The next best thing for Nepal after all the wonderful fundraising in our region is to actually go there and go trekking to help the tourist industry get back on their feet.
I have been a volunteer for many years with the 3 Sisters Adventure Trek; the Sisters are telling us that Pokhara and the treks in that region remain almost totally unaffected.
September, October and November are great months for trekking with clear blue skies and wonderful views of the snow-covered Himalayan giants. The Nepalis will welcome you with open arms, big smiles and heartfelt Namastas, saluting the divinity in you as well as each other.
Their main income is from the tourist industry and the money from that filters down into many areas like hotels, guesthouses, home stays, cafés, restaurants, supermarkets, shops, bakeries, produce sellers, the milk and yoghurt men….and it goes on and on. Everything is interwoven and dependent on each other.
And so if the trekking, climbing, rafting, paragliding companies have no customers, nobody else will. Therefore Nepal needs your continued support. Go for an adventure of a lifetime! The scenery is awesome, the people are delightful, the cultures are varied as are the religions. Fabulous fauna and flora and food from almost every continent plus warm sunny weather!
All these treks are open: Annapurna Circuit, Annapurna Basecamp, Jomsom/Muktinath, Nangi/ Khopra, Mardi Himal, Panchase, Millinium trek, Ghorepani/Poon Hill.
We have walked most of them and can recommend them highly. Give it a go; the Nepalis will love you for it!
Marleen Peters, Suffolk Park
For four decades The Echo has printed the stories some people loved, some people hated, and some pretended not to read. If you want us to keep telling the truth, the real truth, not the sugar-coated version. We’ll need your support to keep the presses rolling. 
