Gopal Thapa
Chief Executive Officer
Gopal Thapa
CEO – Leaf Holidays Treks & Expedition P. Ltd
My Tale…Doing it all ‘My Way’’…
Gopal Thapa was born on a bright moonlit night 36 years ago in the pristine village of Phulkharka [Dhading district] which nestles in the laps of the towering Ganesh Himal and the nearby mighty Manaslu peak. Dhading is known for its scenic landscapes and thriving agriculture. Born into a large family of four brothers, two sisters and parents, Gopal’s mother and father are farmers by profession who tilled the land to rear and educate their children.
Nepal’s beautiful but harsh geographical conditions sometimes compel families in mountainous regions to make tough decisions with limited choices that give more preference to income sources over the academic – Gopal attended the local village government school and went on to complete his high school with a School Leaving Certificate [SLC] in 2001. This is where Gopal’s story began on the wings of a prayer in the risky world of Nepal’s daredevil adventure circuits…
The Books made way for the Mountains…
Gopal could have pursued further education after completing high school, but soon discovered the drums of destiny in life were beating on the mountains; and began working as a freelance porter at an early age in the same year he completed his high school; he soon learned the hard way about the mountains where he grew up as a child.
“My parents wanted me to stay with the books and earn a degree. In my childhood days, I actually enjoyed hiking 4 km every day to school and back! I simply loved the wonderful views of lush terraced farms, dancing waterfalls, the warm smiles of the teasing elders of my village, the sweet chirping of the birds and most of all…the never ending sights of the mighty Himalayas. This is what stole my heart and I soon forgot the books.” [Quote: Gopal]
Gopal Thapa attended a Trekking Guide Training course and was soon elevated to a Government Licensed Guide [a license is considered very important in this part of the world] in 2008. Having become a full blown government recognized guide, Mr. Thapa soon learned how much the mountains teach us about life, and aimed for the high Himalayan skylines he watched as a child. Gopal soon began climbing Nepal’s famous trekking peaks – this included Island peak, Mera peak, Lobuche East/West, Pisang peak, Thorung peak, Chulu West and Yala peak. The road to success in this part of the world is always a thorny one and Mr. Thapa began his first arduous journey on the complex trails of life in the year 2001, but this was only the beginning to a long and winding road to the pinnacle of success.
With his successful accomplishment of climbing peaks, Gopal knew the next best thing to do was to obtain a mountain climbing certification and this was achieved in 2011 with a prestigious mountain climbing course conducted by the Nepal Mountaineering Association [NMA].
His sole purpose was to ‘Do it His Way’…
Mr. Thapa Armed with well earned Government of Nepal Certificates for Trekking and Climbing; knew that the time had finally come to define his own destiny.
Gopal knew if he truly loved his country and its extraordinary natural beauty, he would have to operate an unrivalled range of adventures throughout the Himalaya in Nepal and across the borders into India, Tibet and Bhutan; and to do this, Mr. Thapa would have to lead from the front. This ultimately paved the way for Gopal to establish his own company ‘Leaf Holidays Treks & Expedition P. Ltd’ in the year 2014 –and with this epic achievement, Mr. Thapa’s journey through the trials and trails of life came around full circle.
“In my childhood, when I saw the early morning bright sunshine rise over the huge Ganesh Himal from my village home, I felt the wilderness of the Himalayas was calling me. I had no experience in the tourism sector, but I knew I would have to walk out of my safe home to enjoy the sunshine,and so I did, and my company ‘Leaf Holiday Treks’ was born. Today we are a leading trek operator for Mt. Kailash Tibet Tours. It’s now almost two decades since I first started, and we will not look back.” [Quote: Gopal]
Mr. Gopal Thapa is known among his clients for his large physical appearance which they lovingly say is as large as the mountains he climbs, with a friendly and kind heart as big as an elephant. Gopal is also known for personally saving the lives of several of his guests and friends while on risky adventurous journeys above the tree-lines.
