Sacred Service in Nepal: Annapurna

Program Dates:

April 9th - 23rd, 2025

Embark on a transformative journey through the Himalayas, immersing yourself in the Indigenous, shamanic ways of healing, all the while supporting global health equity.

Join our charity trek through the sacred mountains of Nepal.

We combine holistic therapies such as acupuncture, herbal medicine, massage/bodywork, energy healing, and conventional healthcare with education...

Annapurna Program Highlights

  • Immersion in the Himalayas with opportunities to learn from local medicine keepers

  • Experience and learn about the Gurung people’s shamanic and animist ways of living

  • Learn to weave nettle into fabric, corn husks into baskets, and make local yak wool rugs

  • Visit monasteries, museums, and UNESCO world heritage sites including serving at a temple hospice center

  • And so much more!

Annapurna Program Objectives:

  • Create strong relationships with the Gurung community to better understand their needs

  • Bring vital supplies as well as herbal and allopathic medicine to dispense and/or store

  • Offer integrative healthcare and education to the Indigenous Gurung community

  • Evacuate, refer and follow up with patients who present red flag physical or mental health cases

  • Learn about the rich ecosystems of the Annapurna range, native plant medicine and wildlife

Who Should Apply?

  • Acupuncturists

  • Herbalists

  • First Responders

  • NADA Practitioners

  • Bodyworkers

  • WFA's, WFR's, & WEMT's

  • Doctors

  • Energy Healers

  • Eclectic Healthcare

  • Workers

  • And anyone with a passion for service and love of adventure!

Program Fee Details:

Generosity Level: $3,975

Sustainability Level: $3,675

Accessibility Level: $3,375

Deposit: A non-refundable deposit of $500 will secure your spot.

Payment plans and partial scholarships available Please visit our Program Fees page.

Program is tax-deductible including program fee, flight, travel medical insurance, and any supplies purchased to be used during the health clinics. Licensed acupuncturists will be able to receive 30+ PDA’s from NCCAOM

There are only 18 spots available and they are on a first come, first served basis

Program Dates: April 9 - 23, 2025

*The program begins on the 9th therefore, plan to arrive in Nepal on or before April 9th (often this means you will depart from the US on the 7th or 8th) and will depart from Nepal on the evening of the 23rd or on the morning of the 24th. 

The highlight for me (if I have to pick one) was the time in clinic. The openness and resilience of the Sindhupalchok villagers touched my heart and the whole clinic process was a lovely reminder of both the simplicity and immense healing capacity of truly holistic and integrative medicine. I also felt like I went on a really nourishing personal journey. I haven’t stopped talking about this trip to whoever will listen. I feel like it has energized me and as always with new experiences, it has brought something new and special into my regular practice at home.

-Dr. Katie Molloy, Australia

My trip to Nepal with Inner Ocean was beyond rewarding and just so much fun. Traveling to the remove villages of Sindhupalchok, one of the region’s hardest hit by the 2015 earthquake, to set up health camps was eye opening, deeply touching, and something I will keep in my heart for a lifetime. I carry a deep well of gratitude for this trip that filled my spirit and allowed me to meet Mindi and the wonderful people on her team. I high recommend a trip with IOEP and look forward to another adventure with them soon.

-Melanie Paquette, Canada

I have traveled with Inner Ocean to Nepal twice now for healthcare support in the villages hit hard by the earthquakes and now recently - flooding. It was an amazing experience both meeting and helping the local people. Some of the villages are very remote and we trekked from one to the other with our medical supplies. Mindi and her team are amazing and I would highly recommend traveling with them. I am definitely coming back for another trip as soon as it is possible!

