Volunteer Nepal | Pokhara
Despite being Nepal's second largest city Pokhara, 200 km west of Katmandu, has a distinctly more laid back feel than the capital. On the banks of Lake Phewa and with fantastic views across the lake of the Annapurna Range, Pokhara originally became popular as a hippy retreat in the sixties. Although now much more famous as a trekking base the city retains its relaxed appeal.
Pokhara is surrounded by green rice field filled mountains which rise up into the Annapurna Range, and the town is the starting point for famous treks such as the Annapurna Circuit, Jomsom and Sanctuary trek as well as a number of shorter one to two day treks. Our volunteers are based in these mountains, in small villages above Pokhara. Although not very remote by Himalayan standards, and within half an hour of Pokhara, these villages are still very basic and most volunteers will have to travel into Pokhara for facilities such as the Internet.
Sarangkot & Kaskikot
Sarangkot and Kaskikot are small Nepalese mountain villages, both around half an hour’s bus ride to Pokhara. Volunteers teach in the local primary or secondary schools and work together with a local teacher to help improve English skills including listening and speaking, grammar, and reading for children and teachers. You can also assist local teachers in a variety of other subjects including math and history.
Maidan Children’s Resource Centre
The Maidan Children’s Resource Centre was established in November 2006 and is situated in the middle of the village, 5 minutes walk from the homestay. 20-40 children access the centre everyday. There is also a day care centre 10 minutes from the homestay, where volunteers can come to play with the children. Volunteers can also teach children aged 7-12 in a local school.
Children’s Welfare Home
The Children’s Welfare Home is within the city center of Pokhara. It is a non-profit social welfare organization which was established in 2001. The home currently has 32 children between the ages of 7-18 whom are parentless. Volunteers placed at the home will help the children with their studies before and after school in the mornings and the evenings. Volunteers also can help with the daily routine including basic hygiene and care, not to mention sports playing and other extra-curricular activities. Volunteers will have a room in the orphanage.
| 2 Weeks | 4 Weeks | 8 Weeks | 12 Weeks | 24 Weeks | Extra Weeks |
| €550 | €650 | €850 | €1050 | € - | €50 |
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prices with other volunteer organisations.
View our prices in other volunteer locations's or
combine your stay in with stays in other locations as part of a
combination
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What you receive
- Orientation upon arrival
- 24 hour support
- Accommodation and Food
- Introduction and initiation into Nepali culture
- Nepali language lessons
- Teaching introduction and instruction (teaching placements only)
- Social activities and events
Apart from our fees, you must pay for:
- Your travel to Kathmandu
- Vaccinations
- Travel and health insurance
- Visa to Nepal
- Personal expenses including any food aside from that provided at your placement/by your host family.
Our application process typically takes two or three weeks, but can
be speeded up if there is a need for that. When we receive the initial application from you, we will send you our
full application form.
(1) Complete the Initial Application Form:
The first stage of the application process is to fill out the brief initial application form. Upon receiving this we
will send you the full application form.
(2) Complete the Full Application Form:
Fill out the application form. After receiving this we will assess your
suitability and place you on one of our programs.
(3) Placement info:
We will return detailed placement information and an invoice. If you
accept the placement you should clikc the link to say so. The fee can be
paid with credit card through PayPal or by bank transfer.
(4) Communication:
Once you have made your traveling arrangements you should mail your time of arrival and the means of transportation and we will confirm pickup.
For the majority of our Nepal programs, you can join us for any amount of time from 2 weeks to 4 months. However, some projects have minimum time restrictions.
We recommend a trip of 2-4 months since it offers the best value. Regardless of the length of your stay, you will have time to get to know a new culture, come to know its people, and form relationships that will outlast the duration of your stay.
Dates for the Year 2013:
|
June: Sat 8, Sat 22 July: Sat 6, Sat 20 August: Sat 3, Sat 17, Sat 31 September: Sat 14, Sat 28 |
October: Sat 12, Sat 26 November: Sat 9, Sat 23 December: Sat 7, Sat 21 |
| January: Sat 4, Sat 18 February: Sat 1, Sat 15 March: Sat 1, Sat 15, Sat 29 April: Sat 12, Sat 26 |
May: Sat 10, Sat 24 June: Sat 7, Sat 21 July: Sat 5, Sat 19 August: Sat 2, Sat 16, Sat 30 |
September: Sat 13, Sat 27 October: Sat 11, Sat 25 November: Sat 8, Sat 22 December: Sat 6, Sat 20 |
Our volunteers stay with local Nepali families in the mountains around Pokhara. Nepali families are extremely welcoming and all our host families have experience looking after volunteers. The houses are however basic by Western standards, most with Nepali style outdoor toilets and showers and the electricity supply is not always reliable. All of the houses are located close to the volunteers placements and all have fantastic mountain views.
