Solukhumbu, November 26: The number of foreign tourists leaving the world’s highest camp, Mount Everest, has increased by 70 percent. With the increase in cold weather, the number of tourists leaving the Everest region has increased by 70 percent compared to those entering the area. In the last one week, while 711 foreign tourists have landed in Lukla, 2400 tourists have left the Everest region, according to Nepal Civil Aviation Authority Lukla.
According to Sanjay Shrestha, the office’s ATC officer, 223 people entered Lukla on 19th of November and 362 leaved, on 20th, 119 people entered and 320 leaved, and on 21 November, 80 people entered and 374 foreign tourists left Lukla by flight. Similarly, on the 22th of November, 88 people entered, 303 people left, 53 tourists entered on the 23rd, 481 people left, 136 people entered on the 24th, 303 people left and 132 tourists entered on the 25th, 257 people left.
Dik Bahadur Darnal, a tourism businessman, said that because of the cold weather, the number of foreign tourists returning from the Everest region after shortening their visit is high. He says that some tourists return from Lukla Namche before reaching the upper region because of the cold. Darnal said, “When the water starts to freeze, not many foreigners agree to go up there. Now the cold has increased rapidly, so those who came for a long day visit are returning after a short day. He speculates that the cold has increased due to normal snowfall in the beginning of October in the area higher than Namche.
Crowd of passengers on the flight returning from LuklaÂ
“As the season (tourist season) falls, the flights from Kathmandu and Ramechhap are empty, but when returning from here, the flights are crowded with passengers. In some cases, it is difficult to get a ticket, at this time there are many foreigners who are returning after cutting short the tour, so there is a lot of traffic”, Shrestha, an ATC officer of the Authority, told Rss. According to him, flights carrying cargo from Kathmandu and Manthali in Ramechhap used to return with tourists.
As the number of tourists coming to Lukla is limited at the moment, most of the flights come with cargo material, according to the Civil Aviation Authority of Lukla. Due to this reason, the returning passengers find it difficult to get a plane ticket, business people say. Tourist guide Pemba Sherpa said that even if you can get a ticket to Lukla, you have to book four to five days in advance to get a return flight ticket. He says that it is difficult for Nepali to get tickets due to the influx of foreign tourists.
The fare from Lukla to Kathmandu for foreign tourists is 29,480 rupees and for Nepali tourists is 11,000 rupees. Passengers complain that foreigners are given the first priority of the airline because the fares are higher for foreigners. As it is difficult to get a flight ticket, some tourists walk through the district headquarters Salleri and return to Kathmandu by jeep from Salleri. Around 100 planes take off and land at Lukla Airport. According to the authority, only Tara, Sita and Summit Airlines of private companies operate flights.
With the increase in the number of returning tourists, the busyness of Nepal Police and Tourist Police who are assigned to security has also increased. Dwarika Prasad Ghimire, Deputy Superintendent of Police of the District Police Office, said that those who are assigned in the field are more busy with the safety of tourists and statistical accounting.
“During the season, there was a high influx of foreign tourists, now the number of returning foreign tourists is high, so the Nepal Police has been mobilized accordingly to protect them. There is a police station in Dingboche at an altitude of 4,410 meters, and the police there patrols up to the Everest base camp,” said Deputy Superintendent of Police Ghimire. Two seasons of the year are considered the main tourist time in Everest region. From February 15th to June 15th and until October, October and last of November is considered the main tourist season, and the rest of the time is considered ‘off season’.
Everest region is under Everest National Park. Sushma Rana, chief conservation officer of the park, said that this area is especially popular for mountain climbing, wildlife viewing and adventure tourism. Established in 1975, Everest National Park is spread over an area of ​​1,148 square kilometers. This national park in the Solukhumbu district of eastern Nepal includes the world’s highest peak, Mt Everest, and other snow peaks including Lhotse, Nupse, Choyu, Lhotsesar, Pumori, Amadablam, Thamserku.
Gokyo and associated lakes within the park were included in the Ramsar list in 2007. Since 1979, this park has been included in the World Heritage List. This park is at an altitude of one thousand eight hundred meters to eight thousand eight hundred and forty eight meters. Birds such as Musk Deer, Thar, Ghoral, Langur Monkey, Monal, Hoite, Horn Lark, Tibetan Snow Cock, Chug etc. are found here.
Not only mountain climbing and trekking, but cultural tours here have been attracting thousands of tourists every year. Locals say that the famous religious places including Tengboche Monastery have increased the tourist attraction of this area.
