Yak festival begins in Topkegola

By Chandra Pandak,Taplejung, Aug. 10: Tokpegola Tourism and Yak Festival 2081 has begun in Mikwakhola Rural Municipality-5 Papung of Taplejung on Friday. Tokpegola is one of the major tourist destinations in the district.

The festival was organised by Mikwakhola Rural Municipality and Himali Tokpegola Youth Club. The festival has been organised with the aim of promoting Tokpegola region, which has abundant tourism potential, as well as attracting foreign and domestic tourists. There will be entertainment programmes, sports and other activities in the Tourism and Yak Festival, which will be held until Monday, August 12. 

The original cultural performance of the marginalised Dhokpya community living in Tokpegola will be the attraction of the festival. Similarly, one can visit dozens of ponds including Sodu pond, Bhoot pond, Tin pond and many others in that area. 

According to the organisers, tourists can directly observe animals like yaks, sheep, giant red panda (Habre), peasants, and Himalayan monals in the vast mountain pastures.

Bhakta Bahadur Karki, Chairperson of Mikwakhola Rural Municipality, said that the festival was organised with the aim of developing the Tokpegola area as a dynamic tourist destination by further promoting it. According to him, men's volleyball competition, half marathon and competition based on Tibetan culture will be conducted as part of the sports activities.

Tokpegola is at an altitude of 3,700 meters above sea level and one can reach there on two days walk from the district headquarters, Fungling. 

Vice-Chairperson of Topkegola, Dandush Sherpa Lama said that more than 1,000 people are expected to participate in the Tokpegola festival, which is about a day away from the human settlement area of ​​Mikwakhola Rural Municipality.

Meanwhile, the local body has announced local holidays during the four-day Tokpegola Festival. During the holiday of the festival, the office of the rural municipality, and all the five ward offices of the municipality will be closed except for essential services. To make the festival a grand success, the entire rural municipality has to participate, so the rural municipality has announced the local holiday.