During your time in the house you will be encouraged to participate in activities around the home such as cooking, washing and generally caring for the house and family as if you where a member of the familly. We believe this is best way to experience real Nepali life.
As well as the huge amounts of trekking, there are numerous other things to do around Pokhara. Highlights include boating on Lake Phewa Tal (the second largest lake in Nepal), paragliding, numerous temples (both Hindu and Buddhist), Rani Ban (the Queen’s Forest), local museums, Patale Chango (Devi’s Falls), Yoga Ashram Centers and Tashipalkhel (a Tibetan area including a Monastery and village).
During the week volunteers usually eat with their host families. The staple food for people in Nepal is "Dal Bhat" which most families will eat at least once a day and consists of rice (Bhat), lentil soup (dal) and vegetables in curry (Tarkari) and/or meat (Masu) and a small amount of pickle /sauce (Achar). Other traditional Nepali food are quite similar to Indian food with lots of curries and potatoes although in the mountainous regions Tibetan foods such as thugba (noodle soup), momos, Tibetan breads and tsampa are particularly popular. At weekends volunteers often travel in Pokhara where there is a huge variety of Western food available. Some of the placements are also close to trekking trails and the trekking lodges also sell a variety of Western food.
The climate around Pokhara depends very much on elevation. Pokhara itself is at only 884 meters and the climate is generally warm and more moderate that Kathmandu, although it gets hit harder than Katmandu by the monsoon season which runs from June until September and can get very humid at times. The best time to visit the region is between October and November when its cool and views of the mountains are clear from December through to February snows make much of the region and the longer treks inaccessible and it can get extremely cold at night. March and April are also good time to visit although May and June can get very hot during the day making trekking unpleasant even at high altitudes. Even at this time it can get very cold at night in the mountains so volunteers should be prepared for this.
Pokhara Weather Chart
In order to fly directly to Nepal from your home country, Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) in Kathmandu is the only international airport in Nepal. TIA has direct airlink with Osaka, Shanghai, London, Frankfurt, Hongkong, Singapore, Bangkok, Delhi, Dubai, Bombay and Calcutta. Lufthansa, Royal Nepal Airlines (RNAC), Air India, Singapore Airlines and Thai Airways are the airlines that carry most of the foreign travelers into Kathmandu; and if you buy tickets from any other airlines, you will probably connect with one of these airlines for the final leg of your flight.
Volunteers will be met at the international airport in Kathmandu by our in country coordinators.
Asim, T2T's partner in Nepal, directs our Nepali programs. He lives with his wife Namrata and his two young sons Narawas and Nirnaya, at the Happy Home Children's Care House. Asim has nearly 20 years experience working with volunteers and managing programs for various NGO's and has travelled to the UK as part of a cultural exchange program. His interests include working in the theatre and writing plays, he has also made one series for Nepali National Television.
Bicky is our Nepal Program Director and Co-coordinator. With over 6 years experience working with volunteers, Bicky is responsible for co-coordinating our volunteers and scheduling their training programs as well as matching each volunteers to suitable programs. Bicky has travelled extensively around Nepal and also been to Holland and China as part of volunteer exchange programs. As well as travel his interests include social work, especially with orphanage projects and in the local communities surrounding our projects.
A Visa can be obtained from the Royal Nepalese Embassy or Consulate office located in your country. It is also possible to get a Visa upon arrival at the Tribhuwan International Airport in Kathmandu. However, it is recommended that you obtain your Visa prior to arrival as the Visa lines at the airport tend to be quite long.
The fee for a Single Entry Tourist Visa to Nepal for 60 days is US $60. Tourist visa can be extended for a maximum of 150 days. The Visa extension fee for 30 days is US $30.
If you are planning to work in Cambodia then you will need to obtain a police records background check before starting your placement. For details on the application procedure in your home country please take a look at: www.travel-to-teach.org/CRB-information.php
At all other locations you will be required to abide by the Travel to Teach Child Protection Policy.
Volunteers should consider vaccines/medication for the following:
- Tetanus
- Diphtheria
- Polio
- Hepatitis A & B
- Typhoid
- Yellow fever
- Rabies
- Tuberculosis
- Malaria
Please consult your doctor before traveling. More information is available from the WHO's (World Health Organization) Travelers health information
One of the conditions of entry onto our programs is that volunteers have travel insurance. Most importantly the insurance needs to include medical treatment and repatriation in case of unforeseen accidents or illnesses. Volunteers should purchase insurance independently and bring a copy of their insurance certificate with them for their local co-ordinator to check before starting their program. Read our terms and conditions.
Read our Terms & Conditions
Download our Teach Terms and Conditions as a PDF File
Jan, South Africa/UK"My only 2 criteria were that I was surrounded by natural beauty and that I work with children. Both wishes were granted when I found myself placed in Nimral Pokhari, a village high in the Annapurnas, higher than the eagles flew, an hour from Pokhara in Nepal...."
Read Jan's Volunteer Story