling to new places for the first time so this 2020 we are planning to explore all those places which are yet to be uncovered. Therefore, the bags are packed and we are ready for the next destination,” he shares. “There are tons of emails and messages suggesting us to travel the different places. Waking up early to catch the sunrise from the top of the hill to sitting on the bank of blue lakes and rivers on the dusky evening just to witness the sunset, we are well prepared and Nepali who are thinking of traveling should too,” suggests Rai enthusiastically. Nepalis, in his words, are very under prepared while travelling. They do not get proper view of where they are headed and later regret it. Hence, Rai tips everyone to be well prepared and be clued up on the place, people, weather, transportation before any travel. “One should always carry a first aid box because you never know when you’ll need it,” he shares.

But has the journey of exploring Nepal been all roses? Rai says, “Not really. We’ve had near death experiences as well. When we trekked to Shey Phoksundo, our drone hit a hill. Me and one of our members went in search of the drone but the steep hill had a narrow walk way. When we gazed below, there was a gorge with no escape but somehow we found the drone and returned. I still get Goosebumps recalling that moment,” explains Rai about his horrifying experience.

An inspiring person to talk to, Kanchan Rai is fully dedicated towards uncovering Nepal for the world to see. So, next time you plan on discovering Nepal, do so with useful tips from Ghumante.

For details of Ghumante, you can look on to their pages,

Website: http://ghumante.com/

Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/ghumante/

Text by Prija Koirala

Photos by Royal Raj Manandhar