Nepal Just Crowned 7 Provincial Winners in Its First Wellness Storytelling Contest
111 short-form videos, seven provinces, and a push toward 'Nepal Wellness Year 2027' — inside the Nepal Tourism Board's first Wellness Reel Competition.
Nepal's tourism board just handed out its first-ever national prize for wellness storytelling — and the winners came from all seven provinces, not just the usual trekking hotspots.
Key facts
- 111 short-form videos were submitted nationwide for the NTB Wellness Reel Competition 2026
- 7 provincial winners — one per province — each received NPR 75,000 (about $488)
- One Jury Award winner received NPR 25,000 (about $163), plus 5 Special Honors
- The contest feeds into Nepal Tourism Board's newly announced Wellness Year 2027
The Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) opened the reel competition to any Nepali content creator willing to film the country's wellness side — yoga at sunrise over the Annapurnas, hot spring soaks, meditation retreats, herbal medicine traditions, forest walks on quiet trails away from the Everest and Annapurna crowds. The brief: sell wellness tourism to a global audience in under 60 seconds, using nothing but a phone.
| Province | Winner | Prize (NPR) |
|---|---|---|
| Koshi | Minakumari Raut | 75,000 |
| Madhes | Sumitra Acharya | 75,000 |
| Bagmati | Erik Nakrem | 75,000 |
| Gandaki | Roshan Dhakal | 75,000 |
| Lumbini | Bhaskar Maharjan | 75,000 |
| Karnali | Santosh Budha | 75,000 |
| Sudurpaschim | Himalaya Bhatt | 75,000 |
| Jury Award — Asha Paudel | 25,000 | |
Five more entries earned Special Honors without a cash prize: Ranjit Shrestha, Kailash Karki, Ghumante Budha Budhi, Kiran Adhikari and Ashrit. Winners were announced this month across Nepali media, with outlets including Online Khabar and Nepal Press covering results province by province.
The competition ties into a bigger push: NTB has also unveiled a Wellness Tourism Strategy and declared 2027 'Nepal Wellness Year', built around International Wellness Day events that included outdoor yoga sessions and a formal strategy launch this year. The reel contest was effectively the crowdsourced marketing arm of that campaign — real footage from real Nepali communities, rather than another polished tourism-board commercial.
What this means for trekkers
What this means for you
Nepal's tourism marketing has spent three decades built almost entirely around one word: Everest. This contest is a small but real signal that the board is trying to widen the pitch — positioning Nepal as a country you visit to slow down, not just to summit something. For travellers, that translates into more legitimate wellness-focused itineraries appearing alongside the classic treks: yoga retreats in the Annapurna foothills, village homestays built around rest days rather than distance, and hot-spring stops folded into existing trekking routes.
It also reflects something we see on the ground constantly: the most memorable days on a Nepal trip are rarely the hardest ones. A sunrise yoga session at 2,000 metres with the Annapurna range catching the first light does more for most travellers than another gruelling pass. If Nepal Wellness Year 2027 follows through with real infrastructure — certified retreat centres, wellness-trained guides, better hot-spring access on established trekking routes — it could open a gentler front door into the country for people who'd never consider a 14-day EBC trek.
For now, the closest thing to it already exists: multi-day treks paced deliberately slower, with yoga and meditation built into the itinerary rather than bolted on, and quiet homestay villages that reward travellers who aren't racing to a viewpoint.
Source: Online Khabar and Nepal Press.
Cover photo: subash click via Pexels (Pexels License).
来源： Online Khabar
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