10,000 tourists enter Manang, major tourist areas monitored as season begins

By Yadu Prasad Bhatta,Manang, Sept. 11: With the end of the rainy season, the flow of tourists entering Manang, a district beyond the Himalayas, has started to increase.

The domestic and foreign tourists can be seen in Manang with the beginning of the tourist season.

With the start of this year's season, 149 foreign tourists have arrived in Manang so far, according to data from the Annapurna Conservation Area Project (ACAP).

Dhak Bahadur Bhujel, chief of ACAP, Manang, said that 10,400 foreign tourists have entered the district since January 2023.

With the start of the season for domestic and foreign tourists, the District Security Committee has monitored the main tourist areas in coordination with ACAP.

The team monitored issues such as tourist safety, foods, roads and communication services.

Chief District Officer, Manang Suprabha Khanal Dhungel said that after the arrival of tourists, the monitoring was done with the aim of making it easier to travel safely.

She said that tourists should be careful when coming to the Himalayan region as there may be chances of getting high altitude sickness.

She said that it is necessary to build a place to stay in the area of Tilicho Lake to enjoy the natural beauty.

"Especially when tourists come, the road has been monitored for the purpose of making it easy. It is necessary to make the road safe to attract tourists who come for the first time again. We have requested ACAP to make it easier to cross the road safely," she said.

Chief District Officer Dhungel said that there is a need to coordinate to ensure easy access to telecommunication services for immediate reporting if there is a problem with the health of tourists and efforts are being made to facilitate its flow.

She said that she suggested to ACAP to make it easier for tourists to see if they can build a place for tourists to stay when there is no snowfall.

The number of tourists visiting important tourist spots such as Thorangla Bhanjyang and Tilicho Lake in Manang has started to increase.

ACAP Manang chief Bhujel said that besides making it easy to walk on the difficult road, they are trying to organise a 'tea house'.

He emphasised that special attention should be paid to food safety.

"We have observed the condition of the sign poles and boards placed to show the way in the Himalayan region because they are damaged by wind and snow. We are going to put new ones in some places to make it easier for tourists to reach their destination," said Bhujel.

He said that more domestic tourists will come especially in this season.

He said that due to this, they are working to make it possible to travel easily.

According to him, foreign tourists come to practice "high altitude". As a result, they have less problems.

Bhujel, however, said that the problem of getting sick is more common among domestic tourists.

He said that there will be no problem of high-altitude sickness among the domestic tourists when they enjoy the environment here in a planned way.

Kancha Ghale, chairman of Manang Ngisyang Rural Municipality, said that since the main tourist destination of this district is located in this municipality, an environment has been prepared for tourists to reach their destination easily.

According to him, while reaching Tilicho Lake, public toilets, drinking water and dumping sites have been constructed for waste management.

Chairman Ghale said that a temporary health centre has been set up at the Tilicho base camp targeting tourists.

Similarly, public toilets, drinking water, and dumping sites for waste management have been constructed to facilitate the tourists going to Thorangla Bhanjyang. This will make the journey of tourists easier.

In addition to observing the mountains, mountain views, high-hills, customs of Manang locals, natural beauty, some tourists come to Annapurna trail from Manang to cross Thorangla Bhanjyang and some to go to Pokhara.