..to give a hoot

A boy from Barpak | Barpak village, Gorkha, January 2015

On January we went to Barpak village of Gorkha district to discuss the possibility of organising an owl festival. We had a public meeting with the village representatives to present our proposal. They loved the idea! After forming a local festival organising committee we discussed festival activities and selected a venue. We had opted out of staying in hotels in favour of homestay and spent our free time sightseeing, enjoying the fascinating Ghale and Gurung culture and the picturesque landscape of this hilly village backdropped by the Boudha himal and Lakpa Dorje mountain range. Three days later we went back to Kathmandu.

We returned on March. The Nepal Owl Festival 2015 was a huge success.

Nepal Owl Festival is organised every year during the first week of March to promote owl awareness and conservation by Friends of Nature (FON Nepal), a non-governmental organisation working for wildlife conservation in Nepal with support from external agencies.