Nepal - Pokhara - Young Nepali boy during British Gurkha selection

A young Nepali boy is undergoing a recruitment test for the Gurkha Regiment called the Doko race, part of a tough endurance series to find physically perfect specimens for British army infantry training. He has to carry 30kg of river stones in a traditional Himalayan doko (basket) for 3km up foothills within 37 minutes to pass. 60,000 boys aged between 17-22 (or 25 for those educated enough to become clerks or communications specialists) report to designated recruiting stations in the hills each November, most living from altitudes ranging from 4,000-12,000 feet. After initial selection, 7,000 are accepted for further tests from which 700 are sent down here to Pokhara in the shadow of the Himalayas. Only 160 of the best boys succeed in the journey to the UK. Nepal has been supplying youths for the British army since the Indian Mutiny of 1857.

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Filename: gurkha_recruitment08-16-01-1997.jpg
Copyright: © Richard Baker. No copying, screen grabbing, transmission or publication without permission.
Image Size: 5449x3562 / 3.9MB; www.photoshelter.com/support/license; https://www.bakerpictures.com/contact; British Army Gurkha Himalayas MoD Nepal Nepali Pokhara UK adolescent altitude army boy career colonial competition departing duty education ethnic fierce historic history homeland honour infantry military mountainous pride prospects recruit regiment reputation service talent traditional trained uniform young youth ultimate supply soldier successful training selection foothills joining practice trying effort honor commitment lifetime salary pension security Nepalese wilderness outdoor tough testosterone macho well-known notorious boys lads kids future mountains peaks roof of the world running carrying doko race loaded strain endurance stamina health weary weak stress rigorous performance fitness fatigue exertion exercise course cardio British army exhaustion candidate trainee pushed to the limit perserverance ambition limits emotional determination courage athlete pain goals motivation stretching excruciating mental strength agony intensity maximum specimen strength fortitude brawn virility body tough guy athletic nimble superior peak of fitness miles intake strenuous inner-strength character-building character Himal backdrop landscape clear hardest toughest armed forces defense defence test Regiment of Gurkhas Gurkhas wannabe pass elimination strongest
Contained in galleries: Gurkha Selection

A young Nepali boy is undergoing a recruitment test for the Gurkha Regiment called the Doko race, part of a tough endurance series to find physically perfect specimens for British army infantry training. He has to carry 30kg of river stones in a traditional Himalayan doko (basket) for 3km up foothills within 37 minutes to pass. 60,000 boys aged between 17-22 (or 25 for those educated enough to become clerks or communications specialists) report to designated recruiting stations in the hills each November, most living from altitudes ranging from 4,000-12,000 feet. After initial selection, 7,000 are accepted for further tests from which 700 are sent down here to Pokhara in the shadow of the Himalayas. Only 160 of the best boys succeed in the journey to the UK. Nepal has been supplying youths for the British army since the Indian Mutiny of 1857.