Paul Gurung
Paul Gurung, the founder and managing director of Discovery World Trekking, is passionate about tourism and is a dynamic, flexible, and open-minded leader. He is responsible for overall company leadership, handles public relations, and maintains strong and healthy relationships with our guests. In fact, for his effective leadership, he received a Business Excellence Certificate from the World Confederation of Businesses for the year 2024. Paul believes that the key to a successful life is ethics, far-sightedness, hard work, and good relations. In fact, besides his home family, he considers his team members and valuable clients as family members too. His philosophy for life is - "Happiness is the key, and only happy people can make others happy", and he works with his team accordingly, paying equal attention to the satisfaction of his team members and guests.
He is looking forward to heartily welcoming you to a rewarding and challenging trek in the mighty Himalayas.
“I want my clients to be happy, and do everything that I can to make their treks adventurous, memorable, and life-changing. I do not believe that money can buy happiness. Discovery World Trekking has been established with the objective of providing benefits directly to the local people, tourists, environment, government, and tourism industry to a large extent.”
- Paul Gurung
My Early Life
I was born and raised in Ruby Valley, Dhading—a remote village where life was a daily struggle. My parents were subsistence farmers, and as a child, I worked alongside them in the fields, collecting firewood and fodder, often going without shoes or enough food. With no electricity or modern tools, hardship was a constant companion.
Despite this, my parents believed in education and sent me to school, though the four-hour commute and lack of resources made it challenging. Everything changed when I encountered tourists visiting our village. Their lifestyle inspired me, and working as a porter gave me my first opportunity to earn, connect with the world, and dream of a different future.
I later moved to Kathmandu for higher education, where I continued working as a porter and trekked across Nepal—from Everest and Annapurna to Manaslu and Langtang. Often carrying loads heavier than myself, I learned resilience, honesty, and sincerity—values that continue to guide me today.
Over time, my affinity for nature deepened, and my passion for tourism grew stronger. Having endured hardships myself, I developed a genuine desire to help others, which opened doors to cultural exchanges and trekking forums.
My life took a turning point when I moved to Australia, where I worked for over five years as a Chef in various cities. Immersed in the hospitality industry, I also embraced outdoor adventures like rock climbing, hiking, and rafting, meeting entrepreneurs, climbers, and explorers who further shaped my vision for adventure tourism.
Founding Discovery World Trekking
As a passionate chef each weekend, I organized “curry nights”, for people engaged in the hospitality industry to exchange our experiences. From my side, I would share my experience with Nepal’s tourism industry. I developed the concept of Discovery World Trekking during those nights. While working in Australia, I also got a chance to visit many countries such as Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand, France, & Sweden.
I returned to Nepal in 2010 and established Discovery World Trekking shortly after. My experiences helped me understand the value of tourism, its challenges, and its potentialities. As a person who started from the bottom, I was fortunate to understand the needs and aspirations of trekkers and adventurers. I established Discovery World Trekking, not because I just wanted to, but because I sensed a void in the proper management and quality service to adventurers who visit Nepal from all over the world.
It depends on how you look at it – divine grace or hard work- I invest my entire day in the hospitality industry. I agree with a Sanskrit saying – ‘Atithi Devo Bhava” meaning – “A guest is a god”.
I want my clients to be happy, and do everything that I can to make their treks adventurous, memorable, and life-changing. I do not believe that money can buy happiness.
During my years of service, I have served professional climbers, celebrities, entrepreneurs, and athletes to their satisfaction. You can see feedback my customers have left on websites like Facebook, TripAdvisor, and Google.
DWT’s Outreach Programs
It is true that during the early years of forming DWT, I focused on strategic management, careful planning, and quality of service. My team wholeheartedly supported me in the goals and vision that I set. Moreover, DWT would not have existed without the clients whom I got the opportunity to serve. For me, the world is a huge family, and it is my goal to treat everyone with respect and love. Perhaps, this is the reason why DWT is one of the leading trekking/expedition companies in Nepal.
We are actively engaged in social giveaways in the form of Discovery World Trekking Outreach Fund, we regularly contribute to the programs that support the education and basic needs of Chalish villagers. (Chalish is the village where I was born.) We also initiated an earthquake relief program at Chalish in 2015.
I believe in giving back to society, and for me, it is a source of joy. I have used my ties with NGOs/ INGOs, to bring their attention to remote villages in Nepal including Chalish. DWT contributes its share to the initial outreach funds for Chalish regularly. A certain percentage of profits from DWT goes to rural parts of Nepal – mainly for education and health.
It is our duty to support senior citizens, orphans, and women who cannot meet their basic needs. This is the reason that drives me to give.