3 to 17, 2011
Accompanied by Mr. Dil Gurung, 12yrs experienced Mountain guide

Sunday 3^rd April.
Taxi from my airport hotel to airport for early flight to Kathmandu, taking 1 ½ hours from 08.05.   Visa procedures were completed and arrived by taxi at my Marsangydi Hotel in Thamel c. 10.50.  Binod and my guide Dil briefly at noon.  Took a walk around Thamel in the afternoon, more crowded and chaotic than I remember it before.   After tea did a rushed repacking job for my trek tomorrow, and got to bed about 10 p.m. as I have to get up at 5a.m. tomorrow.  There was a thunderstorm with heavy rain over the city during the night.

Monday 4^th April.
Up at 5a.m., taxi with Dil to the airport at 5.45.   Very busy and basic, we flew in a “Dornier 22” for 30m. to Lukla alt.2800mts. – a scary landing on a short (500mts) steeply uphill runway.   The plane was like a Shorts Skyvan, two columns of 11 seats each, rucksacks at the back.  Piled out into Lukla village and had a long breakfast in a Lukla hotel – talking to a chatty u.s. guy.  Weather cold and sunless.   We have a comparatively short walk today to the village of Phakding at 2650mts., taking 2 ¾ hours.  Isolated flowering magnolias and rhododendrons along the way, other trees mostly conifers.   Numerous pack animals, mostly dzos (cross between Yak and cow), and numerous trekkers.   Our guest house in Phakding is spacious but modest, with a good view across the village.Tuesday 5^th April.
Left after breakfast 8.45 for the long slog up to Namche Bazaar 1,200ft., planned to arrive teatime.  However we made excellent progress on a glorious sunny morning arriving Jorsale further up the Dhud Koshi river valley after just 1hr.40m   Then the steep long uphill slog to Namche Bazaar,

high up the steep side of a very deep valley.  Crossed maybe half a dozen well made suspension footbridges, 450 feet long in some cases, most of the same modular construction, of steel plates suspended from multiple 1 in. diam. multi strand cables.   Some lovely flowering magnolias and rhododendrons on the way, we had to pass numerous groups of dzos passing up and down  the track (apparently impossibly steep for them).  So arrived Namche Bazaar about 13.30.   Others I had seen leaving Phakding were still arriving 3 hours later.

Namche Bazaar is picturesque; it’s neat streets of pastel buildings with blue rooves set in a small bowl near the top of the ridge, and is still being developed.  Full of trekking gear shops, there is a monastery whose bhuddist monks with maroon robes.   There is a tented campsite above the village.   In the afternoon it became overcast with light but persistent snow, turning to rain at teatime.  Walked around most of village this p.m.   Very cold tonight.

Wednesday 6th April.
Brilliant cloudless skies to start but bitterly cold, clouds gradually appeared around the peaks and completely overcast by 4p.m..  This is my “acclimatisation day”, so with Dil I took a long hike westwards from Namche Bazaar along the north side of the Thame river valley, gradually gaining a little altitude while we passed through the villages of Phurte, Mende and Thamo.  Stopped short of Thame on the far side of a distant low hill – would have involved too much up and down both ways after crossing the Thame river to the south side of the valley.  We passed some yak caravans – Dil tells me some of these stop ion Thame for the night and tomorrow will cross into Tibet thru a pass at an altitude of 6000 mts.!   The animals were decorated with thassels and had long fine woolly coats.   Fine mountain scenery before the clouds closed in.  The tiny village on the lower slopes across the valley was surrounded by stone-walled fields.  Generally the valley was colourless, in complete contrast to the Annapurna Circuit route in October 2000 – at least at this time of year just after the Himalayan winter and before the monsoon rains – the fields bare and tilled waiting for the monsoon’s warmth and rain.  Probably because of altitude I found the going (and no pack) uphill hard today.   Had lunch in Thamo village on the way back, and saw three large brown mountain goats on the hillside above us.

