Wanderlust Award winner Valerie Parkinson has been a tour leader in the Himalayas for more than three decades. Here she talks about her life in the mountains and offers her top trekking tips...
At Wanderlust, we're passionate about supporting the tour guides who make our adventures unforgettable. This is why we launched the World Guide Awards back in 2005: to ensure these unsung heroes get the recognition they deserve.
In 2021, trekking guide Valerie Parkinson won the award for Best Tour Leader, with judges calling her a "compassionate, caring and inspirational" guide. So, we thought it's about time we got to know Valerie better with an exclusive Q&A.
Valerie first visited Ladakh in India in 1984. It was a trip that steered the course of her life and career, and has spent the past four decades as a trekking and bike tour leader in the Himalayas. She has experience guiding every fitness-level of adventurer, whether her clients are not particularly active, first-time explorers or experienced trekkers. Read on to learn her top trekking tips, legendary achievements, and inspiring community initiatives...
Valerie first visited the Himalayas in the '80s (Provided by Exodus)
You’ve spent the past four decades as a trek leader in the Himalaya. How did it all start?
In the early 1980s, I saw the movie Lost Horizon, a fantasy film based on the 1933 novel of the same name by James Hilton, set in the fictional land of Shangri La. I also read a book by a German who claimed to be one of the first foreigners to go to the Ladakh region (India), just after it first opened to international visitors in 1974.The seeds were planted in my mind, so when I was 25 years old, I booked a 15-day trek from Kashmir to Ladakh.
We had a local guide, and every day was a huge adventure. We ended the trek in Ladakh, which was the most amazing place that I had ever seen. I was offered a job leading tours in the region for the summer, then guiding in Nepal during the autumn. I have been doing the same ever since.
Why do you consider the Himalaya to be so special?
I love the high altitude, the mountains and the peace; the brilliant blue skies, the scarcity of oxygen and the never-ending mountain views.
I love the people, the culture, the way of life and being able to get away from roads and noise and civilisation. Ladakh will always be my favourite part of the Himalaya mountains – there is still so much to explore there – but I also love Nepal, Tibet, Bhutan and other parts of the Indian Himalaya, such as Garhwal and Kumaon.
Do you have any advice for people who want to trek to Everest Base Camp?
Just do it! If it’s been a dream for years, don’t wait. But do try and find time to train well before you go – you will feel more confident if you are as fit as you can be. Do as much walking as you can on rough trails.
Valerie has gained respect from the locals her years of expert knowledge (Provided by Exodus)
Valerie has been leading tour for the past four decades (Provided by Exodus)
What type of wildlife can you see in the Himalayas?
Quite a variety. In Nepal we see Himalayan tahr – a type of wild goat. We used to see musk deer, and blue sheep are common at higher altitudes. Birds of prey such as Lammergeyers and Himalayan Griffon Vultures are also a common sight at high altitudes in both the Everest and Annapurna regions.
We've heard it can be hard to find the elusive snow leopard in the mountains. Is this true?
If you are in the right place and have good local guides and spotting scopes, it is not hard to find snow leopards in winter in Ladakh. One of my favourite trips is in Hemis National Park in February and March; this year, we saw six snow leopards in six days. On the first day, we got a wonderfully long sighting of a mother and her two cubs. It was just magical.
Valerie was the first British woman to summit Manaslu (Provided by Exodus)
What do you consider to be your finest moment?
My greatest achievement is standing on the top of Manaslu (8,163m) on the 5 October 2008 and being the first British woman to summit without the use of supplementary oxygen. A close second came six months later, upon reaching the South Summit and Hillary Step on Everest.
What’s the funniest question that you’ve ever been asked by a guest?
Probably: “Why are there so many hills in Nepal?” But the most common question is: "how much further is it?"
As well as your guiding, we've been inspired by the Himalayan Community Project you set up. Can you tell our readers more about it?
As I have spent over 34 years in the Himalaya, I have had the chance to visit many small remote villages and homes of our local staff in Nepal and Ladakh. I have always believed in small scale projects that have a great impact on village communities with a small outlay.
Through Exodus I started the Himalayan Community Support Projects over 25 years ago. We started with a small-scale tree nursery in Braga in the high Annapurna region. We then helped reduce the use of firewood by sponsoring smokeless stoves in remote villages and solar cookers in the Everest trekking region. Some of these are still in daily use today to boil water and cook potatoes, rice and dal.
Over the years we have put water pipe into villages of our local staff in Nepal. We have built classrooms and provided desks and benches for schools. After the devastating earthquake in Nepal in 2015 Exodus clients were exceedingly generous and we raised a quarter of a million pounds which was used to provide emergency supplies for our local staff, then temporary shelter for the staff and their families. We then helped over 80 local staff with money to rebuild their homes. We also ran a medical camp in Thulopatel village, rebuilt six schools and built a health post/birthing centre in the far east of Nepal.
In Ladakh we have helped with flood relief in 2012 and 2015. We also work with the Indian Government wildlife wardens in the Hemis National Park and have set up three Women’s Eco Cafes, where the local women groups sell real coffee plus local food and drink plus we have taught the women flat and needle felting so they can make felted animals and felted souvenirs to sell to trekkers. Water in plastic bottles is banned now from the Hemis National Park and we have helped provide water filters so trekkers can buy safe drinking water.
In Nepal at the moment we support the wonderful Freedom Kitbags project, which provide women with a period kitbag and locals are trained to provide menstrual and sexual education in villages.
Want to join a trip with Valerie? Why not take on an Everest Base Camp trek or go searching for snow leopards?
For more Himalaya trekking adventures, go to exodus.co.uk
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