Street festival in the lake city - Pokhara

The 13th Pokhara Street Festival has kicked off in the Lake Side of the western city of Pokhara.

The five-day festival, organized by Restaurant and Bar Association of Nepal (REBAN) to commemorate New Year 2012, was inaugurated by Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai on Wednesday.

The festival venue, which sprawls over an area of 3km from Fishtail Gate to Dihiko Patan, has been fully decorated and is now abuzz with both domestic and foreign tourists. It also hosts around 150 stalls, where handicraft goods to pashmina and other garment products have been put on display.

The festival, organized with a slogan of ´Eat on the Street, Dance on the Street and Enjoy on the Street´, plays a key role in promoting the arts and culture of Pokhara, Balram Pahari, president of REBAN, said. At the same time, the festival also promotes tourism and stimulates economic activities, REBAN has said.

PATA Launches China Responsible Tourism Forum

The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), in collaboration with China International Heritage Towns Exposition, have organised the China Responsible Tourims Forum (CRTF). The forum will take place in Beijing on December 16, 2011. The event will coincide with the China Heritage Towns Exposition that will be held at the same venue December 16-18. The forum aims to help, protect and preserve the heritage and culture of ancient villages in China, while responsibly developing these villages to boost tourism.

The forum will discuss the threat that mass tourism poses to these communities and their residents. More importantly, the forum will highlight the value tourism may bring if executed thoughtfully. Consumer travel trends indicate that tourists want to travel responsibly and connect with people and culture in an authentic way. Esteemed international and local Chinese experts will talk about ways of implementing responsible tourism development. They will exchange ideas in developing and managing tourist sites and attractions. Among the topics that will be discussed are sustainable and scientific development strategies for deriving economic benefits from cultural assets. The objective is for the forum to become a meaningful platform for exploring the optimal development model for individual destinations.

PATA CEO, Martin Craigs, said: “PATA launching the Responsible Tourism Forum is significant given the rate of growth of tourism in China and China’s innovation in green and sustainable energy. Weighing the risks and opportunities that tourism development brings is critical, that’s why the forum is important.” Deputy Director – Organising Committee of China International Heritage Towns Exposition, Lan Jun, said: “China has around 5,000 ancient towns and villages with a history spanning over 1,000 years. This forum comes at an opportune time. We hope to ensure responsible tourism development in these communities, enabling them to showcase their rich cultural heritage with local and international travellers.”

The forum will be moderated by CCTV Business News anchor Deidre Morris Wang. The forum’s key speakers include Geoffrey Lipman, Director of GreenEarth.travel; Anna Pollock, CEO of DestiCorp; Zhang Guangrui, Director of Tourism Research Centre of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences; Mei Zhang, Founder of Wild China; Mason Florence, Executive Director of the Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office; Peter Semone, Director of Lanith Laos; and Li Jiangping, National Programme Officer for Culture of UNESCO Beijing Office. The forum will also feature case studies from hotel and tourism developments in China.

The forum will also feature case studies from hotel and tourism developments in China. The one-day forum is organised by PATA China, which will launch the PATA China Chapter during the forum. The new PATA China Chapter will be chaired by Jens Thraenhart, Co-founder and President of Dragon Trail

Buddha time's treasures found in Parsa, Nepal.

Ancient Buddha time historical materials have been found in a well nearby Panwar stream at Ramnagar Village Development Committee (VDC) of Nawalparasi district.

Treasures of Buddha era including things used for gambling and ring have been detected in the well, said locals. The valuables found in the well resemble to that of the materials kept at the museum in Tilaurakot of Kapilvastu.

According to locals, the archeological well including various historical materials of Buddha era were found of late in the area. Locals have barred extracting sands and pebbles from the stream after the archeologically important well was spotted in course of collecting pebbles.

Retreat Tourism in Pokhara valley

Lure of Pokhara is irresistible. So is said about its countryside. Of late, Lake City has emerged as the showpiece destination, pulling in maximum tourists.

The latest trend, however, indicates that tourism is spilling over Pokhara and well into the picturesque countryside. And with that, retreat tourism is finally arriving on the scene. Targeting tourists who prefer some peace and solitude, tourism entrepreneurs are operating a number of hotels and retreats in nearby villages. Two hotels in Pumdivumdi VDC of Kaski district are already in operation whereas preparations for others are underway.