Thursday 7^th April.
Namche Bazaar to Tengboche.   Sunny a.m., clouding over in afternoon. Today’s walk took us 4h 20m altogether, one of maybe 100 walkers moving gradually from Namche Bazaar to the village of Phumki-Tenga, then across the Dhud Kosi on a long suspension bridge and a steep uphill climb of 1h40m to Tengboche, a small village atop a ridge overlooked by Ana Dablam soaring high above.  A large terminal moraine at its baseshowed where it’s glacier once reached to.   There is a fine bhuddist monastery in the village, and even a conditeri, with excellent cakes.  On the way up Dil spotted a danphe, a large pheasant like bird with a crest, iridescent blue back and cream tail (Nepal’s national bird):

There were a number of tents pitched in Tengboche and some solar cookers.  Also on the way saw trees uncannily like the Australian paper bark tree, but ruddy in colour instead of cream.  Bitterly cold night, I’ll be glad tomorrow I brought my thermal underwear.

Friday 8^th April.
Trek this a.m. from Tengboche to Dingboche (4400mts. 14400ft.), took 4h40m including rest stops, on a glorious sunny morning.  A steep and difficult uphill at the end to Dingboche, overlooked by peaks towering high above.  The route passed through Durboche and Pangboche, then across the Dudh Koshi and steeply uphill.  My room was spacious and actually warm when we arrived, from the sun beating down on the steel roof.  Dingboche is veryspread out, buildings divided by dry tone wall fields, on flat land overlooking the river.  No useable internet.   After an hours rest and lunch went for a 2 ½ hour walk up the nearby ridge to maybe 15500ft., then along the level upper valley running west from Dingboche, getting back about 17.30.   Then I had to change rooms because the light wouldn’t work, and after an OK dinner found there is only one small washbasin for the whole place.  Well at least the dining room was warm, heated by the stove in the middle of the room, but everywhere else was freezing.  Earlier today, near Pangboche, a slim tall European in running clothes ran along our path in the other direction, uphill and down as if he was fell-running in the lake district, but at 13000ft.!   When he eventually disappeared from our sight about a mile behind he was still running.
Dil tells me that if we took a yak down to the altitude of Lukla (2700mts.), it would die because the climate is alien to it.  Hence the reliance at lower altitudes on zhoppes (one of many names for the sterile cross between a yak and a cow), but this must require frequent transhipment of loads one animal to the other.

Saturday 9^th April.
Trek from Dingboche to Lobuche 4950mts.  Woke up to a glorious sunnay day and a fresh covering of light snow on the ground, maybe 1 in.   Left our awful hotel about 8.20 for the long steep hill overlooking Dingboche leading to the level upper valley leading westwards which overlooks the Dhud Kosi.  The land was sandy, nearly barren, but with numerous say-one-yard-wide patches of 6-inch high cypress leylandii – or at least a stunted plant with an uncommon resemblance to it. Walked about three miles to the end of the high valley and the small hamlet of Tuglac, reached after 1h 50m of slow walking.  After a snack there came a steep 55m ascent followed by another hour on a fairly level track to Lobuche, a tiny hamlet, but the guest house here was much better. After a rest to recover and lunch, walked slowly maybe another mile up the valley, under overcast skies and against a freezing ravine wind on the way back. Almost no plant life here, just small patches of lichen and small white rosettes on the stony earth clinging on for dear life.

One of the numerous porters accompanying us trekkers on the upward leg from Dingboche to Lobuche, was a tiny slip of a girl, Nepalese maybe 20/22 y.o., dressed in loose blue clothing and a child’s soft shoes, carrying quite a big load on her head sling.

