Himalayan Women Trail Leaders Phase 2
SUPPORT OUR FUNDRAISING CAMPAIGN TO FUND OUR HWTL GUIDE TRAINING
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The Himalayan Women Trail Leaders (HWTL) Initiative is a groundbreaking project in Nepal initiated through the 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, The Porter Voice Collective, with the mission of elevating the roles and visibility of female Nepali trekking guides in the male-dominated trekking tourism industry. This initiative represents a significant step toward achieving gender equity in Nepal’s mountain tourism sector, where women have historically faced systemic barriers to entry and advancement. By creating an innovative online platform, HWTL empowers consumers to directly select and book female trekking guides for their treks in Nepal, offering a personalized experience tailored to their expectations and needs. This platform not only enhances the visibility of female guides but also provides them with opportunities to showcase their skills and expertise on a global stage.
WHY GENDER EQUITY MATTER IN THE TREKKING TOURISM INDUSTRY
Gender equity is essential in all industries, but it holds particular significance in Nepal’s trekking tourism sector. Traditionally, this field has been dominated by men due to societal norms, lack of training opportunities for women, and cultural biases that discourage women from pursuing careers as guides or porters. Female guides often face discrimination, limited access to field training, and societal pressures that prevent them from entering or advancing within the profession. The HWTL Initiative seeks to dismantle these barriers by providing women with access to professional development opportunities while simultaneously raising awareness about the importance of gender equity among consumers and industry stakeholders.
By supporting female trekking guides through this initiative, we aim to create a more inclusive and equitable trekking industry that benefits not only the guides themselves but also travelers who value diversity and empowerment. Gender equity ensures that talented individuals are not excluded based on outdated stereotypes, enriching the trekking experience for everyone involved.
Watch the video below to hear directly from Nepali female guides.
MEET THE FOUNDERS:
Marinel M. de Jesus Esq.
and
Mingmar Dolma Sherpa
Marinel and Mingmar hiked on the high route of the Great Himalaya Trail in December of 2023 and from February to May of 2024 covering the following routes: Kanchenjunga, Makalu (partial), Everest (Everest Base Camp, Renjo La Pass, Gokyo Lakes), Rolwaling, Manaslu, Tsum Valley, Langtang and Annapurna Regions (Annapurna Circuit Trek, Annapurna Base Camp, Poon Hill).
How the Online Platform Works
The centerpiece of the HWTL Initiative is its user-friendly online platform designed to connect travelers with certified female Nepali trekking guides. Customers can browse profiles of individual guides, learn about their qualifications and experiences, and select a guide who aligns with their preferences for their trek of choice in Nepal. Whether travelers are seeking someone with expertise in specific regions like Annapurna or Everest or looking for a guide who shares their language or cultural background, this platform allows them to customize their trip while supporting gender equity.
This direct booking system not only empowers consumers but also provides female guides with greater visibility and access to job opportunities that were previously out of reach. It bridges the gap between demand for skilled professionals and supply by highlighting the unique strengths that female guides bring to the table—such as fostering inclusive environments during treks and offering diverse perspectives on Nepal’s rich culture and history.
Training Programs for Career Advancement
In addition to facilitating bookings, HWTL is deeply committed to supporting female Nepali trekking guides through comprehensive training programs. These programs provide participants with essential skills such as navigation, first aid, leadership development, communication techniques, and safety protocols required for guiding treks across Nepal’s challenging terrains. By equipping women with these tools, we ensure they are well-prepared not only to meet industry standards but also to excel as leaders in their field.
Revenue generated from bookings made through our platform—operated under Equity Global Treks—is reinvested into these training initiatives via our nonprofit human rights organization, The Porter Voice Collective. Additionally, HWTL offers educational resources online aimed at educating consumers, tour agencies, and tourism professionals about gender equity issues within mountain tourism.
UPCOMING HWTL EVENT: Women Leadership & Guide Training
February 22–24, 2026 IN KATHMANDU
The HWTL Women Leadership & Guide Training is a three-day immersive program created to strengthen the skills, confidence, and collective power of female Nepali trekking guides. Rooted in leadership, safety, a balanced guide-client & company relationship, and gender equity, this training is designed not only to build professional capacity on the trail, but to foster trust, community, and long-term engagement with women shaping the future of Himalayan trekking.
This program brings together experienced instructors, women guides from different regions, and the HWTL team to create a supportive learning space—one where women can openly discuss challenges, share knowledge, and step into leadership roles with clarity and confidence.
Core Themes
Leadership • Safety • Client & Company Relationship • Gender Equity • Community Circle • Long-term Engagement
Program Goals
Strengthen the leadership capacity of female Nepali trekking guides
Build safety, first aid, and risk management skills aligned with global standards
Improve communication and customer service practices for international clients
Create space to openly discuss gender-related challenges in guiding
Build trust, community, and long-term relationships within HWTL
Invite guides to join the Himalayan Women Trail Leaders Initiative and help shape future programming
What to Expect: 3-Day Training Overview
Day 1 – Leadership, Identity & Building Trust
In-person classroom session
Day 1 centers on leadership, identity, and connection. The training opens with a community circle, where participants share their stories, relationships to the mountains, and personal goals. Guides are introduced to the Himalayan Women Trail Leaders Initiative—its origins, mission, and long-term vision for women in trekking.
