Rijan Poudel

Rijan grew up in Thamel, the beating heart of Kathmandu's travel quarter, where the streets fill every season with trekkers, pilgrims, and wanderers from every continent. While other kids played, he was trading stories with travelers from places he had only seen on maps — and learning, early, how much the world wanted to understand Nepal.

That upbringing came with a job. His mother worked in tourism but ran into the language barrier that trips up so much of the industry, so Rijan became her translator — bridging Nepali warmth and a foreign visitor's questions across a hotel desk before he was old enough to guide. He learned that good travel is really good communication: listening closely, answering honestly, and making a stranger feel expected.

Today he leads marketing and communications for EcoTourNepal. He is the voice behind the stories you read, the guest messages you receive, the social posts that show Nepal as it really is, and the local partnerships that keep our trips grounded in the community. When you first reach out, there's a good chance Rijan is the one who makes sure you feel heard.