Nepal Tourism After The Devastating Earthquake

Nepal Tourism After The devastating Earthquake of 25 April 2015 affected almost every sector in Nepal. Although, most of the tourism products are safe, tourism sector in general is highly affected. However, the unprecedented unity amongst all sector of the country and strong international solidarity/ co operation seen in the tragic moment are the inspiring factors to overcome the effects of the Disaster.  The International Airport , all the Domestic Airports and all highways are not affected , There is't any health problem caused by the earthquake. Revival of Tourism in the country will be the main tool to take  people to normal life. 

There is Much to see in Nepal

Out of 75 Districts of Nepal, 11 are severely affected by the earthquake. It does not mean the whole national is severely affected . Some of the historical monuments in Durbar Squares of Kathmandu valley are affected by this earthquake, Langtang and Monaslu trekking areas are affected at this moment. All the other tourism products are there as they were before. Popular tourist destination like Dhulikhel, Lumbini, Chitwan, Bandipur, Pokhara, Tansen, Annapurna Region, Mustang, Dolpo, Bardia, Suklaphanta and many more tourism sites and adventure activites are there as usual. You can experience Sightseeing, Jungle Safari, White water rafting, Trekking, Paragliding, Mountain flight, Zip line, and more as usual.so, no need to change your travel plan of Nepal. rather you may modify some itineraries slightly.

Nepal Trekking Tours Itinerary Suggestion 

1. Pokhara Tour 

Pokhara, Nepal's most attractive tourist destination lies in the central part of the country just 200 km west of Kathmandu and about 180 km north from southern border city Sunali. Scenic flight 30 minutes and surface travel of 5-6 hours from Kathmandu is enough to reach to Pokhara. Beside this, there are regular bus services from various border towns from eastern to western, such as Kakadvitta, Biratnagar, Nepaljung, Mahendranagar etc. 

2. Kathmandu - Lumbini - Chitwan - Pokhara Tour 

The Kathmandu - Lumbini - Chitwan - Pokhara package gives you a complete experience of Culture, Nature & Adventure. One can see the Historic Heritages in Kathmandu, A pleasant six hours drive by car or bus on the Kathmandu - Narayanghat highway and Narayanghat - Siddharthanagar ( Mahendra highway) offering you a continually changing landscape from the mountains of the Himalayas to the plains of the Terai. Visit Loard Gautam Buddha birth place Lumbini, enjoy the wilderness in Chitwan and finally relax in the lap of the Majestic Himalayas in Pokhara.

3. 10 Nights - 11 Days Nepal Tour Package

This 11 days Nepal Tour Program covers all the popular ancient sightseeing destination (Kathmandu-Pokhara - Tansen - Lumbini - Chitwan - Kathmandu) of Nepal. This holiday package is a one of the best Nepal Tour chosen by many tourist. For more details you can contact Nepal local Travel Agents they are eager to make you Nepal Tour. 

4. Annapurna Basecamp Trek ( ABC Trek )

Annapurna Base Camp trek is one of the best trekking routes in Nepal. The trek is also know as Annapurna Sanctuary Trek. It begins and ends in Pokhara and goes through Dhampus, Kande or Nayapul, Ghandruk ( Popular Gurung Village), Chhomrong, Deurali, Machhapuchhre Base Camp etc. The spectacular panoramic view of Annapurnas, Himchuli, Annapurna South, Annapurna III and Machhapuchhre Mountain appear during the trek.  

5. Ghorepani Poon Hill Trek
Ghorepani Poon Hill Trek lies in Annapurna Region and its known as a one of the most popular short treks in Nepal. More ( Ghorepani Poonhill Trek - 3 Night 4 Days ) and following trekking route also safe after devastating earthquake.

6. Jomsom Muktinath Trek
7. Upper Mustang Trek
8. Round Annapurna Trek
9. Dhaulagiri Base Camp Trek
10. Mardi Himal Trek
11. Khopra Trek
12. Royal Trek
13. Dolpo Trek ( upper / lower dolpo )

The Ministry of Culture, Toursim and Civil Aviation under Government of Nepal has released a press statement assuring Nepal is now safe after an earthquake except for worst hit 8 out of 75 districts. Also at those places rebuilding process is going on and slowly life of people is getting back into normal.

Google Launched a Virtual Tour of Nepal’s Everest Region

A memeber of the Google Street View project walks with the camera used to capture project footage through Nepal’s Khumbu region in April last year. Google on March 12, 2015 launched a virtual tour of Nepal’s rugged Everest region. (AFP)

Google launched a virtual tour of Nepal’s Everest region allowing armchair tourists a rare glimpse of life in one of the toughest and most inaccessible places on earth.

The Street View project takes viewers into the heart of the Sagarmatha national park, home to the world’s highest mountain, where icy blue rivers run below snow-capped peaks, monks play traditional music and yak-herders navigate precipitous stone-strewn trails.

Armed with two single-lens tripod cameras and a 15-lens custom-built, “Trekker” unit designed for backpacks, teams travelled on foot to capture more than 45,000 panoramic images of the remote villages inhabited by the ethnic Sherpa community in the eastern Himalayas. Google worked on the project with Kathmandu-based start-up Story Cycle and Nepali mountaineer Apa Sherpa, who scaled Mount Everest a record 21 times before he retired from climbing and set up an educational charity.

“Everyone in the world knows Mount Everest but very few people know how hard life is in these villages,” said Apa Sherpa, who was forced to drop out of school at 12 and work as a porter after his father died. “Thanks to Google Street View, everyone can see these villages and understand that people here need help. Hopefully we can then raise funds to build more schools and hospitals for them.”

Nepal’s Sherpa community, who have long labored as guides and porters on mountaineering expeditions, hope the project will promote the region and raise funds to improve access to education, offering future generations a way out of the high-risk climbing industry. Visitors to the Google Street View website can scroll through a slideshow of 360-degree views created by digitally stitching together thousands of 75-megapixel photographs, or click on the online map to see images of individual sites.

“Googlers, Story Cycle employees and Apa Sherpa spent about 11 days on the move last March, using the tripod cameras and fish-eye lenses to shoot inside monasteries, schools, clinics,” said Raleigh Seamster, program manager for Google Earth Outreach.

Google held a digital mapping session in the Himalayan town of Namche, where around 50 locals chipped in with suggestions of places to add to the online map.

Lodge-owner Tenzing Sherpa was among those who attended the session and said he hoped the initiative would attract more tourists.

“These online maps are a good source of information for visitors and if more tourists come here, it will create more opportunities, better opportunities than working on the mountain,” he told AFP.

Apa Sherpa, now 55, first climbed the 8,848-metre high peak as a porter, and described the feat as “a dream that had never been mine”.


“My dream is that one day, young kids in Nepal won’t have to risk working on the mountain as porters or guides, they will be able to get an education and build better lives for themselves,” Sherpa told AFP.


Sixteen Nepali guides, including 14 members of the Sherpa community, died last April in an avalanche, marking the deadliest accident to hit the world’s highest peak.


“Sherpas die on the mountain every year — no one pays attention. This time it was the biggest disaster on Everest, so it hit the headlines, but we have lost many people over the years,” Sherpa said.


Since its launch in 2007, Google Street View has captured some of the world’s most far-flung and scenic destinations, including the Amazon forest, Antarctica and Canada’s Arctic tundra.

News Source; Agence France Press (AFP)