Chitwan Elephant fest slated to start Dec 26

Chitwan Elephant fest slated to start Dec 26

The 11th edition of the Chitwan Elephant Festival is scheduled to be held in Sauraha from December 26-30 on the occasion of Christmas and New Year 2015.

Chitwan-elephant-festival

The festival is aimed at promoting tourism and spreading awareness about wildlife preservation, said Suman Ghimire, coordinator of the event. It started in 2004 as an international elephant race and since then it has been celebrated as a festival.

The organizer said that a picnic would also be organized for the elephants this year. “Wildlife is our asset and it should be preserved well,” said Ghimire. Another objective of the festival is to encourage tourists to remain in Nepal through the Christmas and the New Year holidays as most of them return to their own countries for the celebrations. The holiday season is also a lean period for Nepal tourism as arrivals start dropping from mid-December. “The festival is targeted at increasing tourist numbers,” said Gyanendra Kumar Bista, president of Regional Hotel Association Nepal in Chitwan. “Such events will also help create awareness to preserve wildlife.”

Hotels and restaurants offer discounts and serve distinct varieties of foods for visitors. Local hotels and restaurants are normally packed with domestic and international tourists during this time. Around 20 elephants compete in a 150-metre race. Likewise, elephant calves play football while an elephant beauty competition is also held which has become one of the major attractions at the tourist hotspot. The event has been successful in promoting tourism in past years. “This is why we have been continuing the festival,” said Deepak Bhattarai, second vice-president of the association. Apart from foreign visitors, the festival has been attracting huge numbers of domestic visitors. Sauraha has more than 100 hotels and all of them are packed during the festival. The jungle safari destination of Sauraha has not only seen an aggressive development of hotels and resorts over the past few years, entrepreneurs have also been making large investments in elephants to carry tourists on sightseeing tours in the jungle.

Chitwan -safari-nepal_966x543

Around Rs 330 million has been spent on rearing elephants. The jumbos have become an integral part of tour packages of the hotels and resorts here.

Situated in the lush tropical plains of southern Nepal, Sauraha attracts safari goers with its rich wildlife and thick jungles. There are 51 elephants owned by hoteliers and cooperatives in Sauraha .

Source: Ekantipur

Tourism industry decides to execute Vision 2020

With the government’s ambitious Vision 2020 campaign to boost annual tourist arrivals to 2 million slowing down, the private sector has joined forces to give it a shot in the arm.

Travel trade associations like Hotel ASSOCIATION Nepal (HAN), Trekking Agencies Association of Nepal, Nepal Association of Tour and Travel Agents, Pacific Asia Travel Association, Nepal Association of Tour Operators and Nepal Mountaineering Association forged a pact on Wednesday to pursue the campaign jointly.

The group has also decided to conduct various national level events. A taskforce has been formed under the chairmanship of HAN General Secretary Binayak Shah to set the campaign in motion.

The government had launched Vision 2020 in 2012 with the view of increasing arrivals to 2 million by 2020. The effort has also set an ambitious target to increase EMPLOYMENT in tourism to 1 million. Vision 2020 follows Nepal Tourism Year 2011 that has been described as being a moderately successful campaign for being able to partly restore Nepal’s tourism image damaged by an insurgency that lasted from 1996-2006.

Subsequently, the government announced Visit Lumbini Year 2012, but the campaign failed to attain its goal which critics blamed on lack of adequate preparation. In 1998, the country had conducted a successful tourism campaign named Visit Nepal 1998. Nearly 800,000 tourists visited Nepal last year.

“The Vision 2020 campaign is an important event for Nepal’s tourism, but the government has been conducting the preparations at crawling speed,” said Shah. “In this scenario, we have decided that we need to make early preparations from our side,” he added.

At a time when the country’s tourism promotional body the Nepal Tourism Board has not been able to perform its duties efficiently, the government should be more serious about attaining the goal, Shah said. The tourism board has not been able to name a chief executive officer for the last three years.

Source : Ekantipur

Zip Flyer at Sarangkot, Pokhara

Zip Flyer at Sarangkot, Pokhara

Your adventure begins when you board your shuttle for the ride to the top the mountain. Your guide will narrate as you pass through the village of Sarangkot and then up the mountainside. Once on top you will take a short walk to the Butterfly Pavilion, an architectural marvel with breath-taking views of the Himalayan range. While you sip coffee and wait for your turn we assure your wait will be exciting. At 5400 feet above sea level you will sit into a special harness seat and await your launch. Two guests launch at once, and it is a race to the bottom! 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 and you’re off, accelerating to 100 mph as you pass above the dense forest below. If your eyes are still open you will see sweeping views of majestic Machhapuchhre, the Annapurna range and the raging Seti River. Your ride concludes with a break-activated landing on the High Ground Triangle in the village of Hyangja.

zip-flyer

Activity Overview: Zip-Flyer Nepal
The officially named Zip-Flyer Nepal is the world’s most tallest fastest and the longest zip line in the world located in Sarangkot- one of the most beautiful places in Nepal. It is not just another zip line; it is inclined at 56 degree, 1.8 km in length, 2000ft vertical drop and speeds of over 160kmph making it the most extreme ride in the world.

