Navin Shakya

Travel Stories

  • 3G in Dhorpatan

    This year, I’ve been traveling to a lot of new places for work, and it’s been both exciting and challenging. Exploring new locations always brings a sense of adventure, but in the remote areas of this country, it also comes with its own set of difficulties—particularly when it comes to communication. In many rural regions,… More on this

  • Kartik Nach of Patan

    Kartik Nach, a traditional dance-drama performed in Lalitpur, takes place on a public platform in front of the seventeenth-century Patan Durbar Square, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and has been continuing for nearly 400 years. This unique art form, which blends dance, drama, and music, was first staged in 1641 AD by King Siddhinarasingh Malla.… More on this

  • Tedious traffic jam

    If you’re traveling in or out of Nagdhunga, the main entrance to Kathmandu, getting stuck in traffic is almost a given. If you don’t hit traffic, consider yourself lucky. While there are several government plans to fix this daily issue, none have actually started yet. The condition of this major highway, the only one that… More on this

  • A near-death experience

    My visit to the Upper Seti hydropower project will forever be etched in my memory, but for the most terrifying reason – I almost lost my life. This site visit, which was meant to be routine, turned into a harrowing brush with death in the unforgiving waters of the Seti River. Located about 20 km… More on this

  • Life on instant noodles

    This time, work took us to the remote northern part of Sankhuwasabha district for feasibility study of a hydroelectric project. As I remember, there are only very few sites as rugged and physically demanding as this one. It took us a solid six days from the time we landed at Tumlingtar Airport to finally reach… More on this

  • Scariest flight

    Tumlingtar Airport was blanketed in thick fog all morning, and as the hours passed, our hopes of catching a flight began to fade. We were eager to leave Sankhuwasabha after completing one of the toughest site visits for a hydropower project, but the weather seemed determined to keep us grounded. Miraculously, after a four-hour delay,… More on this

  • Road in village

    This photo was taken in 2011 in the southeastern part of Rolpa during our fieldwork, where a new road had just reached the village. The whole community was excited and hopeful, looking forward to the positive changes the road would bring. In just eight years, the village had changed a lot compared to what it… More on this

  • Budhigandaki trek

    Over the course of three days, we walked roughly 50 kilometers to reach our project site—a trek that turned out to be the most scenic and enjoyable route I’ve ever taken for a hydroelectric project. This path, running alongside the Budhigandaki River, is well-known as part of the famous Larke Pass Trek. While trekkers typically… More on this

  • In and around Jumla

    Jumla (Khalanga) is one of the most remote and beautiful places in the country. It’s a small, scenic town located in the flat valley of the Tila River, surrounded by hills and natural beauty. Jumla’s isolation is partly due to its geographic separation by the Kalikot district, which has long made access to the area… More on this