Khotang, Chaitra 11: Preparations for the two-day ‘Red Panda and Thar Festival-2022’ to be organized in Khotang from next Monday on the occasion of ‘Mundum Trail Visit Year-2025’ are almost complete.
Mayor Tirtharaj Bhattarai said that the objective of the festival organized by Diktel Rupakot Majhuwagadhi Municipality is to conserve and promote the endangered red panda and Thar. He informed that the festival to be organized at Hurlung on the Diktel-Halesi road section along the Mid-Hill Highway will include food, costumes, lifestyle and local products according to the customs and cultures of different ethnic groups.
It is stated that items produced from local raw materials and photos and videos related to red pandas and Thar will be exhibited in the form of stalls. The ‘Mundum Trail Red Panda-Thar Route’, which starts from Hurlung on the Diktel-Halesi road section of the Mid-Hill Highway, will be inaugurated by actor Dayahang Rai, the goodwill ambassador of ‘Mundum Trail Visit Year-2025’.
The ‘Mundum Trail Visit Year-2025’, which was launched last December, aims to attract around one lakh domestic and foreign tourists. The government has included the Mundum Trail, which is linked to Kirati myths and culture, in the list of 100 tourist destinations.
Meanwhile, on the occasion of the Mundum Trail Visit Year, various local levels and organizations of Khotang and Bhojpur have also prepared to organize various festivals. Diktel Rupakot Majhuwagadhi Municipality along with Kepilasgadhi Rural Municipality has announced the organization of Honey Hunting and Gothstay Festival and Sakela Rural Municipality has announced the organization of Undhauli-Umbhauli Sakela and other cultural festivals.
They have said that they will organize programs such as ultramarathon and mountain cycling in Bhojpur Municipality, Nachhong Dhami Literary Festival in Silichho Rural Municipality, Rudraksha Festival in Shadananda Municipality, and Chakchakur Festival in Mahakulung Rural Municipality. As the local levels of the two districts organize festivals in their respective areas, domestic and foreign tourists have also started coming to the Mundum Trail.
The ‘Mundum Trail’, which is located on the border of Khotang and Bhojpur, ends at Maiyung, 3,750-meter-high Temkedanda, and ends at 4,165-meter-high Salpa Pokhari. Known as a ‘virgin’ destination built on the peak of a mountain, the ‘Mundum Trail’ will take about 13 days for foreign tourists and ten days for Nepalis, said Ramesh Rai, chairman of the Maiyung-Temk-Salpa-Silichung Tourism Promotion Center.
