No Gurans, no tourists in Hile

By Kabiraj Ghimire,Hile, May 10: In the past years, the forest area of Tinjure, Milke and Jaljale would be decked with blossoms of Lali Gurans (rhododendron).  No matter where you looked, you could see the red flowers all around and there used to be a bulk of tourists. But this year, there are no tourists nor did Lali Gurans bloom like in the previous years.

During this season, thousands of tourists used to visit the area to observe and enjoy the beauty of Gurans blossom. But, this year very few tourists visited this area as there are few flowers.

Tinjure, Milke, and Jalajle areas are considered the capital of Gurans. Out of 33 species of Gurans found in Nepal, 28 species are found in this area. The Jungle of Gurans starts from Tute Deurali, about two kilometers above Basantpur, Tinjure's gateway.

The Tinjure region starts from Tute Deurali itself and the Gurans jungle starts from Tinjure and extends to Milke and Jalajle areas. This area is on the border of Terhathum, Sankhuwasabha and Taplejung districts. 

According to the locals, lack of rain and snow is the reason for low blooming of beautiful red flowers. 

The forest is dying and the branches are falling due to a lack of good rains. Similarly, locals assume that there might be a low probability of blooming in the trees that bloomed well in the previous year. 

According to Yubaraj Khadka, a local, "This year, it didn't rain, it didn't even shower and it is a genuine reason behind the low flowering of Gurans.” 

In previous years, Gurans used to bloom at the same time but this year flowers bloomed at different times. "When all the Gurans blossomed once, the forest used to be covered with red at the same time, but this year, some have blossomed and some have only borne buds," said Dik Bahadur Gurung, a local. Gurung claims that Tinjure, Milke and Jaljale did not bring joy to the area as they did not bloom all at once. Over 50,000 domestic and foreign tourists used to visit the area in the past years but the number shrank by around 50 per cent this year, locals said.

Prakash Shrestha, hotelier from Laligurans Municipality in Basantpur, said that this year, compared to the previous year, not even half the tourists have come. 

There is a complaint among the local businessmen that they are facing problems with the decrease in the number of visitors.

"This year, neither did it snow nor did the flowers bloom. As a result, there has been a slowdown in business with the low number of tourists," Shrestha said.

Pradip Parajuli from Ratuwamai Municipality in Morang, who came to visit after seeing the red forest in the pictures in the previous year, said he did not enjoy the area as he had seen in the picture.