Hari Dev Pathak

Hari Dev Pathak was born 62 years ago in a rural village in Nuwakot — a district north of Kathmandu where the hills roll into the high Himalayas and the nearest road was a day's walk away. It was a childhood shaped by hard terrain, close community and the kind of resilience that only a mountain upbringing instils.
As a young man he made his way to Kathmandu to pursue his education, completing his schooling in the capital. But it was not the classroom that would define him — it was the streets of Thamel. At just 16 years old, Hari Dev was already working in Nepal's most vibrant travel neighbourhood, absorbing everything: the languages of foreign trekkers, the logistics of mountain expeditions, the pulse of an industry just beginning to find its feet.
 

"At 16, I was already in Thamel — watching, learning, carrying bags and asking questions. Every traveller who passed through was a teacher."

What he learned on those streets became the foundation of everything that followed. Nepal's trekking industry was young. The trails were open but largely unorganised. Hari Dev saw not just a business opportunity, but a calling — to show the world the Nepal he had grown up loving, with honesty, care and genuine expertise.
In his twenties, he took the first step: river rafting. Along with his brothers Ram and Shyam Krishna Pathak, he began organising white-water expeditions on Nepal's great rivers — the Trishuli, the Bhote Koshi, the Sun Koshi. He didn't just run trips. He mastered the rivers. His expertise grew to the point where he became Secretary General of the Nepal Rafting Association — a national leadership role that put him at the centre of how Nepal's adventure sports industry was regulated, developed and promoted.
From the rivers, the vision expanded to the mountains. Trekking, then expeditions, then cultural tours. Trekking Team Pvt. Ltd. was formally registered in 1991 — but the company had already been a living thing for years, built on relationships, reputation and an uncompromising standard of care for every client who walked through the door.