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  "path": "/2026/06/08/done-pride-7-continents-now-im-literally-top-world-28614084/",
  "publishedAt": "2026-06-08T06:00:00.000Z",
  "site": "https://metro.co.uk",
  "tags": [
    "Lifestyle",
    "Travel",
    "Everest",
    "LGBTQ+",
    "Nepal",
    "Pride",
    "Pride Around The World",
    "Southeast Asia",
    "Transgender",
    "Travel Inspiration",
    "Travel Reviews",
    "first trans woman to summit Everest",
    "Nepali",
    "LGBTQ+ WhatsApp channel",
    "click on this link",
    "https://www.instagram.com/p/DSxqSCiDX12/?hl=en",
    "Human Rights Watch",
    "LGBT",
    "anxiety",
    "G Adventures",
    "Jordan",
    "https://www.instagram.com/p/DSqJ046jbeS/?hl=en",
    "gender",
    "Next to Antarctica",
    "Turkish Airlines",
    "London Heathrow",
    "Hotel Nepalaya",
    "Thamel Boutique Hotel",
    "Ramada Encore Thamel",
    "Homo Momo",
    "Add Metro as a Preferred Source on Google\nAdd as preferred source"
  ],
  "textContent": "Our writer Calum McSwiggan has travelled to all seven continents to see how Pride is celebrated around the world (Picture: Calum McSwiggan)\n\nShattered and frozen, the bone-chilling wind rips our faces as we approach 5,364 metres.\n\nHere, at the top of the world, my journey to find Pride around the world finally comes to an end.\n\nSeven continents, 15 countries, 20 events, and countless experiences that will stay with me for life.\n\nScaling the boulder at Everest Base Camp, I stand beside my trans best friend and we wave our flags proudly, thinking of the trans woman who first inspired us to take on this extraordinary 15-day journey.\n\nHer name is Nilam Poudel, and she has just become the first trans woman to summit Everest.\n\nReaching the 8,849-metre peak at dawn on May 23, 2026, the Nepali climber is an inspiration to trans people everywhere.\n\nNilam has just become the first trans woman to summit Everest (Picture: Nilam Poudel)\n\nWe were lucky enough to meet her during our time in Kathmandu, and hear first-hand the story of how she came to take on one of the most difficult hikes in the world.\n\n‘They told me the peak was too high, the journey too hard, the dream too bold for someone like me,’ Nilam said.\n\n##  Join Metro's LGBTQ+ community on WhatsApp\n\nWith thousands of members from all over the world, our vibrant LGBTQ+ WhatsApp channel is a hub for all the latest news and important issues that face the LGBTQ+ community.\n\nSimply **click on this link** , select ‘Join Chat’ and you’re in! Don't forget to turn on notifications!\n\n‘But with every step, I carried not just my own weight, but the weight of countless voices unheard.\n\n‘I climbed not to plant a flag, but to make space – for every transgender person told they don’t belong, for every woman told she is less, for every soul who’s been silenced. At the summit, I wasn’t just Nilam, I was proof that visibility is power, and representation is survival.’\n\n> https://www.instagram.com/p/DSxqSCiDX12/?hl=en\n\nListening to her words was all the inspiration we needed.\n\nThe whole point of Pride is community, and I can’t think of anything that exemplifies that feeling more than taking on the trek to Mount Everest with my closest friend.\n\nLuxeria Celes is a transgender photographer and travel creator, and to her, this was another opportunity to show the world that trans people are just as capable as anyone else.\n\nDoing it in Nepal meant something, too.\n\nLuxeria Celes joined Calum for this most personal of journeys (Picture: Calum McSwiggan)\n\nHistorically considered a regional leader in LGBTQ+ rights, Nepal garnered widespread praise following its recognition of trans people’s rights based on self-identification in 2007.\n\nDespite this, the process that trans people should follow to change their legal gender was never specified, leaving many at the whim of local officials and social pressure campaigns, Human Rights Watch has warned.\n\nThen, earlier this year, Nepali authorities stopped processing applications for legal gender changes, regressing years of progress and undermining the fundamental right of recognition before the law.\n\nSo it was important to both Luxeria and I that we keep the flag flying at a time when it’s needed most.\n\nEven getting to Nepal was a challenge.\n\nBooking.com’s Travel Proud research shows that 61% of transgender travellers modify aspects of their appearance and behaviour to avoid potential discrimination.\n\nAnd for good reason, too. In recent years, we’ve seen many examples of trans people being subjected to harm while travelling – whether that’s being the victims of violent crime, or being detained while trying to pass through countries with anti-LGBT+ laws.\n\nWe flew a more expensive route to avoid connecting in any of the countries where Luxeria’s identity is considered criminal.\n\n‘There’s an extra level of anxiety when travelling as a trans person,’ she explains.\n\n‘Some destinations have declared that simply existing as a trans person is spreading an ideology that is harmful to society and thus requires punishment. This means there are parts of the world that my photography will never be able to touch.\n\n‘Even with ‘safe’ destinations, it becomes exhausting having to double and triple check how sudden changes in law might prevent my ability to see the world.’\n\nOnce considered a regional leader in LGBT+ rights, Nepal has regressed in recent years (Picture: Calum McSwiggan)\n\nIt’s not just about legislation, either.\n\nAs we plan our trek, we take extra time to ensure the experience is trans inclusive.