Imagine, you’re standing on the platform overlooking the majestic Himalayas and a mind-boggling 2000 feet vertical drop. As you look down, the adrenaline begins to build up and your heart begins to beat faster. The countdown begins…5, 4,3,2,1, and you’re airborne. Gravity takes care of the ‘go’ portion of the ride, a feeling of weightlessness sets in, the wind gushes against your face, as you plunge at speeds of over 160kmph. After a minute of pure adrenaline, and traveling a distance of almost 2km, the ride begins to slow down as you approach the landing. The advanced, magnetic braking system then brings you to a complete stop.

During the ride, you’ll get to experience the breath-taking views of the Himalaya range and the raging Seti River. Zip-Flyer by High ground Adventures Nepal is truly an experience not to be missed.

Source: Mission Nepal

Bungee jumping in Pokhara

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Great news for those who seek to experience the thrill of free-falling from a great height as the adventurous sport of bungee jumping has finally begun in Pokhara.

The addition of bungee jumping has given another reason for tourists to visit the scenic city of Pokhara.

Bungy Jumping in Nepal

High Ground Adventure operates bungee jumping in Pokhara. With Golcha Organization and Mangal Group as main investors, a 45 meter high tower of bungee jumping has been installed atop a hill at Hemja.

“We firmly believe that bungee jumping will help attract both domestic and international tourists. The addition of this adventure sport in Pokhara will be a new tourist attraction,” said managing director of the project Abinav Churiwal.

Addressing the public before inauguration, Churiwal had said, “This sport will not only build a concrete foundation of adventure sports in Pokhara but will also help others to recognize the tourism potentials we have here.”

“Tower bungee has been installed for the first time in Nepal. This is certainly a thrill of a lifetime for those who do not fear heights,” said Churiwal. The first bungee jumping station was installed at a suspension bridge that connects locals to The Last Resort in Sindhupalchowk. “The sport is same but the thrill is different. I am sure this is a different experience and one should take a chance at least once,” said Churiwal.

According to Churiwal, the whole undertaking cost Rs 20 million. Bungee jumping operators charge foreigners more than the domestic visitors. They charge Rs 3,490 to domestic visitors and Rs 6,890 to foreigners. However, the cost for both Zip line and bungee jump is Rs 5490 for domestic visitors and Rs 9,990 to foreigners.

Paragliding to start soon in KTM Valley

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The super adventurous sport of paragliding will commence officially in the Kathmandu valley after conclusion of the Bada Dashain festival with a joint effort from the South Korean ParaLove Company and the Paragliding And Hand Gliding Company based in the capital city.

The Multitude Of Adventures

The paragliding will take place from Bisankhunarayan VDC of the Lalitpur district.

At least 10 glider-aircrafts –five double seated aircrafts with pilots and five single seated aircrafts – will be used for the airborne entertainment at Kotdanda, Chapakharka and Bistachap areas of Bisankhunarayan-4.

The airborne entertainment service is currently on a test at the localities from where visitors get a chance of relishing a splendid view of the three districts of the valley below.

The service that will start with the theme ´Paragliding in Kathmandu´ will be open for public from 8 am to 5 pm.

Bungee jumping now in Pokhara, Kaski

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High Ground Adventures, a private adventure sports company, has begun offering bungee jumping for adventure sports enthusiasts at Hemja, near Pokhara, in Kaski.

Bungy Jumping in Nepal

Company employees there are already having fun with this newly available option. The operations manager at High Ground Adventures, Dinesh Maharjan informed that the company will begin to offer bungee jumping to the public from the September 21 this year.

The company has not published the cost of production and the tariff for the new service.

Compared to the bungee jumping at Sindhupalchok, BhoteKoshi, the jump in Kaski falls short by 90 metres. The Last Resort that provides bungee jumping service at BhoteKoshi covers a height of 160 metres. While the service at Kaski falls short in comparison to BhoteKoshi, it still retained a adventurous thrill as the jumper will be able to touch the lake water of Lake Kutreem at the tail end of their jump, Maharjan added.

Source: Thehimalayantimes