Our Team

Born to a British Army Gurkha officer in the Sagarmatha (Everest) lower highlands, Anil received his education from Jesuit teachers in Darjeeling (India).  Later a teacher himself in a Nepali-operated English-language boarding school, he came to Kathmandu as a young man and decided that his future lay with Nepal’s fast-growing treks and travels industry.  He gained valuable experience with the legendary Col. Jimmy Roberts’s Mountain Travels, considered by many to be the pioneers of treks and travels in Nepal’s extensive mountains.

After 28 years with Mountain Travels, Anil felt he was experienced enough to start his own organization, Mountain Legend (and later adding Blue Sapphire Travels and Tours) in 2009.  Heading a team of veterans, he has since then made Mountain Legend into a well-known entity that now operates treks and journeys all over Nepal, Darjeeling and Sikkim in India, the Kingdom of Bhutan and Tibet.

Anil personally supervises the preparation of trek itineraries, travel logistics and costs, day-to-day functioning of the Company besides occasionally accompanying clients on treks when he finds the time.

Nuru joined Mountain Travels in 1978 as a young cook, graduating to becoming a Sherpa guide (1978-83), while in between also gaining expertise in store-keeping and accompanying international mountain expeditions such as on Everest (1975), Makalu (1980), Dhaulagiri (1981) and a US high-altitude medical research expedition (1982).  By this time, he had gained the rank of a Climbing Sherpa.

When Anil Gurung started Mountain Legend in 2009, Nuru decided to join him as Field Operations Director as they had worked together for a number of years in Mountain Travels and his field experience was prodigious.  Pre-trek preparations being just as important as actually running a trek on the trails, Nuru is meticulous in preparing the food-loads and varied equipment to be taken on trek, assists in booking rooms in lodges on tea-house treks and arranging surface transport when and where necessary. A typical easy-going, affable Sherpa family man from northern Solu Khumbu District, the home of the Sherpas, everyone finds him a very pleasant person to be with.

Originally from Pokhara, Khim brings a deep passion for the mountains and a wealth of field experience to his role as Senior Sales and Operations Manager. He has trekked extensively in both the Everest and Annapurna regions and is currently planning his next adventure to the remote and culturally rich Manaslu Region. His love for the hills has also taken him beyond Nepal’s borders—exploring the scenic trails and cultural charm of Darjeeling and Sikkim in India.

Khim plays a central role in managing the logistics of each trek, working closely with guides, transport providers, hotels, and local partners to ensure smooth and seamless operations. He’s also often the welcoming face greeting guests at the airport, assisting with briefings, and making sure every detail is handled with care.

Clients frequently speak of Khim’s calm, supportive presence and note how his warm smile and quiet confidence make them feel right at home from the moment they arrive.

Prakash is a vital member of the Mountain Legend team. Born and raised in the far western region of Nepal, Prakash has always had a passion for exploration and travel. He completed his tourism studies and is pursuing a master’s degree in Tourism and Sustainability Management.

Prakash’s dedication to the field is evident in his role at Mountain Legend, where he manages the Kathmandu office with exceptional skill. His responsibilities extend beyond office management, as he also oversees field operations, ensuring smooth and efficient execution of all activities. Prakash’s blend of academic knowledge and practical experience makes him an invaluable asset to the team.

Prakash has trekked to some of Nepal’s most iconic and challenging destinations, including Everest Three High Passes, Annapurna Base Camp, Langtang Valley, Gosaikunda, Mohare Danda, and Khaptad in the western region. These experiences have not only honed his trekking skills but also deepened his understanding of Nepal’s diverse landscapes and cultures.

His extensive travel experiences, combined with his academic background and management skills, make Prakash a well-rounded and highly effective member of the Mountain Legend team.

“KC”, as he is popularly known, started his trekking career as a 14-years-old porter.  Today, he is one of our senior-most Trekking Guides on many of our toughest trek routes in Nepal, including Kanchenjonga Base Camp.  KC has completed a course in London’s Natural History Museum and is something of an expert on Nepal’s flora and fauna, especially birds.  Fluent in English, KC is easy-going, cheerful, amiable and hard-working and he knows exactly where to put his feet on any trek route.

Winner of the UK’s “Paul Morrison Guide of the Year” award in 2006, Clients say that KC’s inter-action skills match his talents as a senior high-altitude trekking guide.

