Nepal Village Tourism

Village tourism, a recent innovation, is successfully demonstrated at Sirubari in Syangja a half day s distance from Pokhara. It is a three hour walk from the road-head just 30 kilometers from Pokhara. A management committee takes responsibility for visitors, their welcome, accommodation, sightseeing and guiding. The village consists of 60 households of which many are offering guest accommodation. It is a very neat and clean village, the accommodation is simple, but comfortable, with good bedding, as well as clean toilet facilities. Meals of daily fresh food are eaten with the family, and each evening there is entertainment provided by the community, which is usually Gurung dancing and singing.

There is a Buddhist monastery/Gompa in the core of the village; it has a vibrant Gurung culture, and they are a mixture of Buddhist, Hindu or Shaman. The region abounds with flora and fauna, with two hills nearby providing stunning views of Nepal s western Himalayas. Trails and steps are formed and paved, and many shrines and pilgrimage sites dot the landscape. The season is September to June, and while staying there visitors can visit cottage industries such as traditional handicrafts and paper making; and a plant nursery covering 380 hectares of flora, including one million trees and plants. There are two small lakes nearby and bird watching and wildlife observation are possible. Sirubari won the PATA Gold Award 2001 in the Heritage & Culture - Heritage Category.

In the Gorkha District of Nepal a community tourist program is in its third year of operation. The area is full of natural beauty, panoramic views, green mid-hill trekking, unspoilt jungle areas, lakes, caves, waterfalls and flora (medicinal, scented and edible plants).

Accessible from Kathmandu and Pokhara, there is a one day walk to the model tourism village . Village treks can be undertaken while experiencing village and rural life, as well as visiting the majestic hill-top palace of Gorkha Bazar. Accommodation is in individual guestrooms with host families, or in between villages, in tents. During trekking meals are provided by professional teams, and in the villages visitors can try a delicious, hygienically prepared Nepali Daalbhaat consisting of locally produced rice, lentils and garden fresh organically grown vegetables. The guestrooms are simple, but clean and cosy, with latrines available and a water tap close by. (Electricity, hot showers and separate bathrooms are not available so far).

In the mid-west of Nepal in the Shyangja District, another model tourism village project is underway. This is an agricultural and animal husbandry based community with no other income source; the intention is to carry out infrastructure development, heritage conservation and renovation, plus training and development of the villagers in the region. Located to the north east is Dahare Deurali, a famous religious site, and a beautiful location for viewing Himalayan peaks like Annapurna, Dhaulagiri and Machhapuchhare. It is at an altitude of 3,900 feet with a population of more than 6,500 people in the village and surrounding area.