\n\nWe’d be spending 15 intimate days with our travel companions, and so we had to ensure that there would be no invasive questions, or uncomfortable situations like the use of open showers or placing her in a single-sex dorm.\n\nThese are just a few of the extra barriers that trans people face when travelling.\n\nLuckily, we booked our trip with G Adventures_,_ an ethical and LGBT+ inclusive tour operator, and they were exceptional in assuring us that they were experienced with trans guests.\n\nI knew we’d be in good hands because I’d already travelled with them to Jordan. They ensured our safety and comfort at every step of the journey.\n\nWe brought Pride to the banks of the Dead Sea, the lowest point on earth, and now – just a few months later – they were helping us do the same at the highest point as well.\n\n> https://www.instagram.com/p/DSqJ046jbeS/?hl=en\n\nThe journey wasn’t easy; in fact, quite the opposite.\n\nOn our coldest day, temperatures plummet to -27℃, and with oxygen at just 50% of sea level, even the smallest tasks become a challenge.\n\n‘Why on earth did you invite me to do this?’ Luxeria says on the 8th day of our trip.\n\nWe’re laughing because we’re out of breath putting on our shoes, and the laughter is only making it even harder to breathe.\n\nEvery day we spend above 4,000 metres altitude becomes increasingly difficult as our bodies are starved of oxygen.\n\nBut it’s worth it. It’s not just about the once-in-a-lifetime achievement of making it to basecamp: it’s about the incredible sights we get to see along the way.\n\nThe Tengboche Monastery, where we witness the chanting of Tibetan monks; the colourful sherpa villages that offer us a place to stay at night; and the incredible landscapes and wildlife that punctuate the climb.\n\nBreathtaking and humbling, Nepal is home to snow-capped peaks, medieval temples,welcoming people and some of the finest trekking on the planet (Picture: Luxeria Celes)\n\nI’m thrilled to say that we manage to find LGBT+ life here in the Himalayas, too.\n\nWe encounter fellow rainbow travellers on the trail, and one of the teahouses that we spend the night at is run by a queer Sherpa.\n\nEven our Sherpa guide, despite not being a part of the community himself, is knowledgeable on local LGBT+ history, teaching us about queer life in the Himalayas, Nepal, and wider South Asia.\n\nI’m fascinated to learn about the gender diverse communities across the country.\n\nMeti, hijra, kothi, mai babu, fulmul and marnu – the language used to communicate different trans identities is diverse and complex, often deriving from indigenous communities and dating back centuries.\n\nIn different parts of society, gender diverse people are even considered to possess immense spiritual power and have traditionally been invited to bless weddings and the arrival of newborn babies.\n\nNilam (left) inspired Calum and Luxeria’s journey (Picture: Calum McSwiggan)\n\nThough with colonisation, many of these identities have been stigmatised and pushed to the sidelines, solidifying the need for the modern day trans Pride celebrations.\n\nThis makes it all the more meaningful to have one of my transgender friends with me to close out this year of Pride _._\n\nWhen we finally make it to Everest Base Camp, there is no greater feeling than standing beside her in triumph.\n\nWe were the last to be picked in PE – and yet here we are, showing the world that we’re just as capable as anyone.\n\nNext to Antarctica, the Himalayas is considered to be the most remote place on Earth.\n\nI’m so proud that through this project, I’ve gotten to show that Pride can be found in both.\n\nKeeping the flag flying for trans rights has never been more important (Picture: Calum McSwiggan)\n\nIn fact, it exists everywhere. Through every Pride I’ve visited, I’ve found queer people not just living, but thriving.\n\nFrom the desert to the arctic, from tropical islands to mountain summits, from thriving urban cities to quiet countryside villages.\n\nAcross all seven continents. In every corner of the world. They have taught me so much, shown resilience in the most unlikely of places, and most importantly, given me a tremendous sense of pride.\n\nI’ll continue to carry that with me everywhere I go.\n\n##  Nepal beyond Pride\n\n**Getting there**\n\nTurkish Airlines flies from London Heathrow to Kathmandu via Istanbul. We found this the safest route to travel as LGBT+ travellers. Prices start at £595 return.\n\n**Taking on the Everest trek**\n\nA 15-day trek to Everest Base Camp with G Adventures starts at £884 per person based on two people sharing a room.\n\nThis includes internal flights, trekking permits, all guides and porters, 2 nights of accommodation in Kathmandu, and 12 nights accommodation on the trail.\n\n**Where to stay in Kathmandu**\n\n  * Hotel Nepalaya (£)\n  * Thamel Boutique Hotel (££)\n  * Ramada Encore Thamel (£££)\n\n\n\nThese hotels all proudly display the Travel Proud badge after completing Booking.com’s LGBT+ inclusivity training.\n\n**What to do in Kathmandu**\n\nHomo Momo**:** This LGBT+ cooking class teaches you how to make rainbow momos (Nepalese dumplings) while learning about queer life in Kathmandu.\n\n**The Monkey Temple** : Swayambhunath is a 2,000 year old Buddhist stupa with the most incredible views over Kathmandu. It’s famous for its hundreds of resident masques, but even if you’re not an animal lover, the architecture still makes it worth a visit.\n\n**Shopping in Thamel:** Whether heading into The Himalayas, or just hunting down souvenirs, Thamel is bustling with stores that will sell you everything you could possibly need.\n\nComment now Comments \nAdd Metro as a Preferred Source on Google\nAdd as preferred source\n",
  "title": "I’ve done Pride on all 7 continents — now I’m (literally) on top of the world"
}