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.