The two newly-constructed hotels are Raniban Retreat and Siddhartha Garden Ayurved Resort. Raniban Retreat is shortly going to come into operation whereas Siddhartha Garden started operations two weeks ago. The other hotels under construction in the area are likely to come into operation within a few months.

Raniban Retreat has already invested around Rs 40 million. After the completion of the first-phase, the hotel will operate 12 tent-room and four deluxe rooms. Tariff for these rooms starts from Rs 3,000 for Nepali and $90 for foreign guests.

Himlal Baral, construction coordinator of the hotel, said 32 guests can be put up at the hotel. Baral said the hotel though in a village will offer all standard facilities that a quality hotel in Pokhara offers. The hotel plans to operate 42 rooms in near future at an addition investment of Rs 40 million.

The VDC is adjacent to World Peace Pagoda, 8 km away from Pokhara. Located at a height of 1,500 meter, visitors can enjoy the magnificent view of different Himalayan ranges including Machhapuchhre, Annapurna, Manaslu and others.

Similarly, Siddhartha Garden Ayurved Resort is trying to position itself as a resting place for trekkers who are tired from the journey. The hotel spread over four ropanies has already received an investment of Rs 10 million. In the first-phase, four rooms have been opened each costing USD 50 a night.

The resort offers a host of services like steambath, yoga and ayurvedic treatment. For the moment the resort has also two qualified therapists and a medical officer for healing and treatment

Sky Diving in Pokhara

Skydiving is an adventurous sport where divers jumps from flying aircraft with the help of parachute. Alexender Havard, 40, from England on Sunday became the first person to enjoy skydiving in Pokhara. He jumped from the altitude of 8,000 ft and landed at Khapaudi near Lake Side.

“I was thrilled although I couldn´t see the clear view of Himalayas because of mist,” he said, sharing his experience.

Avia Club is offering the service at Euro 110 per jump. Prabin Gauchan, general manager of Avia Club, said the company was planning to offer special discount for a limited period to attract more adventure lovers to the country. He further added that his company working on to develop a special package to promote skydiving.

“We are hopeful that this new product will help a lot in tourism promotion,” he added.

Avia club, which also operates ultra light flights in Pokhara, is deploying two-seater ultra-light aircraft for the jump.

Only the licensed divers can enjoy skydiving in Pokhara. Interested persons must get permit from Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) for the jump. CAAN issues two-week permit for $50 per person.

Perils of cell phone while driving

Responding to a recent complaint in its newly opened Facebook page, the Metropolitan Traffic Police Division (MTPD) commented, “The Vehicle and Transportation Management Act 2049 and Regulation 2054 does not have proper direction regarding the use of cell phones,” and added, “But if we have to analyze the road fatalities, the use of cell phone is a prime reason.”

Contradictorily, MTPD has not maintained any statistics or carried out any investigations regarding accidents or deaths related to cell phone use and driving. Of the 678 registered cases, most of the driving licenses were seized but there is no further information on casualties or damages, if any.

The use of cell phone while driving is one of the eight major traffic violations. Since 2003, the MTPD has been taking actions against violators and conducting various awareness campaigns, but cell phone etiquettes have been freewheeling.

“Roughly, three per cent of the total number of accidents are caused due to the violation of this rule but the actual rates are higher,” informs Superintendent of Police Jagatman Shrestha of MTPD.

Amongst the 800,000 vehicles that swerve notoriously in the capital, the above statistics might be just a handful of cases that have come to notice of some 1,000 traffic personnel mobilized in the Kathmandu District. Clearly, the law enforcement of this serious traffic violation that can cost lives is flawed.

Countless miles of high altitude trails and tracks, until now the exclusive realm of the Nepalese and visiting trekkers and mountain climbers, will experience for the first time in 2012 visits by mountain biking enthusiasts. The mountain bike trails in Nepal are some of the best in the world but also some of the most undiscovered. Often you will be the only biker on the trail for days, affording a highly personal experience with the villages you pass through.

