A country of contrasts, Nepal is home to a dramatic landscape and a rich culture. It is also the great opportunity of the cultural exchange as Nepal is rich in culture as well as geographical diversity. Thousands of visitors and tourist volunteer in Nepal every year, working on an incredible range of development and conservation projects, covering everything from volunteering with street children in Kathmandu to rescuing in disasters, cleaning rivers to counting the tracks of endangered animals in the high Himalaya. The potential for personal growth and the opportunity to establish a connection with a local community can give a profoundly deeper significance to the notion of travel.

However, it is important to remember the principles of ethical volunteering – good volunteer agencies match a volunteer’s skill sets to suitable projects that result in real and lasting benefit to local communities. As so-called ‘volunteerism’ has grown in popularity, dozens of organizations have leaped up to take advantage of a new source of revenue. You’ll need to do serious research to ensure that your time and money are genuinely going to help the cause you are trying to advance. Do it right though, and an extended time spent volunteering will bring you much closer to the country. Dare we say it, it may even change your life.