The Humla district is in the North West tip of Nepal. It is surrounded by Tibetan China on three sides.

Simikot is the main village and has an airstrip. It is 3,000 metres above sea level. There are no roads.

Locals have to walk through mountain terrain for at least 10 days to get to the nearest hospital. Infant mortality runs at over 30%. Death during child birth is common. Mothers die, often simply due to blood loss and no doctor. While we were in Simikot a lady passed away while giving birth. We were asked to take the child back to Ireland.

The Humla district, a part of Karnali zone, is one of the seventy-five districts of Nepal, a landlocked country of South Asia. The district, with Simikot as its district headquarters, covers an area of 5,655 km² and has a population (2001) of 40,595.

It was a stronghold of the Mao rebels. The Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) is a Maoist political party in Nepal, founded in 1994 and led by Pushpa Kamal Dahal (otherwise known as Prachanda). They now have political power and although they used to use gorilla war fare, they were not anti-tourism and in 3 years killed no foreign tourists. Tourism has great potential to flourish in near future.

Nicky, who now lives in Nepal, and helped research the venture, describes it beautifully:

"Our destination is a village called Simikot. It is the main town for one of Nepal's 75 districts (like a county in Ireland), this district is called Humla. It is in the north west of the country, and is bordered on three sides by Tibet. We fly directly into Simikot from Nepalgunj.

It is very picturesque and spectacular. It looks a bit like Switzerland caught in a time warp. The village is in a valley, and is surrounded by snow capped mountains with spruce trees, and mountain streams. The air is very clear and the light is fantastic. The people look amazing - the women wear very vivid colours of yellow, pink, red and green, with lots of beads, and huge earrings that go down to their shoulders, and big nose rings (like a gold version of what a bull has in Ireland). They look quite Tibetan, with flat faces, high cheekbones and almond shaped eyes. They are very gentle and smiley people, usually with a baby strapped to their back.

There is no transport other than donkeys and mules, and a cross between a cow and a yak, like a very hairy cow thing. There are no roads, just paths through the mountains. The houses are built of stone or mud with mud plastering inside, with either tin roofs, or a flat mud and timber roof. Cooking is done on the open fire inside, in a type of Aga made of metal. Also there is no electricity, but most houses have a solar panel that provides 2 hours of light each night.

The only way to access this district is by air from Nepalganj (a 45 minute flight), or a 10 day walk to Nepalganj, the nearest proper town. There are no roads so you hike over mountains for 10 days. Otherwise, it is completely cut off from the rest of the world. There are phone lines, but these are also solar powered and only work if there is sunshine."