Four 12-to-21-day mountain biking itineraries will be offered starting in March 2012 under the new banner of Ace the Himalaya Mountain Biking Trips. Professional, vehicle supported mountain biking on customized tours will begin over some of the best biking trails in Nepal.

2012 programs to be offered include:

Annapurna Circuit - a strenuous 19-day program suggested for March-May and September-November; cyclists on a daily average cover 25 kms at an altitude range of 5,416 meters, passing through lush sub-tropical rainforest, deep valleys and cultivated fields to wooded alpine and high deserts, with frequent views of the Annapurnas and Manaslu.

Lhasa (Tibet) to Kathmandu - a strenuous 21-day program suggested for June-September; cyclists on a daily average cover 70 kms at an altitude range of 5,220 meters through one of the most remote regions in the world from Lhasa in Tibet to Kathmadu in Nepal. The trip follows the Friendship Highway to the Roof of the World, the Everest Base Camp, and descends by the former home of the Dalai Lama.

Muktinath to Pokhara - a moderately-strenuous 11-day program suggested for February-April and September-November; cyclists on a daily average range 25 to 30 kms at an altitude range of 3,710 meters to Muktinath, a pilgrimage center for Buddhists and Hindus.

Kathmandu Valley Rim - a moderate 13-day program suggested for September-June; cyclists cover 30 kms on a daily average at an altitude range of 2,175 meters off the beaten path through rice terraces with superb views of an array of snow peaks from Annapurna to Everest. Included is a stay at Nagarkot, famous for sunrises and sunsets with the magnificent Himalayan back drop.

MLTR in NEPAL.

Danish pop rock band Michael Learns To Rock arrived in the country on Wednesday, ahead of their scheduled concert on Saturday. The three member band proceeded from Tribhuvan International Airport in the capital to Radisson Hotel in Lazimpat where they will be staying for the duration of their visit.

The highly popular band comprising singer-keyboardist Jascha Richter, drummer Kåre Wanscher, and guitarist Mikkel Lentz were greeted with flower garlands and colourful khadas on their arrival. MLTR as the band is known for short, is the second internationally acclaimed act after Candaian rocker Bryan Adams to perform in the country this year.

Adams was the first big international name to perform in Nepal in February and his concert was a massive success in a country hitherto starved of global music stars. MLTR has credited Adams for having paved the way for their upcoming concert. They also revealed that they had always been interested in performing in Nepal but were only invited this year.

MLTR fever in the capital is rising to a crescendo with banners plastered all over the city and the trio being splashed in the media. The trio plan to take a mountain flight during their stay in the country to view the world famous Mt. Everest.

They will perform their evergreen hits like The Actor, Sleeping Child, Someday and That’s Why (You Go Away) in Tundikhel on Saturday.

Tourist season kicks off in Nepal

Healthy arrivals from major source markets propelled tourists’ inflow via air by 16.8 percent in October. The country welcomed 73,264 tourists in October, the highest ever figure in a single month.

The latest statistics of Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) show that a total of 443,108 visitors entered Nepal in the first 10 months of 2011, up by 21.7 percent compared to the same period last year.

Nepal’s major source markets—India and China—have the largest share in the first 10 months’ arrival figure. The countries now account for about 36 percent of the total arrivals. The NTB statistics show arrivals from India grew by 42.4 percent, while that of China surged by 66.7 percent. Largely propelled by strong Indian arrivals, number of tourists from the SAARC region grew by 33.7 percent.

In October, arrivals from Asia (excluding South Asia) saw an overall increase of 40 percent. Except for Malaysia, almost all the markets recorded positive growth, with China, Japan, Singapore, South Korea and Thailand posting growth of 105.9 percent, 7.3 percent, 5.7 percent, 29.4 percent and 23.6 percent, respectively.

As far as the long-haul markets are concerned, Europe registered an overall growth of 15.1 percent compared to the same month last year with a total arrival of 34,166 tourists. Among the European countries, arrivals from Germany, Italy, Spain, Switzerland and UK went up by 19.3 percent, 25.5 percent, 20.7 percent, 15.8 percent, and 7.3 percent, respectively. However France and the Netherlands registered negative growth of 3.9 percent and 17.1 percent, respectively, compared to the same month in 2010.

