Deanna Zabaldo

Deana has lived and worked in Nepal for more than twen­ty years and has trav­eled in more than 25 coun­tries. She has explored across Asia, includ­ing Tibet, Bhutan, and Mon­go­lia. More impor­tant than adding stamps to her pass­port are the friend­ships she builds. Deana’s first encounter with the Himalayas was as a Peace Corps Vol­un­teer in a remote moun­tain vil­lage. Lat­er in San Fran­cis­co, she went on to direct cul­tur­al exchange pro­grams. Charmed by Nepal (despite the lack of ameni­ties), Deana returned to advise busi­ness­es and non-prof­its, teach yoga, and guide treks. Cur­rent­ly when she’s not guid­ing, she is start­ing an orphan­age out­side Kath­man­du. Deana is flu­ent in Nepali, holds a Wilder­ness First Respon­der cer­ti­fi­ca­tion, and will brew you the best cof­fee in the Himalayas! She’s full of sto­ries about Tantric god­dess­es, the Maoist insur­gency, roy­al mas­sacres, arranged mar­riages, secret explo­rations, and the real­i­ties of Shangri-La.