-Bonnie Keller, Nurse, United States

Program Fee Includes:

  • Kathmandu International Airport Arrival and Departure Transfer

  • All in-country travel including domestic flights, buses, and jeeps

  • An amazing English-speaking, experienced guide

  • Several English-Nepali translators during our clinics

  • Sherpa and porters to assist you in carrying all of your belongings and all of our medical supplies while trekking

  • A wonderful cook and kitchen staff for our meals while trekking

  • All meals during your trip minus the few meals highlighted in the itinerary

  • Double-occupancy hotel rooms in Kathmandu (option for single occupancy for additional charge)

  • Single-occupancy tents and camping gear

  • All monastery entrance fees and tickets to visit world heritage sites

  • All Nepal restricted area daily use permits

  • And so much more!

Bonus Gift: Natural Medicine Travel Kit

  • Learn our founder's natural treatment protocols to prevent traveler's diarrhea, immune system challenges, jet lag, and altitude sickness while traveling

  • Get our insider's scoop on treating common health conditions that can arise when we are traveling internationally or for extended periods of time

  • See herbal medicine, vitamin, supplement, over-the-counter, and prescription medication recommendations as well as dosages to troubleshoot these challenges

  • Gain confidence in traveling abroad, learning the signs of

    when to take matters into your own hands and when to seek advice or care from a professional

  • As a volunteer with Inner Ocean you can customize your own natural medicine travel kit using our online pharmacy

Program Fee Does NOT Include:

  • International Airfare to and from Kathmandu

  • Nepal Visa (Purchased onsite for approximately $25-$50 depending on length of stay)

  • Travel Medical Insurance (Approximately $50-$200 depending on personal preference)

  • Tips for guides, porters, kitchen staff while trekking, etc.

  • The occasional lunches and dinners outlined in your itinerary. 

Serving the Annapurna Villages

This program is located in the magical, lush wildlands of the Annapurna region in the Himalayas. We will spend our days trekking and treating patients as well as leading educational programs in the Indigenous Gurung community of Sikles.

We will work alongside the shamanic community and in partnership with the local health assistants.

We will have the opportunity to learn local practices such as weaving nettle into fabric, basket weaving with corn husks, rug making with yak wool, and to participate in the local shamanic rituals and ceremonies

During this program we will be camping at 6500 ft. elevation with views of the Annapurna mountains from our tents and trekking up to 9,000 ft. Our days will be spent finding balance between being embodied as we exert ourselves on the trails - and resting to drink in the beauty of this mystical, magical, historical place.

Your Guides

Mindi K. Counts, MA, LAc. (she/her)

Lead Guide and founder of the Inner Ocean Empowerment Project, Mindi has been leading trips to Nepal since 2014. 

She will be guiding you on your journey of both inner and outer transformation as you step into the vast and deep territory of world service & wisdom exchange.

As the founder of Inner Ocean Empowerment Project, she has been engaged in life-changing world service in Nepal, India, Thailand/Burma, and in disaster areas in the US since 2012.

Being of true and genuine service is her life’s passion and she is more than delighted to share this experience with a community of incredible healers, practitioners, and heart-full service workers. 

Mindi is a graduate of Naropa University’s Contemplative Psychology program and holds a Masters degree in Classical Five-Element Acupuncture. She is a Wilderness First Responder and she lives with her family and rescued pit bulls in the foothills of Colorado.

Beebal Singh Limbu (he/him)

Founder of Into The Wild guiding company, Beebal is a true adventurer. His love for Mother Nature and the outdoors has led him into guiding people from all walks of life through the vast Himalayas for over a decade.

As a humanitarian, he has been providing direct aid and support to the victims of the devastating earthquake of 2015. Beebal has been supervising medical clinics and leading sponsored charity treks in the Sindhupalchok district, one amongst the most affected regions in the country.

Beebal has been co-leading trips with the Inner Ocean Empowerment Project since 2015. He continues to bring supplies into IOEP’s eight Himalayan medical clinics and conduct trainings for the Mothers in Wilderness First Aid and CPR.

www.inneroceanempowermentproject.org

Inner Ocean 501(c)3 2024 All Rights Reserved