INSIDE HIMALAYAS | NEPAL | TIBET | BHUTAN
INSIDE HIMALAYAS | NEPAL | TIBET | BHUTAN
Photos: Christophe Noel.
Paragliding
in Pokhara
STOP DREAMING, START FLYING!
and heading towards EBC. The twostory stone house is over 150 years
old, and has been painted white, with
dark wooden window-frames and the
obligatory prayer flags strung around
the exterior. Although it is set up like a
museum, the house is still lived in by
Meena Sherpa, wife of the ancestral
owners of the house. Trekkers pass
through Namche for the mountain
views, and don’t expect to encounter
such ‘cultural’ attractions. But Khangba
Ngingba is a real gem, and worth a
short visit while in Namche.
My group trekked just the first five
days of the full route—from Lukla to
Pangboche—and then circuited the
Gokyo Lakes and Base Camp itself
in a helicopter, which then took us all
the way back to Kathmandu. We did
it the ‘easy’ way, not trekking higher
than 4000 metres, and not needing
to retrace our steps back down the
mountains and valleys. The highaltitude helicopter rides were a thrillseeking traveller’s dream-come-true,
but with this shortcut came a lesser
sense of achievement, a nagging
feeling that there will need to be a ‘next
time’ to complete the trek.
Evidence of earthquake damage along
the EBC trekking route was minimal. It
wasn’t necessarily that there had been
no damage, though. My trekking guide,
the formidable Everest summiteer
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www.insidehimalayas.com | By Royal Mountain Travel | 2016
Maya Sherpa, explained that the Sherpa
people of this region are relatively
wealthy because of the region’s long
association with tourism, meaning they
could afford to rebuild quite quickly.
But even so, in the autumn 2015 peak
season, visitor numbers were down by
around 60 percent.
If this is one of the wealthier regions of
Nepal, I asked Maya, wouldn’t that mean
that visitors should be encouraged to
trek elsewhere in the near future? To
share the tourism dollars around to the
regions that were worse hit, or unable
to rebuild so quickly. I knew that the
Langtang Valley, which I had trekked
through almost exactly one year before
the April 2015 earthquake, had been all
but destroyed, and the people there
were more desperately in need of help.
But Maya explained that Nepal relies
heavily on repeat visitors. First-time
visitors may be drawn to the country
by big-name attractions like the EBC or
Annapurna Circuit treks. But then they
fall in love with the country, the easygoing people, rich cultures, stunning
landscapes and accessible adventure.
They vow to return to visit different
regions, complete lesser-known treks.
In this way, tourism in any region in Nepal
has long-term economic knock-on
effects throughout the whole country.
My group, on our truncated EBC trek,
were not the first or last visitors to long
to return to see more, next time.
Have you ever dreamt of flying in the sky, just like a bird; above the exceeding topographies of the earth? If so, then THE WAIT is over.
The Paragliding performance of Nepal is one of the rare opportunities, in the world, for experiencing the perfect 'Bird's Eye View'. To
fulfil this bucket list, please remember the name 'Royal Mountain Travel' because we guarantee to make your dreams come true.
Contact Us:
Royal Mountain Travel-Nepal
PO Box 8720, Lal Durbar Marg, Kathmandu, Nepal
Phone: +977-1-4444376 / 78 / 79, Fax: +977-1-4444380
Email: [email protected], Web: royalmt.com.np
www.insidehimalayas.com | By Royal Mountain Travel | 2016
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