The official figures show an overall decrease of 5.4 percent in arrivals from the Oceania region, with Australia and New Zealand recording -0.2 percent and -30.4 percent growths. Canada also recorded a negative growth of 0.2 percent, whereas arrivals from the United States went up by 5.4 percent. A total of 69,115 foreign tourists departed from TIA in October 2011

Bhaktapur heritage sans preservation

Negligence by the concerned authorities to clean up the different monuments at the Bhaktapur Durbar Square, a world heritage site, has led to the important monuments there turning into virtual jungle. The Bhaktapur Durbar Square is one of the major sites in the district visited by foreign tourists.

The famous Golden Gate, the statues of different deities, temples and shrines located at the Bhaktapur Durbar Square are found to be covered with lichen and weeds due to lack of cleaning even as the country is marking 2011 as the Nepal Tourism Year.

For instance, the main temples, ancient resting places, arenas and the various statues of the rulers dating back to the Malla period are covered with dirt and lichen. One can even see different kinds of weeds growing on the roof and nooks and crevices of the famous five-storied Temple there.

Weeds and lichen have virtually colonised the monuments in the Durbar Square making the place look ugly and untidy. But the Department of Archaeology and the Durbar Upkeep Office, the bodies responsible for the maintenance and upkeep of the heritage site have turned a blind eye to all of this.

Even the Bhaktapur Municipality that collects revenue of Rs. 120 million annually from tourists by showing them around these places seems to be least cared about cleaning the monuments.

Toilets on Everest

An environmental group is asking the Nepal government to consider installing portable toilets on Mount Everest for climbers caught short at the roof of the world. Eco Himal says the thousands of trekkers who set off from the South Base Camp in Nepal each year would do a better job of keeping the place clean if they and their porters had somewhere civilized to go when nature called. "Human waste is a problem, of course," said the group's director, Phinjo Sherpa. "I am merely suggesting that if we have public toilets they can be used."

Many groups bring expedition toilet cans, but Phinjo Sherpa said porters were often left with little choice but the nearest snowdrift. Environmental activists say Everest is littered with the detritus of past expeditions, including human waste and mountaineers' corpses, which can take decades to decompose because of the extreme cold. Phinjo Sherpa said installing the toilets would be discussed as part of a wider waste management plan being prepared by the government that would encompass popular peaks throughout the Everest region. "If there could be two or three toilets that would be good but this is just at the planning phase. We will have to decide what is a good idea and what isn't," he said.

Climbers spend tens of thousands of dollars trying to reach the 8,848-metre (29,028-foot) summit of Everest, but campaigners say few pay much attention to the rubbish they leave behind. There is no definitive figure on how much trash has been left on the mountain, but the debris of 50 years of climbing has given Everest the name of the world's highest dumpster. The privately-funded Eco Everest Expedition, a Nepal-based coalition of environmentalists campaigning to keep the mountain clean, has collected more than 13 tones of garbage, 400 kilograms of human waste and four bodies since 2008.

Annapurna trekking sees an increase in number of visitors

The Annapurna trekking route is seeing a greater inflow of sightseers with the start of the tourist season. The route, regarded as one of world’s leading walking trails, is now seeing over 300 tourists daily, up from 200 in September.

According to the Annapurna Conservation Area Project (ACAP) checkpoint at Bhulbhule, 200 tourists used to visit the route daily in September. “Along with the Nepal Tourism Year 2011, the beginning of the tourist season will see more tourists,” said ACAP official Brij Gurung. Local hotels along the trekking route including Khudi, Bhulbhule, Nadi, Bahundada, Jagat and Syage have been packed with the tourists from the beginning of October.

As per ACAP statistics, tourist inflow in the Annapurna route has increased 12.54 percent in the first nine months of 2011 compared to the same period last year. A total of 10,159 tourists walked the trail in the period January-September 2011 against 9,019 in the same period in 2010.

According to Gurung, the number has increased also due to the ongoing NTY 2011. Tourists from France, Germany and the US are among the main visitors in the region.

Despite a rise in tourist inflow, the target for NTY 2011 for Lamjung does not look achievable The district has aimed to attract 100,000 tourists in 2011. Hotel entrepreneurs blame the government for its failure to promote tourism in the region besides developing infrastructure required for tourism.

