Snowfall in Manang

                       Tourists are enjoying the snowfall,” he said. Tourists said that there is no difficulty in the Annapurna Circuit trekking route and the Thorong La Pass. Source by Kathmandu post 

Manang has been witness snowfall since the past few days. Rain and weather change has gripped the villages in lower altitude while high altitude of Manang has been witnessing snowfall. According to President of the Tourism Entrepreneurs Committee Binod Gurung, the normal life of people is unaffected by the snowfall.
                                   

Lower Manaslu Trek

                                      Lower manaslu trek

 The trek into the lower Manaslu area and the Dharche Danda ridge is a combination of the two treks above with a variant via the Dharche Danda ridge’s forested hillside and panoramic viewpoint. The trek requires at least ten days and a couple of extra days would be highly worthwhile. A week is plenty if you are just doing the Dharche Danda trek separately, starting and finishing in Gorkha (a trek Bob did back in !980). Camping is still the most popular option, although the lower villages are quickly developing homestays.The traditional route taken by trekkers on the lower Manaslu route begins in Manakamana, reached by road from Kathmandu followed by 10mins in the cable car. Time spent watching the temple throngs is a joy before the real business begins. From here the route follows the ridges to pipalchhap and Baskot for a gentle introduction.

          

New road results in losses for hotels

Hotels along the Annapurna Circuit have complained that the construction of the road connecting Lamjung’s Besishahar and Manang’s Chame has resulted in losses for them, with tourists opting for hiring vehicles to travel to Chame instead of trekking. Super View, a tourist-standard hotel at Bahundanda that can accommodate 30 individuals at a time, said the occupancy has dropped significantly lately. The hotel used to be fully occupied during the peak season. We used to get 9-10 travellers even during the off season. But now, we have been getting just 2-3 tourists a day,” said the hotel’s proprietor Paru Gurung. The hotel used to record yearly profit of up to Rs900,000 before the road was built four years ago, she said. “But now, it’s difficult to earn even Rs100,000 a year.” Bahundanda is a place where trekkers spend a night after first day of their trek on the circuit.

Hotels in Bahundanda area facing severe crisis, said Chitra Bahadur Ghimire, proprietor of Alpine Hotel, adding there are 10 tourist-standard hotels here. Nepal Army opened the track of the 65km Besishahar-Chame road, along the Marshyangdi River, four years ago.Bishnu Gurung, proprietor of Kamala Lodge at Nadi, Bhulbhule, is even considering exiting the business. “Tourists go directly to Chame now on vehicles,” she said. Her hotel can accommodate 20 people at a time. “We used to earn Rs400,000-500,000 in a season, which has now come down to Rs70,000-80,000.Proprietor of Hikers Lodge Teju Gurung said they were first hit hard by the decade-long conflict, and as the business was starting to pick up, another problem arose. “People who have been in the hotel business for long have started to exit,” he said. According to Dhan Prasad Gurung from Ghermu-5, tourists no longer stop there, they rather stay at Syange. Proprietor Rambo Guest House said after opening of the road, the number of tourists has come down by 70 percent. There are 10 tourist-standard hotels in Ghermu. source by KTM post
  

Animals

                                                            Animals

Nepal is home to an incredibly diverse population of mammal’s reptiles and birds. The plains of the terai are home to the endangered Asian one horned rhino a tough and rocky beast that hides in the tall grassed of the plains and Sal forests. Elephant are rarely wild but are used to ferry tourists about the National parks in search of the elusive Bengal Tiger from a safe roving vantage point. Marked deer and sambar deer as well as the sloth bear scurry   about in small herds to avoid their predators.

 Crocodile’s alligators the smaller linked gharals and marsh mugger lurk in the murky waters of the marshes and rivers that further south drain into the ganges River. These jungles that were once dense impassable and infested by malarial mosquitoes still host an amazing number of semi-tropical birds. Beyond the lowlands in the middle hills almost all the hillsides are either covered by in peace dense spooky forests or highly developed and extensively cultivated. Yet a great number of animals call these areas home specially the ones most easily observed such as the monkeys and langurs that abound in the forests.

           

First aid training for trekking guides concludes

Altogether 26 trekking guides affiliated with different member agencies of Trekking Agencies' Association of (TAAN) participated in the training. TAAN organized the training as part of its program to develop trained and skilful workforce for the trekking sector.

TAAN President Chandra Prasad Rijal handed over 'Certificate of Participation' to all the participants on Monday. Speaking at the program, Rijal said knowledge about mountain medicine and first aid basics is very important while operating groups in mountain areas. "When you lead a group, you have to take care of your guests' every need. I am hopeful that this training has equipped you with knowledge and skills about acute mountain sickness as well as ways to deal with the situation," he added.

Speaking on behalf of the participants, Santa Kumar Chaudhary, a trekking guide affiliated with Apex Nepal Treks, said the training was very fruitful. "We got opportunity to learn so many things in such a short period. This training is necessary not only for trekking guides, but for all," he said, adding that they will implement in practice what they learnt in the training while handling groups.

Specialists of Acute Mountain Sickness Dr Dinesh Dharel MBBS (TU, IOM), MD (TU, IOM) and Dr Santosh Timalsina MBBS (TU, IOM), MD (TU, IOM) conducted the training. The training covered

The training had sessions on Concept of First Aid and Triage; Your role as First Aider; Preparations and Commonly Encountered Problems During Treks; Acute Mountain Sickness, its Prevention and Management; Frost Bite, Blisters, Eyes and Skin Care; and Basic Life Support (Theory and Demonstration), Soft Tissue Injuries and Bleeding (Theory and Demonstration); and Fracture (Theory and Demonstration of Immobilization Techniques). Similarly, there were practice sessions on Basic Life Support; Fracture (Immobilization, Log roll); and other miscellaneous topics like bleeding control, wound care, water purification, management of mountain sickness.

TAAN General Secretary Karna Bahadur Lama, Training & HR Coordinator Shital Chandra Dharel, and TIMS Coordinator Taranath Lamichhane were also present at concluding ceremony.

Nepal rich in folk culture: US researcher

American national Anna Stirr, who has done profound research on Nepali folk culture, has said Nepal is rich in folk culture.
Taking part in an interaction programme on 'promotion and protection of folk culture', organised by the Independent Journalists' Association, Nepal here Sunday, Stirr said Nepal's culture is characterised by diversity and significant values.
She further said during the research she visited different villages and settlements of Nepal and was mesmerised by the cultural diversities they own up.
Association's Central Chair Krishna Prasad Bastola spoke on the need of collective efforts to protect Nepali folk culture which is facing significant indifference from within Nepalis.
Similarly, Association's General Secretary Kamal Poudel 'Athak' and media person Shanti Rana said the Nepali folk culture was in the need of protection and urged one and all to gear up for the same.
It may be noted that Ali Miya Folk Literary Academy honored Stirr with a cash prize of Rs 20,000 Saturday in recognition to her contribution to the research of Nepali folk culture and folk singing
Source by ktm post