A true son of Nepal’s “Sherpa-country” in Solu Khumbu, Pasang began trekking life as a cook boy with an American Everest expedition in 1985.  A veteran of numerous high mountain treks all over Nepal, he has also led groups in Sikkim, Darjeeling, the Garhwal, and Kumaon Hills, all in India, and, is a fluent Tibetan speaker, in Tibet.

Pasang Temba has worked closely with Sir Edmund’s son Peter Hillary on the latter’s specialized Nepal treks.  This very friendly guy has the distinction of having guided the BBC/TV documentary team while making a film on the “yeti”.  Pasang has visited Austria and Australia.

Another high-altitude veteran, Pemba Rita has been in the trekking business since 1980, expertly guiding client groups on many of the more strenuous high-altitude trekking routes, including doing the Manaslu Trek more than 20 times !  Fluent in Tibetan, Pemba Rita has also done trips to Tibet, including the World’s Highest Trek to Mount Kailash in western Tibet.

An accomplished climber, he reached Camps 3 and 4 on the 1983 German-American and the 1991 Belgian Everest Expeditions respectively.  An additional pro-point for Pemba Rita is his training with the Extreme High Altitude Medical School in Khunde of the Solu Khumbu.  Pemba happily recalls his visit to the USA.

Chhundi Phura is not only a senior Trekking Guide but also a prolific Climbing Sherpa who has participated in numerous high-altitude mountaineering expeditions including Everest and Ama Dablam.  Starting his career as atrek cook, he has graduated to being a senior guide on practically all the high altitude treks that Mountain Legend runs in Nepal, besides guiding groups on treks to Kashmir in India and some of the more important and strenuous trips in Tibet.

Apart from being a veteran senior Trekking Guide, PhuraDorji has, in a long and colourful career, been a member of no less than 23 international mountaineering expeditions, summiting Mount Everest (7 times!) and Annapurna, Baruntse, Makalu and Lhotse once each.

Phura is a typical Sherpa: usually quiet of demeanour but with a great sense of humour.  He is tenacious, gentle, determined and easy-going, all rolled into one great personality.

Durga does not look like a high-altitude trekking guide but in his 20-years’ career, he has successfully guided groups in almost all the high-region routes of Nepal and also the Everest Base Camp on the Tibetan side.

He has extensive knowledge of Nepali culture, flora and fauna which he can impart in very good English.  Durga has featured in various western trek magazines wrtitten and published by very happy Clients that he has been a Guide for.

Mani Kumar is perhaps one of the most knowledgeable trekking guides working for Mountain Legend.  Along with his guiding skills, he has also acquired other talents such as independently carrying out recce trips to open up new trails in the mountains and then to help in formulating day-to-day itineraries for treks on those trails.  As a guide, he has led groups over many of the more strenuous trails and seldom-visited areas of Nepal.

Always wanting to expand his repertoire of skills, Mani has trained in mountain map-reading, rescue procedures and high altitude emergency medical requirements besides acquiring  a formidable knowledge of Nepali culture, flora and fauna.  Past clients have praised highly this quiet but very cordial fellow.

Pasang has the distinction of being part of the World’s Highest Trek (with trekking expert and travel writer Gary McCue) and climbing up to 6,500 metres as a trekking guide from the Everest Base Camp on the Tibetan side.  Truly versatile, Pasang has guided groups to Mount Kailash and through the Kham region of Tibet.  He has specialized in camping treks to the Kanchenjonga Base Camp in east Nepal, Cho-Oyu, Annapurna Base Camp, Mustang, Manang, Dhaulagiri…you name it!

Born into a trekking-profession family, Purna has an instinctive skill about things necessary on any trek (whether camping or tea-house), flora and fauna, and local cultures.  He has supplemented his skills with training in high altitude medicine and is an expert on the Everest, Annapurna and Langtang areas.  Also a social worker, this affable fellow is active with a project called “Progress for Progress”.

Clients who have been on camping treks in Nepal’s mountains with Bakhat Rai along as the Head Cook have been deliciously surprised at the culinary skills of this pleasant, diminutive fellow.  Apart, of course, from Nepali food, Bakhat can conjure up food to please any palate, be it continental, American, Indian or Chinese, even birthday feasts complete with cakes!

For more than two decades, Bakhat cooked for and fed numerous mountaineers and  high altitude trekkers on a number of expeditions and treks.