Hotelier Ram Kumar Shrestha said that the slow rise in tourist numbers was a result of the government’s apathy towards publicity and infrastructure development. “No efforts have been made towards NTY promotion or infrastructure development,” said Shrestha. “Hence, how can we attract tourists?”

ACAP statistics show that a total of 17,404 tourists trekked the Annapurna route in 2010. The region used to attract a large number of tourists till 2001. However, tourist arrivals declined during the Maoist insurgency. Tourism entrepreneurs said that even though tourist arrivals had improved in the last few years, they are far from satisfactory. According to ACAP, about 200,000 visitors have gone trekking on the Annapurna route since 1994.

Making a difference through Voluntourism

An increasing number of travel companies around the world are adding volunteer opportunities to their tour itineraries. The growing trend, which is now commonly known as voluntourism, is an area of great interest for many organizations including tour operators, lodges, NGOs and destinations.

Voluntourism, is a relatively new concept in Nepal offers activities ranging from a couple of days to more than a month depending on time and availability. If you relish the idea of extracting purpose and meaning from your travel experience, Voluntoursim is the right activity apart from multi adventure holidays that Nepal has to offer.

Some of the program that we propose include tree plantation, addressing social causes, environmental education, building model toilets or being involved on a long term basis as a teacher, or volunteering to build roads. We also offer other learning experiences like gathering knowledge about wood craft (Nepal is famous for intricate woodcrafts) and learning to weave etc. These activities make a profound impact in uplifting the lives of the local communities and hence guarantee self satisfaction. It will be a learning experience for the volunteers as they get to know about a different culture and tradition and also visit the rural yet beautiful places of Nepal.

Adventure and Learning in Nepal

Adventure is a bold undertaking; a stirring experience. We challenge ourselves to explore beyond the horizon to discover some of our unique inner potential. We believe that adventure is an expression of our inner self, an attitude we bring to whatever we do.

Adventurehimal Nepal is dedicated to creating success through adventure, personal development and social change. Nature and outdoor learning programs in addition to eco friendly camping style accommodation inspires a sense of connection to the natural world. Our staffs are upbeat and passionate professionals who are specialist in outdoor education and people development.

RacingThePlanet: Nepal 2011- A Seven-Day Footrace Across Annapurna

Racing the Planet, an international organization specializing in high endurance races is organizing a footrace in the Annapurna region from 20th to 26th November, 2011.

Nepal 2011 footrace will begin just outside Pokhara. Competitors will have to cover a distance of 250 kilometers within seven days, carrying their own equipment and food. They will sleep in both tents and tea houses supported along the way by highly regarded Sherpas and a professional medical and operations team. During the race, the course will venture close to Mustang Region and the altitude is not expected to go much above 11,000 feet. According to RacingThePlanet, one of their missions in organizing the race is to document and contribute to improving the lives of ethnic minorities and tribes in the areas they explore, and to encourage and support competitors to raise funds for their charities. In the Nepal race, competitors will be supporting over forty charities through their efforts.
Around 250 participants, plus 50 media reporters, staff and volunteers covering more than 40 countries will be involved in the event. As all events organized by RacingThePlanet have received wide publicity, the race in Nepal is also expected to garner attention from international as well as national media.

RacingThePlanet has its headquarters in Hong Kong and the United Kingdom and 11 offices worldwide. First founded by American Mary K. Gadams, the organization commenced operations from its base in Hong Kong in 2002 when it organized the Gobi March, an arduous seven day race set in the Gobi desert. TIME Magazine named the Gobi March the #1 footrace in the world. It was also named one of the world’s top ten endurance events. Since then RacingThePlanet has organized 29 events in 8 Countries, from China to Antarctica. The race in Nepal is going to be its 31st event. Official partners of the event are Nepal Tourism year 2011 and technology giant Intel.

