Volunteer in the Himalayas
Affordable, Exciting, Life-Changing Himalayas Volunteer Experiences!

Now you can volunteer in the remote Himalayan region of Nepal – near Mt Everest

Looking to change your life? The time is right and the time is right now! Team up with our professional, affordable volunteer program abroad for the experience of a lifetime in the gorgeous Himalayas!

The Himalayas stretch majestically from China to India to Nepal all the way to Bhutan, and the Everest region in Nepal ranks in the top ten favorite travel destinations in the world for tourists. Mountain-top monasteries and rolling landscapes covered in rhododendrons are just some of the amazing photo ops you’ll encounter. Your Volunteer in the Himalayas in Nepal experience through IFRE, however, is truly about your own compassion and conscience. Do you have what it takes to give back to those in dire need, deserving souls who, through no fault of their own, find themselves trapped by circumstance? You can combine your noblest instincts with your wanderlust and create the most meaningful vacation of your entire life!

Write us. We’ll be happy to tell you all about our rewarding, life-changing volunteer programs in the breathtaking Himalayas.

Volunteer Work Projects and Locations

Volunteer Program Fees & Dates:

Start Dates: Our programs start every Monday, although we allow for flexibility due to travel constraints.

IFRE is a 501(c)3 organization, so the program fee should be tax deductible. IFRE Volunteers is proud to offer an extensive assortment of programs at very reasonable prices (and may rank “best priced and best value” among the many volunteer abroad organizations in the USA/Europe/New Zealand). Our programs are now more affordable than ever. We are proud to focus on the humanitarian aspect of our business, not the profit. We work very hard and smart to keep costs down, especially for you the volunteer, as we know the value of your donated time and efforts. We remain devoted to maintaining both the quality of the program and the safety of all volunteers involved. Below is a brief summary of the program fee and services that IFRE Volunteers offers.

IFRE fees comprise of two separate fees. An application fee of $349 USD (covers advertising, staff/office expenses, etc.) and a nominal weekly program fee (covers room/board, insurance, field support, etc).

Language and Cultural Immersion

In Nepal, IFRE offers one week of Language and Cultural orientation in Kathmandu. The capital of Nepal, Kathmandu has two faces. One is a fabled capital populated by hospitable pilgrims and meticulously carved rose-brick temples. The second is a frenetic sprawl of modern towers, which is mobbed by beggars and monkeys and smothered in diesel fumes. These two faces simultaneously demonstrate the country’s history and the invading, inevitable wear and tear of the uncompromising modern world.

Our weeklong intensive language and cultural immersion program includes language training, lessons on history, culture, ways of life, visits to local villages/towns/markets, guided Kathmandu exploration and local tourist attractions. This IFRE program aims to submerge you in Nepali culture, history and ways of life to vastly improve your time as a volunteer in Nepal. When you understand the life and culture around you, your experience is richer and more rewarding. However, you can choose to take the Language and Cultural immersion program or go directly into a volunteer project. This experience should not be missed! So many international travelers wish they could have an opportunity such as this to receive a briefing on customs, language and history.

Find Details of Language & culture program

Arrangement of Room/Food/Supervision

IFRE manages living accommodations, meals and supervision for volunteers throughout their stay in Nepal. In the Teaching Monastery Project, you will stay in an onsite accommodation inside the monastery. You will have a room for yourself or might have to share with other volunteer. In the teaching English project, you will stay in Sherpa host family. The Sherpas are known for their legendary hospitality and friendliness, so your stay with the host family is bound to be a home away from home. You will also be able to get an insight into their lives and can participate in their festivals. Wherever you stay, we provide 3 local meals a day. The meals will be like any traditional Nepalese meals. On breakfast, you will be given tea, sometimes toast, and for lunch and dinner you will have dal, bhat (rice and lentils) with other vegetables.

IFRE has a coordinator who is based in Khumbu region. The coordinator will pick you up from the airport and take you to the project site. You will have the coordinator’s mobile phone number and can call him anytime, should any problem arise or need to discuss anything. You can also call our country coordinator in Kathmandu.

Volunteer Program Free Time

Volunteers have free time for the duration of their volunteer project during evenings and weekends. While IFRE does not arrange activities during this time off, our local staff, members and coordinators can provide priceless assistance in making appropriate arrangements for travel around the Himalayas. It is the time for self-discovery and learning. It is time to immerse in foreign culture and explore this exotic land. It is definitely time for a trek! Our IFRE local coordinators/staff are available to give you free advice, travel tips and helps to book your travel.  Of course you can explore local villages and the Everest region.  

The Everest region- A spectacular scenic region

The Khumbu, or the Everest region is the most popular trekking area of Nepal. In this region lies the highest mountain in the world- Mount Everest. This is also the place where Sherpas have lived for centuries attending cattle, farming vegetables or trading with Tibet and the low lands of Nepal. This region is over 2500 meters high and is surrounded by Himalayas that are over 7 thousand meters high. The nearest motorable road is 7 days away. Today, with the advent of tourists, Sherpas have seen their lives transformed. Many of them now enjoy a steady stream of good income working as porters, guides, climbers and many own lodges, hotels and tea houses. But for those Sherpas who aren’t involved in tourism industry or whose houses aren’t in the tourist trail, including other ethnic groups who have migrated to Khumbu region, life is still a hard toil with very little hope for better future. Their children, their only hope for a better future, attend schools that aren’t well funded and many continue to have no motivation to continue their studies.

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