Armed Police Force personnel, whose training base is in Halchowk near Swayambhu, make a round of the stupa as their morning drill everyday.

The newly renovated stupa shines in the background as the Armed Police march by.

Swayambhu is a religious site for both Hindu and Buddhist devotees.

The Armed Police Force was established in 2001 to counter the Maoist insurgency. The force has almost 30,000 personnel.

Hundreds of devotees are expected to visit the stupa on Thursday to mark the anniversary of the birth of Gautam Buddha.

Historic drawing of Swayambhu and its vicinity. Image by Daniel Wright

Mirror puja to remove the 'essence' of Swayambhu before renovation work started, 2008

Puja to remove the 'essence' of Swayambhu before renovation started

Puja for the reinstallation of the vajra and dharmadhatu mandala before the renovation. July 2008

Since the early 13th century, 14 major restorations of Swayambhu have been undertaken, roughly one every 50 to 100 years.

Over 100 artisans and other individuals participated in the renovation.

Artist Lok Ratna Shakya applying a gold-mercury mix to the a statue from a Toran of Swayambhu.

An artist at work

Workers carry pieces of copper up to the stupa for renovation.

Tibetan Nyingma Meditation Center (USA) provided funding for the renovation, including for 20 kilos of gold.

Swayambhu after the renovation is complete

As the village is located far from the bustling cities, the villagers rely on raising their own livestock to feed themselves.

Most of the work done in the village, such as farming and construction, are done manually done by hand or with the aid of animals. The only machine found in the village is the rice processing machine.

The new school building is the most distinguishable landmark in the village with its bright colours. It also towers over the traditional huts, being three storeys tall.

Children play cricket in front of Rastriya Primary School. The school is the only concrete building in the village.

Community leaders Jagaran Praja, also a pastor, and Karna Bahadur B.K. chat with farmer Bhim Bahadur Gurung inside an empty classroom. Schools such as this cater to pre-primary education, before students move on to schools like Rastriya.

A local girl stands amidst wheat fields in the height of harvest season. When school is out, the children will usually assist their parents in the day-to-day chores.

A villager washes up at a manual pump. Groundwater provides a major portion of the village’s water needs. Water tapped this way is unsafe for drinking and has to be boiled and/or filtered beforehand.

Scene at a stall selling women’s garments and accessories.

Dwellings and other structures in Badarjhula are mostly constructed of wood, dried hay and whatever other materials available in the proximity. During the dry season, these structures are extremely susceptible to fire. Due to the poverty and the distance of the village to major towns and cities, development is slow.

Fire rages on the hills bordering India. The entire area faces the risk of widespread destruction by fire, which is almost an annual occurrence. Just last Friday, flames swept through Badarjhula, leaving in its wake houses reduced to ashes.

The students gather in front of an abandoned cement factory, forced to shut down by the locals due to over-pollution.

Before the activities began, the students clear the grounds of litter. This is a reflection of Initiative Outdoor’s adherence to a ‘leave no trace’ policy, in that nature and the environment should be preserved while being enjoyed.

Chandra Ale, founder of Initiative Outdoor, has worked as an instructor with the prestigious National Outdoor Leadership School in the United States keeps him up to date with the latest in the field, including techniques and safety.

These boys attempt to pass looped ropes around a closed circle of their peers. Games like this require communication and teamwork to complete, values which are reinforced by the instructors at the end of each activity.

In ‘Toxic Waste’, a group attempts to carry a bucket filled with water out of a restricted area without spilling any of it or directly using their hands. An elastic ring connected to ropes is what they have to use.

Ensuring that everyone’s index fingers are always in contact with the ‘Magic Stick’, the group has to lower it to the ground. Add more to the group and the task gets exponentially harder.

Studying the ‘Spider Web’ before attempting to cross it. The catch is that each outlet may only be used once and the ‘web’ cannot be touched.

A young participant takes a break.

All decked out in safety helmets and headlamps and ready to explore the caves. Safety is of paramount importance to Initiative Outdoor and enforced strictly.

Gone caving. A trip through the caves at Manjushree takes about a 45 minute to an hour effort of walking, climbing and crawling. While it can be physically taxing, the feeling upon completion is, as these youngsters will tell you, satisfying.

Sarangkot is a internationally known launch point for paragliders. At about an altitude of 1600m, the flights launched from here will end at Pokhara's lakeside.

Para-gliders spend a large portion of their time doing thorough safety checks before engaging in the sport. Being a dangerous sport, many in the past have died due to carelessness and inexperience.

An international competitor takes off from Sarangkot, Pokhara, as a local pilot looks on. Due to a lack of proper regulation from local authorities, Nepali pilots do not own a national flying license, which is required for international competitions.

A small group of spectators lined the top of Sarangkot to watch the paragliding competition. The take-off point is highly inaccessible, and requires a long drive up with a vehicle.

Narayan Parajuli wore a yeti suit while paragliding, much to the delight of the spectators back at the Khapaudi landing spot.

Due to the favourable wind speeds, para-gliders mostly use the reverse launch technique. The pilot kites the canopy, accelerates and takes off.

Upon landing, a para-glider packs his gear. Local kids are also eager to help for a small fee, many of them racing towards the landing spot as soon as they spot a para-glider about to land.

Royal Everest Coffee Mill in Thimi, Kathmandu, where pulped cherries from local coffee farms are brought in for hulling, polishing, cleaning and, sorting and grading.

Coffee beans are dried.

This machine runs the processes of hulling, polishing, cleaning and sorting. Final grading is done by hand to ensure quality control.

The beans are stored in organic jute bags as these are breathable and prevent mildew and mold.

The beans then undergo a final round of sorting and grading by hand before they are bagged for delivery. Though labour-intensive, this step is crucial in quality control.

Roasted beans.

In the world of specialty coffee, presentation is just as important as aroma and taste.