My Journey to the Mountains

I grew up in Ghandruk, a beautiful Gurung village perched on a hillside with views of Annapurna South and Machapuchare. Every day, I watched foreign trekkers pass through our village, guided by men from the community. I served them tea at my family's teahouse and dreamed of walking with them, sharing the stories of my people and my mountains.

In our village, women cooked, cleaned, and tended the fields. The idea of a woman leading treks was unheard of. When I told my father I wanted to be a trekking guide, he was silent for three days. My mother cried. But my grandfather, who had served in the British Gurkha regiment, said, "If you can walk these mountains carrying water since you were five, you can guide anyone."

Training and Certification

I enrolled in the Nepal Academy of Tourism and Hotel Management guide training program in 2012. I was one of three women in a class of forty. The physical training was demanding, but I had grown up walking steep mountain trails — the classroom work was actually harder for me. I earned my government-licensed guide certification in 2013.

The First Trek

My first solo guiding job was a Poon Hill trek with two Australian women. They had specifically requested a female guide. Walking the same trails I had walked as a child, but now as a professional guide sharing my culture and knowledge, was the most empowering moment of my life. One of them told me, "Anita, you're not just guiding us up a mountain. You're showing us what's possible."