Sustainable Trekking Initiative launched in Nepal Himalaya

Leading adventure travel company world expedition is delighted to announce a major sustainable trekking initiative in the Himalaya that will ensure travelers continue to enjoy taking the paths less traveled while enjoying a comfortable and ecologically sustainable accommodation. The establishment of a series of permanent camp sites, wilderness camps and eco lodges in the Everest area of the Himalaya will allow travelers to trek away from the more crowded routes while importantly not contributing to the deforestation crisis that is currently overtaking this beautiful part of the world.
“We have always believed that camping trekking is the most sustainable way to travel in this region,” says World Expeditions CEO Sue Badyari. “Tea houses and lodges commonly burn wood to provide hot water for showers and to cook, which is contributing the major issue of de-forestation. Our cooks use gas and we will be using non wood burning pot bellied stoves for heating the main dining halls,” said Sue.
Feedback from World Expeditions clients consistently rates the experience they have with Sherpa’s and crew that accompanies the trek is one of the trip highlights. As they make camp each night a community feeling is developed and the trekkers can form friendships which allow a great cultural insight. Camping trekking also provides employment for local people – a workforce of up to 25% more than a lodge trek provides.
The permanent campsites are located in beautiful locations, outside the villages on secluded plots that create an atmosphere of privacy and exclusivity with stunning views of the mountains. At each campsite there will be a dining room for meals and downtime that will we be kept warm in the winter. In addition there will be an ablution block with flushing western toilets. The tents are large and allow standing inside with a basic bed and thick foam mattress.
Where national park regulations have prevented permanent campsites World Expeditions has contracted the services of a few select eco lodges that comply with responsible tourism practices – some with a private dining hall for the exclusive use of World Expeditions trekkers. While at the lodges World Expeditions cooks will still prepare all meals so that the extremely high level of hygiene and variety of choices is maintained.

Keeping up with some news from Nepal

With the early onset of the monsoon showers this year, the farming community in Nepal is hopeful for a rich harvest this season. The tourism industry is slowly coming to a slow phase with the start of the so called ‘off season’ until mid September. It is now time to reevaluate and reflect back on the past months and plan ahead for October – November season.

This month also marked the birth of Lord Buddha with ‘Buddha Jayanti’ celebrations celebrated throughout the country. Adventurehimal observed this day at Borderlands Eco Adventure Resort located on the banks of the mighty Bhote Koshi River. This festival was celebrated with the theme of spreading peace and harmony through music and peaceful chanting and peace prayers by monks. A famous folk musical group ‘Kutumba’ performed a peace concert at Borderlands and also participated in white water descent.

Recently, we also witnessed various political protests, frequent strikes called by various organizations in the name of pressurizing the government for drafting the constitution which has long been overdue. Under such circumstances, many itineraries had to be revised and alterations had to be made to ensure that our customers get the best at these adverse times.

Buddha Jayanti

 

Where are the Tourists gone??

Despite all the media hype and expectation from the general public, the spring tourist season in Nepal seems to have nosedived in comparison to the last few years. End of March and the streets are still deserted, the shops empty, makes you wonder what went wrong?

Meanwhile, the Hotel Association of Nepal (HAN) has scheduled different international programs targeting Nepal Tourism Year. In a bid to sensitize the world about Nepal’s tourism, a painting from the famous US cartoonist Ranan Lurie is being taken to Mt. Everest. Lurie’s painting has been exhibited at Lobby, New York, South Korea and Israel to disseminate the message of peace and harmony.
In addition to this HAN will also be holding the World Congress of International Hotel and Restaurant Association from Nov 30to Dec 02 targeting Nepal Tourism Year 2011. The association has over 300,000 hotels and million restaurants from all over the world as its members.

Tourism Year 2011

Nepal Tourism Year 2011 is finally here and so is the new government, increased power failure and countless many more challenges. Despite all this the hopes and aspirations are still high. With most financial indicators around the world unveiling much stable and better figures than in the last few years, tourism entrepreneurs are now hoping for recovery to be back on track.

With additional new trekking routes like the Great Himalayan Trail that combines a lot of existing network trails into a grueling journey across the Himalayas, the Indigenous Peoples Trail, the new year looks like a year filled with hope and optimism. The International airport in Kathmandu has also undergone some work to make it more comfortable and spacious for travelers. The departure lounge has been extended and the processing of visa and other formalities made quicker at arrivals.

While all infrastructure development to attract a million tourists, the official government target is in place the outcome needs to be seen yet.