‘Homo Momo’, ‘Kathmandu from Queer Eye’ or ‘Gurkha Slays’—these are some of the playful tours offered by Queermandu, a Kathmandu-based company catering to LGBTQ+ travellers and their allies.

“Queermandu is the first gay-owned tour company in Nepal,” says licensed tour guide and co-founder Aayam Poudel. In addition to day tours, the company also offers multi-day travel packages and trekking adventures.

Poudel, who is now 27 years old, grew up in a small village in Chitwan. Even though there was no representation of openly queer people, he came out as gay when he was 17.

Soon after, he began his professional journey. His first job was as an English teacher, where he grew fond of the language. To improve his language skills, he moved to India and worked as a waiter in a hotel with many English-speaking guests. “Many foreigners told me that I was charismatic and smart. They suggested that I should work in tourism and not waste my talent here,” he remembers.

He moved back to Kathmandu when he was 19 and soon found a job as a tour guide. Within a month, he realised he had a talent for it—and started organising his own tours. As he had limited finances and no money for a website, he promoted his tours on the gay dating app Grindr.

“I thought—why not offer tours specifically for my own people,” Poudel says. On a night out, he realised that his friend Prajeet Budhathoki was toying with a similar idea. So, in 2022, they founded their tour company Queermandu. “There is huge competition for tour operators in Nepal,” says Poudel. “But we’re familiar with the LGBTQ+ audience, and it just felt right.”

He says that while there are a few other operators in Kathmandu that cater for some tours to the queer community, Queermandu is the only company run by queer guides themselves.

His business partner recently moved to the US and now manages bookings and Queermandu’s online presence, while Poudel handles everything on the ground.

Poudel has good connections to the LGBTQ+ community. He organises parties, events, and drag shows and also performs as his alter ego, drag queen Momolicca. In the past, he has worked with USAID to support the queer community in Kathmandu by identifying HIV-positive cases.

However, Queermandu’s tours are not only for queer people. “As of now, around 60 per cent of our clients are part of the LGBTQ+ community. The rest are allies. A lot of our tours are for everyone.”

His favourite tour is the ‘Homo Momo’ cooking class, which takes place in his own home, with the help of his sister and mother, who moved to Kathmandu one year ago. Together, they prepare colourful Momo. “During that tour, we can cook, eat, chat and be silly,” says Poudel. And his mother has the opportunity to meet gay people from all over the world.

“When I came out, she didn’t understand it. And she still worries about my future.” The cooking classes help her realise that queer people can lead happy lives.

Poudel believes that Nepal is an excellent travel destination for the LGBTQ+ community. “It is safe for everyone, and self-expression is widely appreciated,” he says. Since gay marriage became legal in Nepal in 2023, following an interim Supreme Court order, he hopes couples might soon come here to tie the knot. “Nepal should have become the next Thailand long ago,” he adds.

However, he also admits that Nepal is more progressive on paper than in reality. He knows many gay men who ended up marrying women or who hide their identity due to social pressure. “Even though in Hindu culture, we have a lot of queer representation, such as queer or transgender deities and depictions of lesbian love, many people remain deeply conservative.”

This gap between cultural heritage and social reality motivates him to create spaces where queer people can be open and visible. His goal is to bring queer tourists and the local queer community together, and he has recently started organising day hikes to achieve this.

So far, he says, around 10 per cent of his clients learn of Queermandu through word of mouth, the rest through their online presence. For the future, Poudel is looking for an office that lies closer to the centre of Thamel, to attract more attention from passers-by. “Our tours appeal to a wide audience. I’m sure that when they see us, we will have many more bookings. I really see a future here.”

At the moment, Queermandu is still a “baby company,” as he calls it. “Even if another job might be more profitable right now, I couldn’t imagine doing something else.”

His dream is to grow his company and to provide jobs for local queer people. “It will take some time. But I know that Queermandu will be a big success,” states Poudel. “There’s so much fabulousness to experience in Nepal—our culture, our nature, and our hospitality.”