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Following the success of her high profile Gurkha Justice Campaign, Joanna Lumley went to Nepal in August for the first time. She visited villages set in the Annapurna trekking region of astonishing mountains and valleys, and received a rapturous welcome.

Joanna Arrives in Nepal

Joanna Lumley had originally planned a “quiet, private visit” to Nepal, but following her campaign for Gurkha veterans? rights in Britain, she has become a hero in Nepal. She was met at Kathmandu airport by more than a thousand Gurkha veterans and supporters, people who had walked for days, trekking from Annapurna’s mountain villages to thank her.

Joanna attended a number of presentations where she was bedecked in silk scarves, garlands of flowers and greeted with applause. There were scores of people holding placards depicting words of thanks, featuring her new nickname “Ayo Goddess Joanna”. One placard was amusingly affable: “We admire British Public totally.”

A small plane was chartered to fly her across the Himalaya, so she could visit the Gurkha veterans in several small villages, and see some of the amazing landscape that makes Annapurna treks so breathtaking. At Dharan, the entire town was waiting to welcome her.

The Gurkhas

Gurkhas have served in the British and Indian armies for more than sixty years, although the tradition of Gurkhas serving alongside British troops dates back as far as the early nineteenth century. The Nepalese men, from whom the Gurkha regiments are assembled, are reputably tough and exhibit remarkable endurance. This is a strength that is common to both the Gurkha and Sherpa peoples of Nepal, and is often demonstrated by them while serving as guides or porters on an Annapurna trek in the Himalaya. They are capable of carrying large loads over long distances and steep slopes in thinning air, a feat that never fails to impress the western visitors trekking in Annapurna.

The village of Ghandruk, which you may visit while on an Annapurna trek, is at the centre of the Gurkha tradition. The village is a recruiting centre for the Gurkhas, where boys and young men volunteer for tests of physical prowess to impress the recruiters. There is great competition for places. Serving in a foreign army provides an opportunity to prove themselves, bringing pride to their families and a welcome wage in one of the world’s poorest countries.

Until recently, veteran Gurkhas that retired before 1997 had no right to stay in Britain, despite having served for the country. This situation left many veterans homeless because they had been denied permission to work in the UK while they applied for residency there. Thanks to the recent change in policy, all Gurkhas that have served four years in the British military have the right to apply for residency in Britain when they retire.

Lumley?s Legacy

Joanna Lumley, who took up the Gurkha?s cause because her father owed his life to a Nepalese soldier in the Second World War, was very moved by the appreciation of the Nepalese people. She was overwhelmed when she arrived at Pokhara, which is the starting point for several Annapurna treks routes into the Annapurna region. Joanna learned that a hill in Pokhara was to be re-named in her and her father?s honour. Mattikhan Hill will now be known as Mattikhan Lumley View.

After the welcome she received in Nepal, Joanna was reticent to leave. ‘I want everyone to know how beautiful Nepal is. I’d love to go back, but next time to do more looking rather than being looked at.’

If Joanna were to go trekking in Annapurna, she would not have to go far from her hill in Pokhara to find the families of the people her campaign has helped. The popular Annapurna trek route to sanctuary lodge would introduce her to the owner of the Mountain View Cafe who was a Gurkha and has a family connection with the British army; his father was awarded the Military Cross for his service in World War one. It is veterans like these that Joanna Lumley has helped by pressing the government into action.

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Jude Limburn Turner is the Marketing Manager for Mountain Kingdoms, an adventure tour company that arranges a number of routes for an Annapurna trek and specialises in trekking holidays in various destinations including North and South America, Europe, Africa, and Central and South East Asia.

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