Rajan Simkhada is the president and co-founder of Earthbound Expeditions. He is a guide, a tour planner and a writer, and has worked in Nepal's tourism industry for more than 30 years.
He was born in 1977 in Dhading, a few days' walk from the Ganesh Himal base camp, north-west of Kathmandu. He left home at 14 to continue his studies in Kathmandu, and went on to earn a degree in Business Management from Tribhuvan University.
From front desk to founder
Rajan's career began in 1994 as a front desk attendant at a hotel in Thamel. In 1996 he joined a trekking company as a tour and trek coordinator, and completed the Trek Guide Training programme at the Hotel Management and Tourism Training Center in Kathmandu. He is a trek guide licensed by the Government of Nepal.
He led trips across Nepal, Tibet, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and India, and in 1999 founded Earthbound Expeditions with friends from the trade. He still plans and coordinates trips himself, and leads one when a group asks for him.
He speaks English, Hindi, Nepali and several local languages of Nepal.
Trips he has led
- Annapurna Base Camp, 47 times
- Mount Kailash and Lake Mansarovar, 22 times
- Langtang, 17 times
- Mustang, 7 times, including 37 days in the region in 1997
- India and Nepal tours, 5 times
- Lhasa, 4 times
- Everest, Simikot and the Limi Valley, and Bhutan, 3 times each
- 31 days in western Tibet in 2000, walking more than 650 km including the Limi Valley, Tholing and Tsaparang
- Mera Peak, climbed in 1999
Nepal's first India to China thru-hike
In January 2024, to mark the company's 25 years, Rajan walked across Nepal from the Indian border at Khunuwa to the Chinese border at Rasuwagadhi, near Kerung. With American hiker Mike Obester and two of our team, Kaji and Chetan, he covered 440 km in 17 days, through 9 districts in the Lumbini, Gandaki and Bagmati provinces.
The route links historical, pilgrimage and cultural sites by Taulihawa and Kapilvastu, and was planned to bring trekkers and income to villages off the usual routes. It was covered by several Nepali news outlets.
Beyond trekking
Rajan is the author of the Nepali book Hinde Pugincha, and has appeared as a comedian and TV actor. He also works as a motivational speaker and supports the community projects described on our community work page.
He has travelled to more than 30 countries, including the USA, the UK, Australia, New Zealand and much of Europe and South-East Asia, to see how tourism is run elsewhere and bring the best of it home.