Myagdi, 27 November: Marfa village in Gharpazhong Rural Municipality-2 has become the choice of tourists visiting Mustang. Tourists can be found enjoying taking pictures and videos from morning till evening on the footpath between the dense settlement of Marfa, home of Akanas. Marfa, known as the capital of apples, has recently become the choice of tourists, said Chandman Lalchan, a local man.
“The movie Jerry and kabaddi shooting tourists have also increased in Marfa, which was a sporadic tourist until two or three years ago”, he said, “After the construction of the Beni-Jomsom road, Marfa has started to become the choice of tourists who come here to drive Mustangs.” The most number of tourists are found in the ‘Jerry’ street in the middle of Marfa, the street introduced in the movie. After the shooting of the movie Jerry, the name of the street changed from Bhaktigalli to Jerry. The locals have written their names on the colored apple-shaped signboards and pasted them.
Bhakti Prasad Hirachan’s house was called Bhakti street near the square. Bhakti Prasad himself named the square as Jerry. Bhakti Prasad said, “After putting up the signboard, the tourists coming here started taking photos, videos, and making tiktok.” I am happy now.” Tourists dress up in mountain clothes and take pictures and videos on Marfa’s trails and streets and post them on social media. Local businessmen rent the bakkhu. You have to pay 200 to 300 rupees as a rent once you have bought a bakkhu. Likewise, a dummy of a yak is also kept. You have to pay a fee of Rs 150 for taking pictures while riding a yak dummy and Rs 50 for taking pictures together.
Rima Luintel, who came from Biratnagar, said that she dressed up in mountain clothes and took pictures and videos inside the settlement with original houses to remember the Mustang visit. “After seeing the video of Jerry Galli on social media, I came to see what it was like”, he said, “It is exactly what I imagined when I heard the song “Marfa village is beautiful to look at, Marfa apple is sweet to eat.”
Naming Marfa’s streetsÂ
Mohan Singh Lalchan, chairman of Gharpazhong Rural Municipality, who is a local resident, said that all the people who come to visit Mustang visit Nepali Marfa. Last October, 113,000 tourists visited Mustang.
He said that after the increase in the number of tourists, 11 streets from the entrance to the exit of Marfa village will be put up with signboards with local names and numbers. According to President Lalchan, the streets have been named Amarsingh, Lukne, Buddha, Jhankri, Dhaulagiri Base camp, Hang, Jerry, Dhakre, Comedian, Stress Free. “The electric wire is underground in the settlement of Marfa, and it is illuminated at night with lights”, he said.
Rich in culture and nature
Stone paving has already been laid on the main footpath. Locals clean the sidewalk in front of the house. Paving stones are also being laid on the branch footpath. Marfa is rich in culture and nature, producing juicy and delicious apples. 79-year-old Lal Prasad Hirachan of Marfa says that Marfa, rich in culture and nature, is a model of agricultural tourism. “Marfa’s apple orchards, Thakali’s culture, lifestyle, original rituals, art culture, monasteries, caves are enticing the guests”, he said, “There are many attractions in Marfa to prolong the stay of the tourists coming to Mustang and make them long stay.”
The houses of Marfa, which are covered with white and red mud, have a mud roof and firewood is placed on top of the roof. Marfali has preserved the originality of centuries ago. On the banks of the Kaligandaki river, there is a green apple orchard and a dry hill towards the corner. Ramsharan Adhikari, who came to Marfa from Kathmandu, said that when the apple blossoms in the spring and the apple orchards are full of seeds in autumn, one feels in the lap of nature.
Dalit community also lives in Marfa, where 150 households are settled by the Thakali community of Lalchan, Hirachan, Jwarchan and Pannachan. In the traditional houses here, it is customary to keep chopped firewood around the roof to dry the biscuits and prevent water from leaking. An apple orchard is under construction at the head of Marfa. From where you can see the view of Marfa village and apple orchard. Homes in Marfa, where dozens of domestic and foreign films have been filmed, are decorated with artistic objects reflecting the local identity.
A natural artistic scene can be seen on the wall of the hill on the west side of Marfa. Samteling Monastery is the religious heritage of Marfa. Another attraction is the Bhir Gumba, which is about three hundred years old, on the hill above the village. There is a tradition of worshiping in this monastery to prevent calamities, to prosper the crops and to prevent diseases. The house where the Japanese monk and explorer Akai Kawaguchi stayed in 1888 while going to Tibet to study Buddhism has been named Kawaguchi House. With Kawaguchi is considered the ambassador of Nepal-Japan relations.
There is a temperate horticulture development farm in Marfa for research and development of fruits, vegetables and food crops in the Himalayan region. Tourists visit the farm to study agriculture and observe apple orchards.
Farmers’ groups and agricultural technicians from different parts of the country come on observation visits. Near the Temperate Horticulture Development Center is Mridi Cave. Gyanu Pannachan, a local, said that there is a statue of Buddhist monk Rinpoche in the cave of Chorten figure. Known as the capital of apples, Marfa’s main source of income is agriculture and tourism. In the apple orchard, they plant pea, barley, potato, pea, dabur, beans and vegetables as intercrops. Broad-leaved Marfa spinach variety greens have been developed in Marfa.
There are six apple brandy distilleries in Marfa. More than 20 hotels are operating in Marfa for the convenience of tourists. Tourists who come to visit Mustang buy apples, sakuti, pulses, brandy from Koseli house in Marfa.
