Yak festival to be held in Taplejung

By Our Correspondent,Taplejung, July 21: Preparations have been made for Tokpegola Tourism and Yak Festival in Taplejung. The event is scheduled for 9-13 August in Topkegola of Papung in Mikwakhola Rural Municipality-5.

Himali Tokpegola Youth Club will organise the festival in Papung and Mikwakhola-5 Papung. The club informed that the main festival organising committee has been formed under the coordination of Papung Ward President Gyanje Sherpa. According to the club, the festival has been organised to promote the tourist area of Tokpegola and yak products native to the locality.

Sherpa said that the festival is being organised to promote tourism as well as protect local customs and culture. The festival's main attraction is the yak and sheep exhibition and the cultural showcase by the marginalised Dhokpya tribe living in the Papung Tokpegola area. Similarly, Sodhu Pokhari, Saju Pokhari, Bhoot Pokhari and other ponds in the area are the major attractions for the tourists.

The visitors can also observe the Hilima Waterfall and Phungfuge Waterfall in Mikwakhola. According to the organisers, the area is full of valuable herbs such as Padamchal (Kenzo), Bikhma, Panchaunle, Yarsagumba and others. 

Sports coordinator Dawa Nupu Dhokpya informed that men's volleyball and men's marathons will also be conducted during the festival. 

Tokpegola area is one of the tourist destinations of the district. Domestic and foreign tourists come to behold the ponds, yaks and sheep sheds, pastures, valuable herbs, endangered red pandas, wild animals and vegetation of the area.