Mr. Thakur Raj Pandey has been a seminal figure in the field of tourism and ecology in Nepal for over 30 years. He is the former General Secretary of Nepal Mountaineering Association (NMA), an organization administering mountain activities in Nepal, and a general board member of Namlo Nepal, an organization dedicated to empowering the rural communities of Nepal. He is regarded as one of the most knowledgeable and respected figures not just in the field of tourism, but also in the field of culture, ecology, and wildlife of this country.
As a student of anthropology and sociology at Tribhuvan University, Mr. Pandey spent years studying various indigenous culture, ecology, wildlife, and landscapes of Nepal and its neighbouring countries, such as India, Bhutan, and Tibet. He then spent his time exploring these places and getting the first-hand experience of various aspects of these regions. Over the years, he’s managed to accumulate an encyclopedic knowledge of these areas, rivalled only by a few, and has become your go-to-guy for any sort of information regarding this country. Whether you want to know the name of that never-seen flower you saw in some remote village or want to find that hidden, quirky restaurant at the heart of the city, he will not disappoint you.
With the aim of fostering fair rules and regulations for everyone involved in mountaineering, Mr. Pandey joined the Nepal Mountaineering Association (NMA) in 2014. Since then he has participated in several international tourism development programs, such as UIAA (The International Climbing and Mountaineering Federation) and UAAA (Union of Asian Alpine Association) and has traveled all over the world (US, Japan, UK, South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, China, Belgium, Italy, Switzerland, France, Netherlands, Germany, and almost all South Asian countries) promoting tourism in Nepal. He has also been an active member of organizations such as Trekking Agencies’ Association of Nepal (TAAN), Namlo Nepal, and Kathmandu Environment Education Project (KEEP). In addition to being involved in various tourism and ecology related developmental activities, Mr. Pandey has been successfully running his own trekking company, First Environmental Trekking, for nearly 3 decades. His significant contributions to tourism and his genuine love and concern for anyone who visits this country have made him one of the most loved people in the field of tourism in Nepal.