Higher than Mount Everest

LIVING FOR OTHERS The award recognizes inspiring brands for taking strides in changing travel for the better and making a positive impact on their communities
To celebrate inspiring travel and hospitality changemakers who are paving the way toward a better, more purposeful future, Travel + Leisure has named Mountain Lodges of Nepal (MLN) and the Pasang Lhamu Foundation (PLF) as among its honorees for the 2023 Global Vision Awards. A member of Sherpa Hospitality Group, MLN is Nepal’s first luxury hospitality brand that offers a stylish new way to experience the country and Great Himalaya Trails, through its collection of 13 family-owned premium lodges in the Everest and Annapurna regions. MLN works closely with PLF in improving the living standards of marginalized women and children in Nepal’s Khumbu region.
Founded in 1993 by Pasang Lhamu Sherpa’s family, in honor of her legacy as a national figure and the first Nepalese woman to summit Mount Everest, PLF is a non-profit, non-political, and non-government organization supported by its core pillars of education, vocational training, health, and immediate assistance. The foundation’s longstanding projects include the construction of local schools, supporting scholarship programs, and leading vocational initiatives, such as training guides and mountain rescue personnel.
“We are humbled to be recognized for this meaningful award by Travel + Leisure as a testament that tourism is a driving force for good and a better future is possible by pairing hospitality with purpose in The New Nepal,” said Namgyal Sherpa, chief executive officer of Sherpa Hospitality Group and son of the late Pasang Lhamu Sherpa. “In collaboration with PLF, we launched the ‘Learn to Earn’ barista and service training program in one of our lodges’ cafés during the pandemic, which provided job opportunities and free vocational training to local mountaineers and their families who were impacted by Covid-19. Proceeds from the café’s operation are then channeled back to support PLF’s other programs and initiatives to uplift deprived and marginalized women and children from mountainous and hilly regions of Nepal.”
WOMAN OF ACTION Dawa Futi Sherpa, president of the Pasang Lhamu Foundation
As natives of the Himalayas, said Dawa Futi Sherpa, president of the Pasang Lhamu Foundation, they have made it their mission to build an ecosystem of responsible and sustainable tourism by uplifting the communities and reducing their carbon footprint whenever possible. “We are very proud to receive this award and to be part of a distinguished group of global changemakers,” she said. “It has certainly inspired us for better initiatives in shaping The New Nepal.”
The partnership with PLF grows in tandem with MLN’s robust project pipeline, which includes the launch of a new hotel in Dhampus this fall and unveiling of the highly-anticipated Deboche Lodge by spring 2024. To welcome seasonal trekkers and adventure seekers back to the Everest and Annapurna regions with elevated stay experiences, refurbishment works were recently completed for a new restaurant at Phakding Lodge and a water heating system at Namche Lodge.
Travel + Leisure’s Global Vision Awards 2023 celebrate innovators and innovations that are leading the world to a more sustainable, inclusive future. To arrive at this year’s list of 25 honorees, nominations were sourced from an esteemed panel of industry leaders and experts across the travel, hospitality, and non-profit sectors, along with Travel + Leisure editors and correspondents. The final winner selections were made by Travel + Leisure editors and are featured in the publication’s April 2023 issue.
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