By Lieutenant Colonel Johnny Fenn, Field Director of the Gurkha Welfare Trust
In 2023, I set out to do something I had always wanted to attempt: to walk across Nepal from west to east, entirely on foot, without a map. The original idea was simple enough. Nepal is a country that most people experience through its tourism and the mountains. I wanted to experience it through its people. Rather than following established trekking routes, I would trek across the country at walking pace, asking directions as I went and relying on local knowledge to guide me. What followed was a 114-day journey of nearly 2,000 kilometres through some of the most remote parts of Nepal.
Each day brought something different. Sometimes it was a difficult climb over a ridgeline. Sometimes it was finding somewhere to pitch a tent for the night. More often, it was the people I met along the way: farmers working their fields, schoolchildren curious about the stranger walking through their village, elderly villagers still working hard long after retirement would be expected elsewhere, and countless families who offered kindness, hospitality and conversation.
Although the journey crossed spectacular landscapes, it gradually became clear that the real story was not about mountains or distance. It was about people. I quickly discovered that travelling at walking pace changes the way you see a country. Instead of rushing through communities, you become part of the daily rhythm. You notice the details. You spend time talking. Trust develops. Conversations happen that simply would not occur from the window of a vehicle.
Over the course of the walk, I took photographs and filled notebooks with observations. Initially, they were simply a record of the journey. However, once the walk was over, it became clear that the material deserved something more substantial. That process eventually became The Nepali Way; 114 Days Crossing Nepal Without a Map.
The book is not a guidebook, nor is it a book about mountaineering or adventure sport. Instead, it is a photographic narrative that tells the story of Nepal through the people encountered along the way. It is “a journey measured in people, not distance.” Built around portraits, daily reflections and photographs from the trek, the book explores themes of resilience, generosity, dependence, humility and human connection. The foreword has been kindly written by Hari Budha Magar MBE, Gurkha veteran, Everest summiteer and fellow Ambassador for The Gurkha Welfare Trust.
As Hari writes: “This is a story about Nepal; but more than that, it is a story about people.”
