Lone woman earning a livelihood offering horse rides to highland visitors

At 26, Asha BK has carved out a place in a male-dominated horseback tourism business, guiding visitors across the alpine meadows of Bukipatan while preserving a generations-old family occupation.

It was 5am when a group of tourists staying at a nearby homestay called, asking for horses to take them to Bukipatan, a high-altitude alpine meadow where thousands of sheep, yaks and horses graze during the summer.