June 21: Airport Hotel
If you have reserved and paid for a hotel room, one of your leaders will meet you at the hotel and stay overnight with the group. We will send you an email one week prior to departure with details about the hotel reservation and instructions on how to meet your leader.
June 22: Departure Day, New York to Kathmandu
In support of program and student safety, all details regarding specific travel and accommodations are available in the parent/guardian digital locker under Essential Information.
June 23 – 25: Kathmandu
Arrive in Kathmandu and spend your first several nights in a monastery guesthouse next to Boudhanath Stupa, one of the largest and most ancient Buddhist monuments in the world. Join pilgrims from near and far in their morning walking and tea rituals, explore the historic palaces and temples of Kathmandu, and participate in your group orientation. Then, in preparation for our service component, visit an organization supporting vulnerable women and children though education programs, healthcare services, vocational training, and job placement.
June 26 – 30: Salleri Village
Travel east by private bus to our host village, which is in the lower Solukhumbu district at the base of the Everest Valley. Spend weekdays working alongside community members on construction projects, teaching and tutoring English, and helping with gardening and agriculture projects. In the late afternoons, get to know local families, learn traditional dances, try your hand at preparing momos and other Nepalese cuisine, play volleyball and soccer with Sherpa youth, and have tea with Tibetan monks in a mountainside temple.
July 1 – 3: Everest Valley Trek & Monastery Retreat
Set off with professional guides on a three-night trek up into the hills of the lower Everest Valley. Explore rhododendron forests, meet with Sherpa climbing families, and then rest in family-run village guesthouses. Spend one full day at the Taksindu Tharling Sheddrup Monastery getting to know the monks and learning about Tibetan Buddhism. Join the novice monks in their classes, practice meditation, and experience a Tibetan puja ceremony with the presiding lama.
July 4 – 8: Salleri Village
Return to our host village for a final week working on our service projects. Finish the week with a community celebration, and share what you’ve learned with your new Nepali friends.
July 9 – 11: Kathmandu
Return to Kathmandu by private bus and continue exploring the magnificent cultural and heritage sites of this medieval city. Close our journey with a creative workshop in the ancient, fortified city of Patan with renowned Nepali painter Lok Chitrakar and artist and activist Ashmina Ranjit.
July 12: Travel Day
Spend a final morning and afternoon in Kathmandu preparing for your journey home, then travel to the airport for your group’s overnight return flight.
July 13: Return Day, Kathmandu to New York
In support of program and student safety, all details regarding specific travel and accommodations are available in the parent/guardian digital locker under Essential Information.