Paradise in Our Backyard: A Blueprint for Nepal

Karna Sakya's own English translation of his Nepali bestseller Soch. In it, the conservationist, entrepreneur and patriot relates how he set up the now-iconic Kathmandu Guest House in his family's historic house in Thamel, a hotel that ushered in a new chapter in Nepali tourism and helped establish Thamel as the country's multicultural tourism hub. He went on to pioneer eco-tourism and adventure tourism in Nepal, introduced the concept of 'niche' tourism, and was one of the principal architects of the successful 'Visit Nepal Year' in 1998. The book also recounts how, after losing his wife and daughter to cancer in 1987, he overcame personal grief to build Nepal's first cancer hospital by proposing a one-paisa tax on every cigarette sold in the country.