Nepal for all seasons
Nepal for all seasons
Everest Women Seven Summits Eco-Action, a nine member team of women, is scheduled to begin the first international leg of a mission to climb seven of the highest peaks of seven continents from July, 2010. The team has already climbed Mt Everest, the tallest peak on earth. The main objective of the expedition will be to highlight impacts of climate change and global warming in the Himalayas. Sailee Basnet, coordinator of the expedition said, the estimated cost of the expedition is $1.3 million. The women expect to complete the expedition by the end of 2011. The seven summits includes Mt.…
View DetailThe executive committee of Trekking Agencies’ Association of Nepal (TAAN) has formed its foreign department under the leadership of executive member Kul Bahadur Gurung of Alliance Treks & Expedition. Other members in the department are Suman Dahal of Global Adventure Trekking, Balkrishna Lamsal, Keshav Wagle of Nepal Vision Treks & Expedition and Sant Bahadur Gurung of Churen Himal Treks and Expedition. The five-member department will work under TAAN Executive Committee 2009-11 and will facilitate TAAN’s relation with diplomatic missions in the country.
View DetailHong Kong based Dragon Air announced on August 1 that it would add three more flights in its Hong Kong-Kathmandu route, making its flights on the route to six a week from September 1. Alasdair Boyd, country manager of the airline, said Dragon Air was increasing its flights to Kathmandu taking into consideration growing number of passengers on the route. He also expressed the hope that increasing number of flights would be helpful in achieving Nepal's target of welcoming one million tourists to the country during the Nepal Tourism Year 2011 campaign. Cathay Pacific -- the sister airlines of Dragon…
View DetailTourist Guide Association of Nepal (TURGAN) – the association of certified tour guides in the country -- has proposed to raise freelance tourist guide service charge by 60-70 percent from October 01. TURGAN President Hare Ram Baral said they proposed for the hike as the remuneration of tour guides hasn’t been raised after two percent hike in 2007 following the signing of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Nepal Association of Tours and Travel Agents (NATTA). But travel agencies operators have said that the new rates were not reasonable. They said the hike in remuneration of guides can affect the tourism…
View DetailImplementing Expert Group (IEG) – the investment group of businessmen involved in international trade – is preparing for the launch of its two new four-star hotels on the eve of Nepal Tourism Year 2011. If everything goes as planned, Airport Hotel near Tribhuvan International Airport and Red Rose Apartment Hotel will begin operation from December. The group is investing more than Rs 1 billion in the two projects. Sources at IEG said the new hotels would focus on up-market clientele and that they would not compromise on quality. The group will soft launch the hotels in December and aggressively market…
View DetailCivil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) has cancelled Air Operation Certiciate (AOC) of four airlines – Air Nepal, Alpine Air, Muktinath Airlines and Gorkha Air. CAAN sources said the AOC of four airlines were cancelled after the aviation regulator was convinced with the airlines’ financial and technical strength. “AOC of those four airlines have been annulled as per Aviation Regulations with effect from July 16,” the sources added. The sources further added that the airlines could apply against the decision within 180 days if they have convincing bases including aircraft, pilots, regular flights and strong financial backing.
View DetailNepal Tourism Board (NTB) and Himalayan Rescue Association on July 21 signed an agreement to establish Tourism Crisis Cell (TCC) to coordinate rescue of tourists in case of emergencies and address other tourism related problems. HRA, which has been involved in coordinating rescue operations in mountain areas, will establish and operate TCC secretariat at its office building in Lazimpat. The cell can been contacted round-the-clock through 4442555 and 9751044088 hunting lines. As per the agreement, HRA has been entrusted with the responsibility of running shuttle bus service from Tribhuvan International Airport to different places in Kathmandu Valley during protests, bandas…
View DetailTourist arrival to Nepal via air in the month of April marginally went up by 2.3 percent compared to the arrival figure of the same period last year. According to Nepal Tourism Board, a total of 38,694 foreign tourists entered Nepal in April. Arrival from the South Asian region, except India and Sri Lanka, recorded a positive growth of 4.9 percent with strong contribution from Bangladesh (71.2 percent) and Pakistan (35.1 percent). Visitor arrivals from India, the largest visitor generating country for Nepal, witnessed a soft decline of 2.6 percent. Arrivals from the South Asia region grew by 15.9 percent…
View DetailTAAN in Dhorpatan exploration mission A 17-member team on 13 May embarked on a 17-day mapping and exploratory trip to Dhorpatan area in Baglung and Myagdi districts. The program is the joint initiative of Trekking Agencies' Association of Nepal (TAAN), UNDP-MEDEP and Nepal Tourism Board. The team comprises of representatives of TAAN, NTB, UNDP-MEDEP and local organizations along with videographers, photographers and a cartographer. The team will conduct feasibility study on the possibility of new tourism destinations and development of trekking route map; make visual documentary for promotion of the new trekking destination along and collect proper information about local…
View DetailKeeping in view the upcoming Nepal Tourism Year 2011 campaign, the government on May 7 decided to exempt visa fee for foreign mountaineers, who have climbed Mount Everest and Mt Dhaulagiri, for 2010 and 2011. It also decided to waive 50 percent royalty fee for mountaineers climbing Mt Dhaulagiri in 2010 and 2011 to celebrate the golden jubilee of the first ascent of Mt Dhaulagiri. More than 4,000 climbers have scaled Mt Everest since it was first climbed by New Zealander Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay Sherpa in 1953. Some 700 of these foreigners are said to be still…
