Tourist guides spend Dashain in mountains

By Yadu Prasad Bhatta,Manang, Oct.30: The number of tourists to Tilicho Lake, one of the highest lakes in Nepal, and other tourist areas in Manang, has been increasing every year, especially during the festive season.

Tilicho has been the first choice for visitors during the long holidays of Dashain as the weather becomes favourable for sightseeing throughout autumn. 

Many youths with thick wallets prefer to visit tourist sites like Tilicho to enjoy the beauty of nature instead of returning home to celebrate Dashain with parents. 

Pradeep Karki is one such youth, who left Kathmandu for Manang taking a group of five foreigners last week. He said he came to Manang with the tourists to enjoy the enthralling beauty of the Himalayas. 

“I am a tourist guide by profession. As the weather became clearer and the tourist season has also begun, I am here to show the tourists the Tilicho Lake and other beautiful places of Manang,” he said. According to him, he spends the festival season by visiting one place after another. 

His father was also a tourist guide and Pradeep has been following the footprints of his father after completing his Bachelor's Degree a decade ago. 

“I have been to the Himalayas every year during the Dashain and Tihar festivals,” he added. Another tourist guide, Deepak Aryal, also spent this year’s Dashain in the Himalayas like Pradeep. 

Aryal departed to upper Manang via Chame, the district headquarters of Manang, from Beshi Shahar, Lamjung, taking a group of tourists on the day of Fulpati (October 21). Aryal team had left Katmandu with a plan to spend three days in the Tilicho area. But the team spent Dashain holidays also in the Himalayas.  

More domestic and foreign tourists have thronged Tilicho area after WiFi service was made available in the area two weeks ago. 

Tourism entrepreneur and operator of Hotel Yak and Yeti Binod Gurung said that the movement of foreign tourists increased during Dashain this year. He said tourism entrepreneurs were excited by the rising number of tourists visiting Tilicho Lake located at the highest altitude in the world.  

According to Gurung, this was the first time Manang was witnessing an increasing overflow of tourists after the COVID-19 pandemic.  

Baburam Tamang, a hotel entrepreneur and social worker, said that around 200 tourists were entering Manang through Chyamche, popularly known as gateway to Manang, a day.

“Chyamche itself is one of the tourist sites. There are beautiful waterfalls across Chyamche the tourists feel extremely happy watching them,” Tamang said.

Manang has, of late, become, a popular destination for tourists. However, there is no record of domestic tourists as they do not have to pay any fee to enter Manang and register their names at the local checkpoints. However, the tourism entrepreneurs claim that the number of domestic tourists visiting Manang has surged in recent years. 

Mostly, tourists from the USA, Canada, Korea, Japan, France, Germany, Australia and other countries visit Manang during three months of autumn from mid-September.