The race to become the first ever Himalaya Roadies is heating up. Having completed a gruelling five-legged audition that travelled to five different cities around the country, the show has now finally moved into the ‘Journey Round’; kick starting the high drama that will undoubtedly unfold in the coming weeks as aspiring contestants are put to the sword with challenging rides, competitive tasks and ‘vote outs’ that will whittle down the playing field until one champion emerges.

Himalaya Roadies is the Nepali edition of the popular Indian reality TV show MTV Roadies. Licensed for Nepal by Via Com 18, the contestants will be competing for an eye-watering cash purse of Rs 2 million and the bragging rights of being the very first Himalaya Roadie.

Episode six of the 18-episode series saw all of the 17 contestants selected from the five auditions come together for the very first time in the Capital. Based out of Crowne Plaza Kathmandu-Soaltee, the episode was not only a platform to see the contestants together for the first time, but for the audience to gauge the diversity of the group and relationships they forge which will be so crucial to how the show pans out. In other

words, like judge Raymond Das Shrestha put it, “Himalaya Roadies is not just a test of character, patience and leadership but it is also a mental game where relationships matter as well.”

With the fault-lines drawn, the show also saw its very first ‘vote-out’ with six contestants being voted to exit right off the bat. In a tense session, all contestants were asked to cast their votes on three fellow competitors who they thought deserved the axe; then six Roadies who received the most votes were put to fire, literally, by being pitted in a fiery obstacle course that required them to go through, under and over burning fire. In the end, two of the six voted out contestants retained the right to continue with the show, while four contestants—Seikh Farukh Miya, Neelam Khadka, Ashish Shrestha and Gaurav Khatiwada—were voted out and will not be returning to the show.

Himalaya Roadies, as a show, picked up significant pace and intrigue now that it is in its ‘Journey Round’ and, if this first episode is anything to go by, the remaining 13 contestants truly looked set to be put through hell, as promised, as the show rumbles on.

To Jomsom next, then!

Himalaya Roadies airs every Monday at 8pm on Himalaya TV.