Introduction

For those who wish to venture into the Himalayan region anumber of Indian or Nepalese travel agencies offer ‘natureand culture tours’.1 A ‘nature tour’ includes trekking or rafting, while a ‘culture tour’ offers tourists visits to temples or the opportunity to attend festivals. The activities in each category come as no surprise and attest to a broad distinction or categorization now commonly used. Yet interestingly, parallel to the growing use of these categories, they have been the object of heavy criticism over recent decades.