18 Facts About Karna Shakya

Karna Shakya was born on April 2,1943 and is a Nepalese environmentalist, conservationist, hotel entrepreneur, writer and philanthropist.

Karna Shakya served as a wildlife officer and pioneered in establishing the first National Park in Nepal.

Karna Shakya resigned from his government job, entered the tourism business in 1970, and now owns a chain of eco-friendly hotels in major touristic cities like Kathmandu, Pokhara, chitwan and Lumbini.

Karna Shakya was born April 2,1941 in Kathmandu, Nepal.

Karna Shakya received special conservation training in forest administration in Canberra Australia under the Colombo Plan and Nature Recreation Management course in different National Parks in America under the Department of Interior, Canada and USA.

Karna Shakya studied the pygmy hog, the smallest wild boar, in the jungle of Assam and Sundar Kundar forest in East Nepal.

Karna Shakya collected many folktales during his travel and published a book named Tales of Kathmandu with Dr Linda Griffith.

Karna Shakya was instrumental in bringing conservation awareness in the country by establishing Nepal nature conservation society, the first conservation oriented NGO in Nepal.

Karna Shakya has attended many international workshops, colloquiums, and conferences and presented papers and speeches on heritage conservation.

Karna Shakya has been credited as a pioneer who opened Thamel as a world tourist destination.

In 1987, Karna Shakya lost his wife and daughter from cancer.

Karna Shakya was instrumental in establishing the first cancer hospital in Bharatpur, Nepal.

Karna Shakya mobilized public opinion so that a national tax on cigarettes, of one paise, was raised to pay for it.

Karna Shakya was President of the Nepal Cancer Relief Society and served as an adviser on its board of directors.

In 2000, when the Maoist movement was escalating, many entrepreneurs and businessmen left the country and migrated abroad due to anxiety and skepticism, but Karna Shakya decided to live in Nepal and invest in tourism.

Karna Shakya wrote the screenplay for a Nepali feature film Pal, which he produced.

Karna Shakya is a founding chairman of KGH Group of Hotels.

Karna Shakya worked as a president - Nepal Heritage Society, 1992 and Nepal Cancer Relief Society, 1996; Vice-Chairman, World Pheasant Association, UK, 1998; Trustee, King Mahendra Trust for Nature Conservation, 1998 Adviser, International Snow Leopard Trust, USA, 1999, World Wildlife Fund, Nepal, 2006; National Coordinator, Visit Nepal 1998; Member, Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Committee, 2012, Wildlife Officer, HMG Nepal, 1967.