From porter to leader: Sumitra Acharya

Reporting by Angela Locatelli in National Geographic Traveller (UK), published on 7 June 2024, profiles Sumitra Acharya, who began work as a trekking porter in 2019, aged 27, carrying loads of about 15 kilograms for roughly ten miles a day. She had at first turned the job down because she had little interest in physical work; her mother encouraged her to try it.

The article records that five years later she was leading trips to Everest Base Camp and Annapurna. Born in a rural village in Sindhupalchok district, she grew up in a city in the Kathmandu Valley and first discovered a taste for hills at 20 on a day hike while studying agriculture. She says relatives and friends told her she was making a mistake, that she saw no local women on the trails, and that some male porters mocked her. Colleagues taught her practical skills such as pacing, and hotel owners along the route helped when she felt homesick.

She told the magazine that she hopes to inspire other Nepali women, some of whom face family opposition to outdoor careers. The article notes that the guiding industry remains male-dominated and that long, multi-day assignments, often with all-male groups, make the work hard for women to take on. It reports that the operator Intrepid Travel's team of female porters, assistant guides and leaders grew from a handful when she joined to 37. Acharya says of her work, “I feel like a leader.”

If you trek in Nepal, hire through a registered agency that pays and equips its porters and guides fairly, ask about its policies, and give credit when you write about your trek. Our Annapurna feature in this issue has practical notes.