The core leadership workshop explores communication, decision-making under pressure, group dynamics, cultural intelligence, boundary-setting, and managing difficult client situations. Through real-life case studies and scenario-based role plays, participants apply leadership skills directly to guiding contexts, with space for reflection and feedback.
The day closes with a facilitated circle focused on shared learning, trust-building, and collective reflection.
Day 2 – Safety, First Aid & Risk Management
Full-day, hands-on training
Day 2 focuses on technical competence and safety leadership—essential skills for long-distance and high-altitude trekking. Participants receive in-depth instruction on trekking safety principles, including risk assessment, weather awareness, environmental hazards, and emergency decision-making.
The day also covers altitude-related illnesses (AMS, HAPE, HACE), client symptom assessment, and region-specific case studies. In the afternoon, guides participate in practical first aid training, including bandaging, splinting, injury management, evacuation scenarios, and building an effective first-aid kit.
Special emphasis is placed on safety leadership for women, addressing gender-specific risks, self-protection strategies, and the importance of peer support networks in the field.
Day 3 – Safety Continuation, Soft Skills & Gender Equity
Hybrid: in-person and virtual sessions
Day 3 bridges technical training with the broader realities of working as a woman in mountain tourism. The morning allows space to complete advanced safety modules while introducing soft skills such as emotional intelligence, fostering client and company relationship, responding to client and company feedback, communication styles, and balancing personal well-being with professional responsibilities.
A central feature of the day is a Gender & Workforce Equity panel, bringing together relevant female leaders in mountain tourism from different regions to share lived experiences, challenges, and advocacy strategies. This session invites open conversation around inequities in the trekking industry and explores how women can collectively create change—on and off the trail.
The training concludes with an invitation to formally join the Himalayan Women Trail Leaders Initiative. Participants learn about ongoing mentorship, inclusion in the women guide directory, and future long-distance trekking and field training opportunities. The program closes with reflections, a certificate ceremony, and the creation of an ongoing communication network to support long-term connection.
YOUR SUPPORT OF HWTL TRAININGS - WHY IT MATTERS
This training exists because of community belief and collective investment. Supporting the Women Leadership & Guide Training means investing in safer treks, stronger leadership, and a more equitable trekking industry—one where women are recognized, trained, and supported as professional trail leaders.
Donations directly support:
Leadership and safety training for female guides
Access to first aid education and risk management skills
Gender-equity conversations led by women in the industry
Scholarships and future long-distance trekking programs for women guides
By contributing, you help ensure this training—and future programs like it—remain accessible, community-centered, and transformative.
We invite you to support this program and the future of women-led long-distance trekking.
Click on the “Donate Now” button below to stand with women trail leaders shaping the next generation of Himalayan trekking.
If you are a female trekking guide and wish to join this training program, please see the eligibility requirements and complete the Application Form here.
Long-Distance Trekking on the World's Longest High-Altitude Trek, the GHT – all sections are Now Open to Women guides and trekkers
HWTL is dedicated to reshaping the narrative surrounding long-distance trekking in the majestic Great Himalaya Trail (GHT). Spanning 1700 kilometers across the high routes of the Himalayas, this trail is a journey that has traditionally been dominated by male guides. Traditionally, female guides are offered to lead the popular routes like Everest Base Camp and Annapurna Circuit Trek. HWTL aims to change this by offering travelers the opportunity to take these transformative treks led by female Nepali guides on ANY or ALL of the ten sections of the Great Himalaya Trail. The initiative focuses on creating sustainable job opportunities for women in Nepal's trekking industry, empowering them to take on leadership roles, share their local knowledge, and serve as role models for future generations. By doing so, HWTL hopes to foster greater gender equality and provide women with the tools to succeed, both professionally and personally, within this adventure tourism sector.
No limits. No apologies. Just trailblazing.
HWTL offers a variety of trekking experiences for all levels of adventure seekers, whether they are interested in a few days of exploration or a months-long trek through the Himalayas. HWTL offers female travel consumers the rare opportunity to do long distance treks in the Himalayas led by female guides on any or all ten sections of the GHT: Kanchenjunga, Makalu, Everest, Rolwaling, Langtang & Ruby Valley, Manaslu, Annapurna, Dolpo, Mugu, and Far West. Having already trekked the first seven sections of the GHT, the founders of HWTL are passionate about leading the way for women in this field. In the future, the initiative will be expanding its scope with a group trekking to the remote areas of Dolpo, Mugu, and Far West, as part of the second phase of their original GHT Women Leaders on the Trail Campaign. If you are interested in joining this exciting adventure and supporting the mission of empowering women in the trekking industry, you can reach out to HWTL via email at equity@browngaltrekker.com.