“Our itineraries are unusually planned to offer extraordinary experiences for our clients while ensuring they are always safe to go home and tell stories of amazing discoveries to generations on the way. Our company is structured to provide career and educational opportunities and our trekking crew are always prepared for the unexpected. Our support programs generously give back to our communities in the areas we visit, and all this while our guests enjoy the spirit of adventure on the way.” [Quote: Gopal]
Today, Gopal Thapa and his company “Leaf Holidays Treks & Expedition” are on the front-line of Nepal’s Tourism sector with avenues to go even further in a beautiful country where hope and destiny sees a bright future in Nepal’s global success as a leading destination for some of the most famous adventure circuits on planet earth…
When dreaming big turns to reality…
- President: VITOF – Nepal [Village Tourism Promotion Forum – Nepal]
Because of his deep love for Mother Nature & its delicate ecosystems & the village habitats that sit in these areas, Gopal Thapa, who has been actively involved in developing villages in these mountainous regions, was unanimously elected President of VITOF – Nepal, the biggest Village Tourism body in Nepal. - Secretary: AKTON [Association of Kailash Tour Operators – Nepal]
having earned the reputation of being a skillful guide in conducting pilgrimage tours to Mt. Kailash & Lake Mansarovar in Tibet, Gopal was also elected to the senior postion of Secretary of ‘AKTON’, the largest Mt. Kailash pilgrimage tours body in Nepal. - Promoting Nepal’s Tourism globally: Thapa has also travelled extensively to countries that include India, Tibet, China, Malaysia, Singapore, Russia & Germany, selling Nepal as the world’s Hottest desination for Diverse Tourism with a whole variety of extraordinary holidays.
- A vision for the Future: We believe in conscious travel with strict safety practices and standards without spoiling the fun and companionship that comes with travel and adventure. We always go the mile to ensure our clients experience the rich culture of the areas we visit. It’s our wish to provide a balance between predictable sightseeing and real contact with local people and families. We have a good number of repeat clients who come back to us time and again because they enjoy the services we offer of an exceptional and unique travel experience. We are trusted, virtually. We work hard to make sure we’re accountable for all our tours, treks and mountain expeditions, in Nepal & across our borders; inspiring those who work and travel with us, supporting local communities and lessening our impact in areas we visit. It’s always our intention to make a difference where it matters most.
“I have always believed that life is daring to dream big…and only by taking risks do dreams turn into reality…for me life is always about great things that never come from comfort zones!” [Quote: Gopal]
Sujata Rawal
Manager
She has been associated with Leaf Holidays Treks and Expeditions since 2015 as a Manager. She loves in corresponding with different people all over the world by providing trip evidence. She has interest in writing, reading, traveling, interrelating with people. She has traveled different places on work purpose. She is honored in being related with Leaf Holidays Treks and Expeditions as receiving the chance to promote our stunning Himalayan country to all around the world.
Krishna Nepal
Senior Trekking Guide
He is a passionate outworker trekking guide .He is in this field from 1990. He started in this field being a porter to a spirited trekking leader. He has also cavernous working knowledge in the field of Kailash too. Many guests are attracted with his work in this field so he has been attracting lots of neighbor tourists in Nepal. He has been assisting this field so willingly and cooperatively as the visitors are very happy and satisfied with his work. He is very friendly with the visitors as he has a many years’ experience in this field.
Sadhuram Adhikari
Trekking Guide
He is an obsessive outworker trekking and mountaineering guide .He is in this field from 1995. He started in this field being a porter to a determined trekking leader. He has also resounding working knowledge in the field of Kailash too as he is the Team Leader of Mount kailash trip. Many guests are attracted with his work in this field so he has been attracting lots of neighbor tourists in Nepal. He has been assisting this field so willingly and cooperatively as the visitors are very happy and satisfied with his work. He is very friendly with the visitors as he has a many years’ experience in this field.
