Founder Profile
ABOUT SARALA.
Sarala Sapkota - founder of Aarya Village Travel is an avid Traveller, She has a Bachelor in Environmental Science and Masters in Social Science, and a mother of a 8-year-old girl, Sarala enjoys meditating and yoga and seeks out picturesque places in Nepal with mountains to practice. She understands it’s the journey and not the destination that’s important when she travels.
She has trekked through the Everest, Annapurna, and Mustang regions, including most hiking routes around the Kathmandu valley. When she is not in the office, we can find her either traveling, hiking around, or traveling with her daughter and husband. She has traveled to 18 countries outside Nepal and plans to add more destinations to the list.
HER JOURNEY.
It began at a very young age. It was meeting people on her travels and learning about places through the people, both old and young, she met that her love for travel grew. She realized she could make something out of this, by investing in something she loves to do where she can learn every day and simultaneously create jobs for 1000's people here in Nepal who rely on the Travel Industry for jobs. She believes "Travel is the only thing you can buy and get richer".
Many years ago, along with her husband, when they were a young couple, they started Aarya Village Travel and now after many years of growth, she has taken over and runs Aarya Village Travel on her own.
GROWTH AND TEAM.
From a small company, Aarya Village Travel expanded to a team of 23 regular team members, 70 guides, 70% of the staff employed are women. Unfortunately, the past year has been a very difficult one for all in this industry and our team has reduced. But as soon as Nepal is open to travelers she is even more determined and hopes to expand her business.
SUSTAINABILITY AND REGENERATIVE TOURISM
As a student of Environmental Science, she also wrote her thesis on "Impact of Eco-Tourism in the Nepalese Community", she understood the underlying effects tourism has on the environment and the people. She has dedicated her work to sustainability and regenerative tourism through her business where local, marginalized, and underprivileged get helped directly.
Sarala has traveled from the remote eastern and western parts of Nepal and many villages inside Nepal to provide educational support and basic support for the needy people before she started this company. As a founder of this organization, she is doing her best to support the environment, local communities, and women who are affected the most. To review effort towards sustainability you can click the link here. https://www.aaryatravel.com/about-us/our-effort-towards-responsible-tourism/ She believes in leaving the place better than it was before she arrived, and this is reflected in her carefully designed products. She is against Mass tourism so her company is focused on customized authentic tours with a unique experience.
HER PHILOSOPHY.
Travel and tourism are key drivers of economic growth worldwide, accounting for almost one-tenth of global GDP and employing over 100 million workers. During her university days, she understood Tourism can create thousands of jobs. After traveling to the numerous villages inside Nepal and writing her thesis, she realized Nepal needs more tourists who can help the local marginalized people, communities directly and that tourism boosts the revenue of the economy, creates thousands of jobs, develops the infrastructures of a country, and plants a sense of cultural exchange between foreigners and citizens.
THE POTENTIAL OF NEPAL TOURISM
Nepal is one of the most diversified and beautiful countries in the world where you can experience different landscapes and variations every 10 km. Nepal has great tourism potential because of its natural beauty; bio-diversity; ethnic, linguistic, and social diversity; and historical and cultural wealth, and mostly due to it welcoming people. As responsible citizens, we must craft and operate our all products in a responsible manner that can conserve the environment and increase the welfare of local communities and people.
AARYA VILLAGE TRAVEL VALUES
Sarala believes in empathy and giving respect to all the team members of the organization where all the members are treated equally is her utmost priority. Regarding the core values of Aarya, you click the link here https://aaryatravel.com/about-us/core-values-of-aarya/
All products and itineraries are crafted with care and diligence, taking care of the environment and the people you will meet along the way. We always leave the places better and cleaner than we arrived.
Updated 15th May 2023