Hear from Sophie (Everest BC Trek March 2024):
HWTL is important and necessary for so many reasons. In an industry built and operating upon Indigenous and community exploitation, initiatives like HWTL honor the agency and autonomy of the communities in which we travel. It is indigenizing, community-based, and anti-racist at its core. Likewise, HWTL empowers women in a male-dominated industry. Women guides have, do, and will continue to exist and be trailblazers. However, they face many hardships unique to their gender - visibility, access, attitudes, and safety, to name a few. HWTL is an initiative that is working to address these issues and make the industry safer and more accessible for women guides. As a woman trekker myself, trekking alongside other women was so important to me. There are certain topics and safety concerns that I would not feel comfortable addressing with male leaders. Women also hold diverse and unique cultural and environmental knowledge that can make the trekking experience richer for all. The work HWTL is doing is thus important, empowering, and enriching for local women workers and tourists alike. I cannot imagine trekking any other way and will continue to support initiatives like these in all of my future travels. My trek with Mingmar changed my life and set me on a different course. I owe so much to HWTL and for that, I am eternally grateful!
The impact of HWTL not only lies in elevating the roles of Nepali female guides but also the experiences that female hikers and travel consumers have on the Himalayan Trail when they join our women-led treks. For the first time, female hikers and long distance trekkers have the option to hire a female guide to lead them amidst an industry that routinely hire male guides as a default practice. HWTL offers female hikers a unique experience as they forge meaningful and transformational connections with fellow Nepali women who are leading the way while simultaneously creating a new narrative together.
The Origins: Great Himalaya Trail Women Leaders Campaign
The Himalayan Women Trail Leaders Initiative originated from our successful Great Himalaya Trail (GHT) Women Leaders on the Trail Campaign, which took place during Spring 2024. This campaign marked a historic milestone by sponsoring Nepal’s first female trekking guide, Mingmar Dolma Sherpa, to trek the first seven sections of the 1700km Great Himalaya Trail from February through May 2024 with HWTL co-founder, Marinel de Jesus.
The GHT campaign was designed not only as an endurance challenge but also as an advocacy effort aimed at breaking stereotypes about women’s capabilities in high-altitude mountaineering roles. The team traversed some of Nepal’s most remote regions—the first 7 sections of the GHT from east to west: Kanchenjunga, Makalu, Everest Region (Khumbu), Rolwaling, Langtang Valley, Manaslu, and Annapurna. The team will complete the last three sections (Dolpo, Mugu and Far West) as Part 2 of the GHT Women Leaders on the Trail Campaign which will be open for men and women trekkers to join.
This monumental achievement demonstrated that Nepali women are equally capable of excelling as professional mountain guides when given equal opportunities. It served as both inspiration for aspiring female trekkers and proof-of-concept for launching broader initiatives like HWTL
HWTL WON FIRST PLACE AT THE 2024 SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP competitioN in tourism
We’re delighted to have initiated HWTL by way of being selected as one of the finalists for the 2024 Social Entrepreneurship Competition in Tourism, Launch Track where we won as 1st Place at the Pitching Competition. You can learn more and watch the pitching competition via this webpage.
Through its innovative online platform combined with robust training programs funded by trek bookings via Equity Global Treks, HWTL is transforming Nepal’s trekking tourism landscape into one where gender equity is no longer an aspiration but a reality. By choosing a trek guided by one of our skilled female professionals, travelers contribute directly toward empowering Nepali women while enjoying an unforgettable adventure tailored specifically to their needs.
HWTL is the WINNER of the Wanderful Award at the 2025 Bessie Awards (WITS by Wanderful)
READ ABOUT THE EVENT AND ALL THE WINNERS VIA FODOR’S TRAVEL and HERE.
here’s how you can help us
BE A FUNDING OR STRATEGIC PARTNER
We’re looking for funding and strategic partners to launch the directory and training program for the Nepali female guides. Send us an email - hwtleaders@gmail.com - to discuss partnerships and collaboration.
JOIN ONE OF OUR WOMEN-LED TREKS IN NEPAL
By booking one of our treks in Nepal, you are helping us fund the HWTL Initiative as a portion of the tour cost goes towards the creation of the online directory including the field work involved in Nepal to recruit Nepali female guides. You can find our treks including our 3-Part trek on the Himalayan Trail combining Langtang/Ruby Valley, Manaslu Circuit & Annapurna Circuit in one go via this page. We can organize any treks on the high route of the 1700 km Great Himalaya Trail including long distance treks combining a few sections of the trail or if you are up for the challenge, you can trek the entire GHT which can take up to 4-5 months to complete.
VOLUNTEER OR INTERN WITH THE PORTER VOICE COLLECTIVE
We run a volunteer/internship program via The Porter Voice Collective which is the organization co-hosting this initiative. Learn more and apply via our PVC Volunteer & Internship Program.
complete our survey to help us design the online directory
For travelers/consumers, please complete the Consumer Survey.
For Nepali female trekking guides, please complete the Female Guide Survey.
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