A place that maximum American vacationers think of extra as a fable than a vacation spot is turning into fact.
I’m speakme about the fantastic u. S. (and country of thoughts) of Nepal—yes, the home of the storied Mt. Everest. But we’re not just speakme mountains anymore. In truth, the Nepalese authorities are making a prime push to bring in tourists—presently only 1.Five million 12 months—with a program called “Visit Nepal 2020.”
Only some thousand vacationers to Nepal, in reality, ascend mountains. Viewing films and slides at a central authority-backed event, I was surprised to look at the beautiful valleys and Oz-like towns, not to mention colorful fairs that abound. And speaking to tour professionals of the region opened my eyes to a colorful and delightful experience.
“There are trekking trips, visits to villages, golf. We even have safaris on elephants,” says the Nepalese Consul General in New York, Pushpa Raj Bhattarai. “On those safaris, you may see the beautiful tigers.”
Catherine Heald, an excursion operator specializing in high-stop Asian journey– (remotelands.Com)—is pretty practical about traveling in Nepal.
“There are many World Heritage web sites,” she explains. “When you’re trekking, it’s now not luxury. However, there are so many things to do. Eight of the ten maximum mountains are in Nepal. Many people take helicopters to base camps and trek down, or vice versa.”
But she adds that Khatmandu, the capital, has a luxury inn, as does the Kathmandu valley. There is likewise a countrywide park.
“So many little villages and tribes and sub-cultures,” Ms. Heald explains. “The mountains kept human beings apart and so that they advanced otherwise.” For similar records, you may reach her at 646 415-8092.
Meanwhile, I met an actual-lifestyles manual. Most Westerners would be surprised to study that a Sherpa isn’t always necessarily a synonym for the guide. The Sherpas are a distinct ethnic organization from the location, and lots of them are courses. Also, “Sherpa” is a family call as well.
So I had lunch with Serap Jangbu Sherpa. He’s the handling director of a set called KT Summit Trek & Expedition Ltd. (k2summittrek.Com). He has climbed Everest and all of the others.
“We’ve made hiking handy for everyone, even those in wheelchairs,” he said.
I realized that becoming authentic when I saw tourists’ movie in wheelchairs clearly rolling across a particularly created road.
And in case you’d like some of the comforts of home—properly, Kathmandu without a doubt has what will be termed a luxury resort. In truth, there are 1/2 a dozen of them. But If you’d rather not be at the metropolis’s four,500-foot elevation—surely, decrease than Denver’s—you then’ll locate the Kathmandu valley also boasts an excessive-end location to live.
And if you’ve in no way climbed a mountain—or tried to get into an SUV taxi in Manhattan—however, have a sense of adventure, there are treks for the green. One of them even is going to 18,000 feet, a base camp for Everest—no revel in necessary (observe your manual).
You may even stand up to Everest’s height without doing a stitch of labor—for approximately $200, there are one-hour flights, says Sherpa, a good way to convey you near the mountain, close to the top of the arena.
