Pilgrims Book House is a publishing and bookselling company founded in Kathmandu, Nepal in 1984. It formerly published books under the Book Faith India imprint and now publishes under the Pilgrims Publishing imprint. Pilgrims Book House is currently headquartered in Varanasi, India.
Pilgrims Book House sells and publishes books in a number of South Asian and Western languages. Its areas of speciality include: Buddhism Hinduism and yoga Mountaineering Reprints of classic books on India, Nepal, Tibet and Central Asia Languages (Nepali, Tibetan, Hindi) Children's books
Company history Pilgrims Book House was established by Puspa and Rama Nand ("Rama") Tiwari in Kathmandu in 1984, succeeding the Tiwaris' earlier book business in Varanasi. In the year 1999 they started a branch in Varanasi, and in 2006 a second branch opened in Delhi.
For many years the main Pilgrims Book House bookshop branch in Kathmandu was located in Thamel. It was one of the largest bookshops in Asia with hundreds of thousands of books on display.Augusto Villalon, "Fire destroys Pilgrims Book House in Kathmandu", Philippine Daily Inquirer, 22 September 2013. Retrieved 27 January 2018.Dannah Dennis, "The best bookshops in Kathmandu, Nepal", LSE Review of Books, London School of Economics and Political Science. Retrieved 27 January 2018.Mark Horrell, "Farewell to the Pilgrim's Book House, Kathmandu", markhorrell.com, 22 May 2013. Retrieved 27 January 2018. It was praised by several travel guidebooksPico Iyer, Video Night in Kathmandu: And Other Reports from the Not-So-Far East, Random House, 1989, passim. and websites (including by Lonely Planet who called it "Kathmandu's best bookstore").Pilgrims Book House, lonelyplanet.com. Retrieved on 3 June 2017.Kathmandu Bookshop Disaster, tonywheeler.com.au. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
On 16 May 2013 the Thamel branch of Pilgrims Book House caught fire and almost everything inside was burnt to ashes.John Child, "Pilgrims Book House Burns: Landmark Kathmandu Bookstore Completely Gutted", Friends in High Places, fihp.com. Retrieved 27 January 2018.Rabi Thapa and Victoria Cotino, "Pilgrims Book House kathmandu", The BAR: Buenos Aires Review, 5 July 2013. Retrieved 27 January 2018.Shashank Shrestha, "After the Fire - Pilgrims Book House", 500px.com. Retrieved 27 January 2018. Since the fire Pilgrims has operated two bookshops, one at JP Road, Thamel, KathmanduPilgrims Book House - Nepal, World Explorers Club, wexclub.com. Retrieved 27 January 2018. and the other at Durgakund, Varanasi. Following a trading downturn for two years due to the corona virus epidemic, business began to pick up in 2022.Thamel bookshops record rise in sales, risingnepaldaily.com. Retrieved 26 February 2025.
Pilgrims operates two websites, one for its bookstores and the other for its publishing division. The company also maintains a rare books department.
Publications Pilgrims Book House has published more than 1700 books. These include: Paul Brunton, A Message from Arunachala, Pilgrims Publishing, 2009, . W. Y. Evans-Wentz, The Tibetan Book of the Dead, Pilgrims Publishing, 2010, . Jim Goodman, Pokhara in the Shadow of the Annapurnas, Book Faith India, 1997, with photos by Galen Rowell and John Everingham, . Eva Kipp, Bending Bamboo Changing Winds: Nepali Women Tell Their Life Stories, Pilgrims Publishing, 2006, . B. P. Koirala, Faulty Glasses and Other Stories, Pilgrims Publishing, 2002, . James Prinsep and O. P. Kejariwal, "Benares Illustrated" and "James Prinsep and Benares" , Pilgrims Publishing, 2009, . A. P. Sinnett, Esoteric Buddhism, Pilgrims Publishing, 2002, . J. R. Santiago, Kriya Yoga: The Science of Self-Realization, Book Faith India, 1999, . Tania Sironic, Thangka Coloring Book. Pilgrims Publishing, 2007, . Daisetz Teitaro Suzuki, The Lankavatara Sutra, Pilgrims Publishing, 2005, . H. W. Tilman, Mount Everest 1938, Pilgrims Publishing, 2004,Everest Series (Pilgrims Publishing) - Book Series List, publishinghistory.com. Retrieved 2 May 2020. (contains the infamous Appendix B on the Yeti). B. D. Tripathi, Sadhus of India, Pilgrims Publishing, 2004, . Geert Verbeki, Bowls: An ABC. Pilgrims Publishing, 2005, . David Paul Wagner, Hindi Phrasebook: A Pilgrims Key to Hindi, Pilgrims Publishing, 1999, .
Book series Everest Series Pilgrims Astrology SeriesPractical Astrology, worldcat.org. Retrieved 4 August 2023. Pilgrims Colouring Book Series Pilgrims Folk Tales"Pilgrims Folk Tales" Varanasi, worldcat.org. Retrieved 30 June 2022. Pilgrims Health SeriesPilgrims Health Series Fasting, pilgrimsbooks.com. Retrieved 16 March 2024. Pilgrims Pocket Series (AKA Pilgrims Pocket Classics) Pilgrims Quotation SeriesFriends (Pilgrims Quotation Series), amazon.in. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
References
External links Pilgrims Book House - bookshop division website Pilgrims Publishing - publishing division website Jane and Michael Stern, "Nirvana Express", The New York Times, 19 February 2009 - mention of Rama Tiwari and Pilgrims Book House in review of Rory MacLean's Magic Bus: On the Hippie Trail From Istanbul to India Ramanand Tiwari, seopati. com - article (in Nepali) profiling Ramanand Tiwari, the Pilgrims Book House proprietor Tarquin Hall, "In search of paradise", New Statesman. 17 July 2006 - Rama Tiwari quoted on happiness Fire: Pilgrims Book House - 17 May 2013 - पिलग्रिम्स बुक हाउस ठमेल - ABC Hot News Express (Kathmandu) footage and interviews Fire at Thamel - video from night of 17 May 2013 Pilgrims Book House: Largest Book Store Of Nepal - tour of the rebuilt bookstore, 2022 Pilgrims Books Research Institute at Facebook Pilgrims Publishing and Distributors at Finanvo.in