Kenyan travel influencer Diana Daisy found herself in the middle of a humanitarian crisis during what was supposed to be a high-altitude hiking adventure in Nepal.
Speaking to BBC’s Focus on Africa on Wednesday, September 2, Diana recounted her terrifying experience as deadly floods and landslides disrupted her trip.
What did Diana Daisy see in Nepal?
Diana, who travels and documents her experiences for her online audience, had made her way to Besisahar, Nepal, to explore remote villages and hike to higher elevations, including a visit to the famous Ice Lake.
She told BBC anchor Waihiga Mwaura that she had been pushing herself from altitudes of around 3,000 feet towards 5,000 feet, though the thin mountain air repeatedly left her feeling nauseous and unwell.
What began as an adventure quickly turned into something far more serious. Nepal’s devastating floods and landslides have claimed the lives of at least 1,114 people, with thousands more still unaccounted for across the country.
The scale of the destruction has overwhelmed relief and recovery efforts. Diana explained that the high-altitude terrain in Nepal naturally increases the risk of landslides, and the recent rains triggered catastrophic ones.
The roads connecting her location to the capital, Kathmandu, became almost completely impassable, and the constant threat of further landslides made any attempt at travel extremely dangerous.
She described being effectively stranded, unable to make the journey out while the situation on the ground remained so volatile.
Perhaps the most sobering part of her account was what she witnessed in the village where she was sheltering.
The local community had been devastated, losing family members to the floods and watching their homes and livelihoods be swept away.
Diana described the atmosphere as one of deep grief, with residents still processing the loss of loved ones alongside the destruction of their property.
Her interview offered a personal and grounded view of a disaster that, in raw numbers, can feel distant to those watching from afar.
As a content creator who had gone to Nepal seeking adventure, she instead found herself bearing witness to an unfolding tragedy.
Watch Diana Daisy speak about her experience in Nepal on BBC Focus on Africa
Nepal’s floods are among the deadliest the country has recorded in recent years, with relief operations ongoing as communities across the Himalayan nation begin the long process of recovery.
