The occasional accession of Nepal to the tourism bucket lists that some famed travel magazines publish at different times adds to the excitement and hopes of both travelers and hosts. Travelers intrinsically intend to get the best out of what their valued holiday time has to offer from their predefined destination choice and holidaying mode. In the case of mountain tourism in Nepal, the idyllic white mountain landscape and its majestic upstanding have always been a lure to international and even domestic travelers as a destination. Nevertheless, the stocking and auditing of tourism resources plus identification of constrictions for further development of the industry- a selling policy agenda among political parties especially ahead of the election, in and between switching governments, tourism marketers, and stakeholders is, not under the purview of this article. This article simply aims to weigh on the evolutionary process that the mountain ecotourism in Nepal is heading through amid the growth of international trekkers and domestic revelers in the region.
Nepal as a trekking destination
People's restlessness to see as much of this planet had never been more thanks to the IT and transportation advancements in all air, land, and sea modes. The international arrival to Nepal began along with the tourism spree that shot up international stayovers after world war II. As the historical data shows, the incremental international stayovers to Nepal were even ahead of most other Asian nations in terms of the time it began, and numbers visited within a short span of a decade. The first successful ascent of Mt. Everest has led to the craze of idiosyncratic mountaineering enthusiasts ever since. For others, just the glare of the snowclad mountains right next to their trekking hills is something more than once in a lifetime experience. This appealing imagination of touring uphill and around mountains if not summiting them has been historically so inviting that people from western rich countries, perhaps out of stressful cosmopolitan life, sought to ‘escape’ into this rugged mountain terrain, trudging for weeks or even months with some porters hired to carry necessities. ‘Tents would be set up at the village we ended up by the day with the help of the porters and dinners be prepared at the camps’ said a 78 years old nostalgic British trekker in his exhausted tone encountered on the way with this author. This routine journey continued the beautifully maintained and mostly even stone-paved village trails to the complete peace and tranquility of the trekker. This was a complete bliss for naturist ecotourists.
Trails to road and camps to hotels: a transition
The development dream of native citizens to add to the quality of life's convenience is something a modern democratic government should not and can not avoid. The fair share of this dream, since the inception of bulldozing spree brought upon after the democratic government back in 1990 could not leave this ecologically sensitive zone alone. Poorly planned or unplanned at most places, and reckless village access roads were the norms to the name of development as elsewhere in the country. The scenes become heart-wrenching when you see the centuries-old, beautifully stone-paved trails of cultural, historical, and touristic importance being trashed out by bulldozed dusty roads. Modernity is ugly when it overrides historic heritage and cultural pride. The hedonistic trekkers tramping leisurely in the serenity, although never wished to encounter the bumping wheeler, had to face up even the blaring horn even at a place where a gentle nudge would be enough to roll them down the cliff. One could hear some murmur on how being misled from the peaceful trail to align with the superseding road was to their disgust. This is not the way the trekkers intend to ‘escape’ through the trail. Upon this author’s curiosity, one of the villagers replied- ‘we need a road to reach our village, tourism has nothing to do with us, its only for some less than 10 percent. The villagers however are right in their way. The only question is why not the midway? Why the planners and other stakeholders were so dumb as to wreck the centuries-old precious historic and cultural heritage and not to plan a road through places whereby the trails would be intact?
The other transformative change is the booming of guest houses and inns in the villages along the trekking routes with a modern ambiance adding job opportunities for some. Gone are the days when the trekkers had to set up camps on the way. A trekker can book an accommodation where he/she intends to spend the night and day in. Some local products are consumed and as a result, farming is encouraged to reduce tourism leakages. It is still a question whether the involvement of some moneyed people from the community in this business and other out of the board, keep the community integrity maintained so far, intact whatsoever. What is in the plan of all concerned agencies to bring a fair share of the tourism in the community to all its members, is a matter of concern.
Tourism in communities is touted as more sustainable, given its members have equal participation in it. A sense of place in a community adorned with past heritage and tradition is a vital tourism resource apart from the environmental attraction. In the above case, it is rich in both. The local aspiration of improved accessibility and development at the cost of niche tourism resources mentioned above should be an outright no. Sooner or later roads to human settlements like in Ghandruk village and Ghorepani will add to the development of the place and make lives easier for locals but points like such among many others, should not be linked with roads in the fragile trekking routes to avoid riding on top, to the woes of trekkers, animals & birds alike and even hosts who will be affected most by the cutting of stayovers by visitors if allowed to ride from settlement to settlement.
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