Sarun Luitel

Sarun was born and raised in Kathmandu, in the shadow of the Himalaya, and left for the United States to study computer science at the University of New Mexico. He came home an engineer — and still runs his own software company in Kathmandu — but the mountains kept pulling him back.

His guiding career began almost by accident. When he wanted to take his university friends trekking on certain routes, he ran into a rule that catches out a lot of visitors: parts of Nepal require a licensed guide. Rather than hire one, Sarun enrolled in the guide course and qualified himself. What started as a workaround turned into a calling — a way to meet people from every corner of the world and show them, first-hand, just how beautiful his country is.

Today Sarun founds and leads EcoTourNepal, and still guides personally across all of Nepal — from gentle valley day-hikes to the great Himalayan base camps. He brings an engineer's eye for logistics and an owner's honesty to every itinerary the team plans: if a trip is wrong for you, he will be the first to say so.

He is also the reason the trail tends to smell like fresh coffee. Sarun never travels without a bag of beans and a hand grinder, brewing a proper cup wherever there's hot water — base camp included. And when the day winds down, he'll often pull out the flute he carries on every trek, a quiet way to close out a long day on the mountain.