Shaligram Adhikari
Cook
He is a very supporting and hardworking cook .He is in this field from 1995. He started in this field being a porter to a determined cook. He has also resounding working knowledge in the field of Kailash too as he is a very experience and good cook. Many guests are attracted with his work and also by his cooking too in this field so he has been attracting lots of neighbor tourists in Nepal. He has been assisting this field so willingly and cooperatively as the visitors are very happy and satisfied with his work. He is very friendly with the visitors as he has a many years’ experience in this field.
Ramgopal Adhikari
Team Leader
He is a passionate free-lancer trekking guide .He is in this field from 1996. He started in this field being a porter to a spirited trekking leader. He has also sonorous working knowledge in the field of Kailash and also a team leader of kailash. Many guests are attracted with his work in this field so he has been attracting lots of neighbor tourists in Nepal. He has been assisting this field so willingly and cooperatively as the visitors are very happy and satisfied with his work. He is very sociable with the visitors as he has a many years’ experience in this field.
Hari Adhikari (Ranjit)
Team Leader
He is an obsessive free-lancer trekking guide .He is in this field and associated with Leaf Holiday’s Treks and Expeditions from 1992. He started in this field being a porter to a spirited trekking leader. He has also sonorous working knowledge in the field of Kailash too. Many guests are attracted with his work in this field so he has been attracting lots of neighbor tourists in Nepal. He has been assisting this field so willingly and cooperatively as the visitors are very happy and satisfied with his work. He is very sociable with the visitors as he has a many years’ experience in this field.
Amrit Gurung
Climbing Guide
He is a fixated free-lancer trekking as well as climbing guide .He is in this field and associated with Leaf Holiday’s Treks and Expeditions from 1997.He have climbed Everest, Dhaulagiri, Manaslu and many mountains too. He started in this field being a porter to a spirited Climbing Guide. Many guests are attracted with his work in this field so he has been attracting lots of neighbor tourists in Nepal. He has been assisting this field so willingly and cooperatively as the visitors are very happy and satisfied with his work. He is very sociable with the visitors as he has a many years’ experience in this field.
Gokarna Thapa
Field Staff
He is a passionate outworker trekking as well as mountaineering guide .He have a very good knowledge of mountains. He started in this field being a porter to a spirited trekking as well as mountaineering leader. He has also cavernous working knowledge in the field of Kailash too. Many guests are attracted with his work in this field so he has been attracting lots of neighbor tourists in Nepal. He has been assisting this field so willingly and cooperatively as the visitors are very happy and satisfied with his work. He is still very active and working on this field very dynamically and also he is a very Eco-friendly.
Nabaraj Adhikari
Field Staff
He is a fervent outworker trekking as well as mountaineering guide .He have a very good knowledge of mountains. He started in this field being a porter to a spirited trekking as well as mountaineering leader. He has also resonant working knowledge in the field of Kailash too. Many guests are attracted with his work in this field so he has been attracting lots of neighbor tourists in Nepal. He has been assisting this field so willingly and cooperatively as the visitors are very happy and satisfied with his work. He is still very active and working on this field very dynamically and also he is a very Eco-friendly.
Shailendra Adhikari
Field Staff
He is an enthusiastic outworker trekking as well as mountaineering guide. Having a very good knowledge of mountains. He started in this field being a porter to a spirited trekking as well as mountaineering leader. He has also resonant working knowledge in the field of Kailash too. Many guests are attracted with his work in this field so he has been attracting lots of neighbor tourists in Nepal. He has been assisting this field so willingly and cooperatively as the visitors are very happy and satisfied with his work. He is still very active and working on this field very dynamically and also he is a very Eco-friendly.
Bhim Gurung
Guide
He is an obsessed free-lancer trekking as well as climbing guide .He is in this field and associated with Leaf Holiday’s Treks and Expeditions from 1997. He started in this field being a porter to a spirited Climbing Guide. Many guests are attracted with his work in this field so he has been attracting lots of neighbor tourists in Nepal. He has been assisting this field so willingly and cooperatively as the visitors are very happy and satisfied with his work. He is very sociable with the visitors as he has a many years’ experience in this field and guided many visitors.