About the project
The Heaven Hill Academy was founded by Shamser Thapa, a local teacher and principal who is passionate about improving his community. Not satisfied with the education system, his vision was to build a new and free independent school in the heart of Gaunshahar. A school that will not discriminate between caste but will take the poorest of the village children. This then alleviates the financial burden on their families and provides them with the quality education they could not otherwise afford.
Heaven Hill Academy was founded with 40 students enrolled and has almost doubled in the year since then! It continues to grow and flourish, with additional buildings being added as the children grow.
About the homestay
The Heaven Hill Academy is located in a beautiful part of northwestern Nepal on the top of a hill with stunning views of Annapurna. It is the original abode of the royal family of Nepal that later relocated to Kathmandu. The small palace and courtyard still hosts traditional festivals that attract many people from all around many times a year. Gaunshahar is 4km uphill from Besisahar, one of the starting points of the famous Annapurna Circuit trek.
The homestay includes four shared guest rooms inside a traditional Nepali eco-roundhouse made from stone and a metal roof, and space to set up tents. The cost includes three meals (Dal Bhat), filtered water, cold shower and WiFi. Our food is sourced almost entirely from local ingredients and we can easily accommodate vegetarian diets. Next to the house, Bimala has a local shop where you can buy snacks, drinks and other items.
How to get there:
From Kathmandu to Besisashar
The quickest and easiest way is by microbus from the small Gongabu bus station (next to the New Bus Station). There are both local micro and tourist buses running from Kathmandu to Besisashar daily. Please try to take the earlier microbus, around 7.30 AM, in order to reach Besisashar at 4 PM to take jeep up the mountain to Gaunshahar. The journey will take about 6 hours and will stop once for local food and a toilet break on the way. This bus should cost around 500 NPR (5 dollars).
From Pokhara to Besisashar
You can take either a tourist bus or a direct micro bus to Besisahar. There are several buses to choose from and the bus ride takes between 4 to 5 hours. Please try to take the 9 AM bus in order to reach Besisashar at 4 to take jeep up the mountain to Gaunshahar. This bus should cost around 400 NPR (4 dollars).
Besisashar to Gaunshahar
You can either take a jeep or walk up the mountain to our village. Walking up to Gaunshahar is quite steepy so recommmend to take jeep.
A jeep leaves at 4 PM from in front of the Hotel Tukuche, every day of the week . But if you want to come on Saturday There is no jeep so you need to reserve the jeep and it costs is 2500 NPRS. The jeep will costs 300 NPR. But if you sit or stand back side of the jeep, it costs only 200 NPR.
If you miss the jeep or prefer to walk, there is a trail up the mountain to Gaunshahar (When you arrive in Gaunshahar, just ask for SHAMSER HOUSE) anyone will show you the house. There will be many people along your route and everybody will be happy to point you to the right direction. The hike is steep and will take about 2 hours to cover the 4 km uphill to the village. You can also take the road which is a more gentle ascent but is 7 km long. If you plan in advance, we can arrange a porter to assist you with your bags for 1000 NPR.
Or if you want a jeep after 4 Pm or other time, you can reserve a jeep it costs 2500 NPR. Before you make a reservation please call me, I will arrange it for you.
Other things to do nearby:
Heaven Hill Academy is located in a beautiful part of northwestern Nepal on the top of a hill with stunning views of Annapurna. It is the original abode of the royal family of Nepal that later relocated to Kathmandu. The small palace and courtyard still hosts traditional festivals that attract many people from all around many times a year. Gaunshahar is 4km uphill from Besisahar, one of the starting points of the famous Annapurna Circuit trek.
Nepal – Heaven Hill Academy
Mario –
I stayed there for around ten days and everyday was a highlight. This project is due to its initator Shamser a fully success! He puts all his energy in it and is such a nice person who enables the children a valuable education!
While my stay there where 10-15 other volunteers. Seems alot, but there is plenty of work and tasks so it never gets boring. Shamer shares his home with the volunteers. It is very basic and you share the room with other volunteers.
While my stay in spring it was raining in the evenings and at the outside area there was not enough place to sit and stay dry for everybody – but we already started to build a bigger roof to fit all the volunteers. That shows also that Shamser also appreciate the needs of the volunteers and immediately plans a solution for the problems.
Due to my travel plans it was not able to stay longer. The two weeks flew by way to fast. If you are in Nepal and want to give the locals something back or just want to be part of a wonderful project – go for it and just send Shamer a message via socialbnb.
Ps: For more and precise informations you can also find the project on workaway.