12/02/2026
Gurkha Encounters: Born from Setback, Built on Courage
Before Gurkha Encounters became a respected name in luxury adventure travel across Nepal, Bhutan, Tibet, and India, its story began with uncertainty, rejection, and a young man searching for direction in Kathmandu.
Academically, I was only an SLC graduate, with a brief beginning in journalism studiesâwhat some would call a college dropout. But life has its own university. In Nepalâs tourism sector, if you can successfully build and run an adventure trekking company that aligns with and promotes the national tourism policy, your experience becomes your degree. The mountains become your professors. The trails become your classroom.
In those early days, I was desperately searching for work across Kathmandu. I was once interviewed by a British gentleman at Himalayan Encounter, a sister company of Encounter Overlandâone of the reputable destination management companies at the time. It felt like my big opportunity.
But fate tested me.
I failed to report to his office at 10 a.m. the next morning.
That single missed appointment cost me the job.
For many, that would have been the end of the road. For me, it became the turning point.
Instead of regretting the loss, I reflected deeply. If I could not work for a trekking company, why not build one? Why not create something rooted in Nepalâs proud identityâsomething inspired by the courage, discipline, and global reputation of the Gurkhas?
And so, Gurkha Encounters was bornâshortened from âGurkhaâs Encounters Overland Adventure.â What started as an idea soon became a shared dream with three partners. We did not have abundance of capital, but we had belief. We did not have degrees framed on walls, but we had determination carved into our hearts.
The real test of our values came in 2015.
When the devastating earthquake struck Nepal, it did not just shake buildingsâit shook lives, families, and entire communities. In that moment, business no longer mattered.
Without hesitation, I made a decision. We gathered all our company tents, mattresses, and sleeping bags. We loaded them into a military MI-17 helicopter. Instead of using our equipment for trekkers in the Himalayas, we air-dropped relief materials into affected areas.
I was prepared to close the company if that was the cost of saving lives.
Because entrepreneurship without humanity has no meaning.
Gurkha Encounters was never just about organizing treks. It was about responsibility. It was about service. It was about carrying the spirit of the Gurkhasânot only bravery in adventure, but compassion in crisis.
There are many more chapters to this journeyâstories from high mountain passes, cross-border expeditions, cultural exchanges, and the evolution of Nepalâs adventure tourism industry. Each experience shaped not just a company, but a philosophy.
From missing a job interview to building an institution that treats tourism as a form of national service, the journey of Gurkha Encounters reflects a simple truth:
Sometimes, the opportunities we lose are the ones that push us to create something greater.
And this is only the beginning of the story.
www.gurkhaencounters.com