View DetailNepali security agencies along with US Embassy in Nepal and Trekking Agencies' Association of Nepal (TAAN) have intensified search for missing US trekker Aubrey Caroline Sacco. Aubrey checked in with the Langtang National Park check-point at Dhunche on April 20 and have gone out of contact ever since. She last wrote an email to her family members from Syafrubesi on the same day. Aubrey was travelling as a Free Individual Trekker (FIT) and had taken TIMS Card meant for FITs. She was supposed to return to Kathmandu on April 29. Aubrey (23) is a graduate of Colorado University and has…
View DetailSpanish mountaineer Edurne Pasaban became the second women to climb 14 highest mountains in the world when she reached the summit of Mt Shisha Pangma in Tibet on May 17. South Korean Oh Eun-Sun became the first woman to complete all 14 summits when she reached the summit of Mt Annapurna on April 27. However, Pasaban has been questioning one of Oh's summits. The expedition, which left Camp 3 before dawn, took advantage of the good weather to head for the summit, arriving there after a trek of seven hours. Pasaban’s aim to climb the 14 peaks kicked off in…
View DetailA total of 92 summiteers, including world cyclist Pushkar Shah, made it to the summit of Mt Everest, the highest peak in the world, on May 17. Forty-two of them are foreign mountaineers. World Cyclist Shah (42) reached the summit at 10:30 along with five members of his expeditions. Apart from Shah's expedition, three Korean expeditions and an Indian expedition also reached the summit on May 17 making the first climbs of Everest this season. Shah, who cycled through 150 countries, climbed Mt Everest to place flags of all the countries he has cycled through on the summit. Shah, who…
View DetailThirteen-year-old American boy Jordan Romero has become the youngest person to climb Mt Everest (8,848m) from the Tibetan side. Romero, who hails from California, reached the summit on May 22, according to everestnews.com. The successful summit of Mt Everest takes Romero a step closer to his ambitious dream of scaling highest mountains in all summits. Before climbing Everest, he had already climbed five of the seven peaks, including Mt Kilimanjaro in Africa. He only needs to climb Vinson Massif, the highest peak in Antartica, to achieve his goal. Romero climbed Mt Everest from northern side as Nepal does not issue…
View DetailThe government has invited proposals from private sector interested to operate international flights on Class A routes. It sought fresh proposals from interested parties as it received no proposal on Class A routes in its second notice issued in mid-January. The government has classified international air routes with flight duration between two hours and three and a half hours as Class A routes. The government had recently issued international flying permission to four airlines – Buddha Air, Unity Air, Shree Air and Air Dyanmin -- on Class B and C routes. The government plans to permit three airlines, including one…
View DetailNepali mountaineer Junita Sambahangphe has embarked on a mission to scale highest mountains of all continents in the world. She is the 18th Nepali women to climb Mt Everest. She will start her campaign by climbing Mt Elbrus in Russia. She plans to scale Kilimanjaro (5895m), Denali (6194 m), Aconcagua (6962m), Carstensz Pyramid (16,023 ft) and Vinson (4897m). “I am going to start my expedition with the mission, ‘Peace and Tourism Promotion - NTY 2011’ from Elbrus, Russia,” she said at a press meet organized recently. Junita's campaign is expected to cost Rs 15 million. She plans to complete seven…
View DetailApa Sherpa, 49, has once again shattered his record by reaching the top of the tallest peak in the world for a record 20th time on May 22. Apa reached the summit leading an expedition to raise awareness about education opportunities in the Everest region though Apa Sherpa Foundation, which is dedicated to increasing educational opportunities for people in the Himalayan region. Raising awareness about the impact of climate change and global warming on the Himalayas was the other objective of his expedition. Apa first reached the summit of Mt Everest in 1989 and has returned to climb the mountain…
View DetailThe Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation and private sector are organizing various programs to celebrate 3rd International Sagarmatha Day on May 29. Nepal has been celebrating May 29 as International Sagarmatha Day every year for the last three year to commemorate the first summit of the tallest peak in the world. Trekking Agencies' Association of Nepal (TAAN) along with Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) and other travel trade associations are jointly organizing a procession on May 29 to celebrate the day. The procession will see participation of Everest summiteers, government officials, industry leaders and trekking agencies, among others. The procession…
View DetailJuly 26, 2010 ............... Nepalese worship snake gods, also called the Nagas during this festival. In the ancient time Nagas halted rain from pouring over Nepal. The king of that time also happened to be a Tantric and so he used his power to make Nagas let go of rain. The king succeeded in doing so but he also honored the majestic power of Nagas by turning the day of victory into a festive occasion of Nag Panchami. On Nag Panchami, devotees put a picture of Nag high above their doorway and perform puja with necessary puja items. Offerings in…
View DetailMinistry of Tourism and Civil Aviation has decided to organize International Mountaineers' Meet on May 29, coinciding with the Everest Day. Hundreds of Everest summiteers from across the globe are expected to attend the meet. Nepali tourism fraternity has been observing May 29 as International Everest Day, commemorating the first ascent of the tallest peak in the world in 1953 by Tenzing Norgay Sherpa and Sir Edmund Hillary. The event is being organized to celebrate International Everest Day and promote tourism industry in the country ahead of year-long tourism promotional campaign Nepal Tourism Year 2011.
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