The tiny Himalayan kingdom of Nepal has long been an alluring beacon for adventure buffs. That doesn’t mean you have to climb the world’s highest peak - Mt Everest, which is located here. Though you might get a bird’s eye view of it….
And that’s a story you can look forward to!
In fact, if you plan to do the champagne breakfast tour of Everest Base Camp with a local summiteer, you might even come upon some Sherpas equally happy slurping up a bowl of traditional dhido before heading out for a climb.
Nepal’s ever-burgeoning popularity with the international set has ensured that one may enjoy Italian, Mexican, Russian, Indian, Chinese, Malaysian, Vietnamese, Burmese, Thai, Singaporean, Korean and Japanese food … in Kathmandu itself.
But not many people are aware that Nepal also grows coffee… a bit…but yes, coffee for sure! And this has set off quite a coffee drinking trend.
What was started out as a home experiment in a garden in the remote Argakhanchi district in mid-western Nepal has snowballed into a scattering of coffee estates. Check out the coffee shops now not only in Kathmandu but Pokhra and the smaller towns as well. You should plan a plantation visit for sure to follow this emerging trend in Nepal, where Everest and momos seem to reign supreme! A short tour to Begnas village will provide you with some learnings about Nepal’s tryst with coffee. You will get to interact with the coffee planters here and, depending on the time of the visit, even help around the plantation, be it in the harvesting, tending of the coffee plants or sorting the bean — at the end of it all, you’ll get to drink a cup of coffee with beans roasted right in from of your eyes.