Sunday 10^th April.
Trek Lobuche to Gorak Shep.  Weather today very mixed.   Sun from a cloudy sky as we left Lobuche at 7.20, it started snowing heavily for a while shortly after we arrived at Gorak Shep at 9.40.  G.S. is at an altitude of 5180mts. (16,800ft.), but there are still a few birds around, including choughs and flocks of small seed-eaters who feast on the fodder brought up from the lowlands for the pack animals. Even though G.S. is only 230mts. higher than Lobuche every steep uphill rock scree was tough going.  I lost my UV sunglasses and case out of my backpack today.  My single room on the first floor of the “Buddah hotel” in Gorak Shep benefitted from the heat radiating from the metal chimney of the stove in the middle of the dining room below, where it passed through the upper corridor and out the roof. After a rest and an early lunch left the hotel at noon for the long 2 hour trek up to Everest Base Camp at 5250mts (17250 ft.), and went on for another ½ hour nearly to the other end of the site.  The weather had closed in at this stage with numerous snow flurries in the afternoon, but nevertheless got an excellent view of the Khumbu icefall, with fine views too of the lower snowfields and search level with E.B.C. After a tiring afternoon arrived back at Gorak Shep at 16.20.  The snowfall became persistent and heavy about 17.30, and must threaten tomorrow’s activities for everyone.

Monday 11^th April.
Rose early at Gorak Shep 04.25 in the hope of seeing the stars but the sky was already brightening in the east.  But after heavy snow early in the night the whole sky was cloud free, the remaining stars set off by a white winter wonder landscape all around.

Bitterly cold with temperature reported at –8 degrees.   Left c.5.35 for ascent of Kala Pattar summit at 5600 mts.(18200 ft.), made much more difficult by fresh snow.   The sun lit up the surrounding peaks one by one as we ascended, and 5 minutes after reaching the summit (ascent took 1h 50m), the sun rose by apparently running upwards along the western (left-hand) flank of Everest’s dark summit pyramid.

The sky above was colouring indigo tinged with green. Because of the angles sunlight very quickly flooded the southern upper slopes of Kala Pattar which we had laboured to get up.  The views all around were unsullied andspectacular, dominated by the towering massifs of Pumori and Nuptse. After half an hour we slipped and slithered  down again reaching Gorak Shep 1h 15m later -  I was very glad of the extendable snow pole I had bought in Kathmandu a week before.
At 9.55 we started the long return journey to Lukla and Kathmandu across a dazzling snow covered landscape, and as the western cwm of Everest receded behind us some clouds appeared around the walls.  Where we got our last glimpse the snow cover cleared and we began the long descent for a lunch break at Tuglac (4860mts.), 3 hours after leaving Gorak Shep.   Most of the path in this area is surfaced by boulders and stones which makes it accident prone and very uncomfortable to walk on.   After a half hour commenced our last descent of the day for 1h 10m to our overnight stop at Periche (4270mts., 12870ft,  5300 ft. below K.P. summit), by which time a strong very unpleasant cold ravine wind had developed and was blasting against us the whole way, under what had now become a grey overcast sky.

But we were lucky today ; despite the snow we summited  Kala Pattar in near perfect windless conditions,  and without fate in the form of AMS tapping me on the shoulder.

Talking to two (out of 3) Austrian women in their 40’s who we met several times during the last few days, it transpired the other one had succumbed to acute mountain sickness in Tuglac and they had to hire a horse at $160, to take her down to the nearest medical centre here in Periche, where she is spending tonight. This is reportedly the victim’s sixth visit to the Himalaya, without previous difficulty, and her illness seems to show how indiscriminate in its incidence AMS can be.
Tuesday 12^th April.
Day sunny to start; haze building up in the morning led to a cloudy afternoon with thunder in Namche Bazaar after nightfall. The freezing night resulted in the inside of the window of my room being iced up, and the rim of my blanket being wet, from condensation of the moisture in my breathing during the previous night. Got up 4.30 to see the star clouds of the Milky Way which in the clear mountain air, are clearer than they almost ever are at sea level.  -  it was very cold.  Left the Periche hotel at 7.30 for the 3hr. walk to Tengboche. Enjoyed a 1 ½ hr. break there in the warm sun before setting out on the long 3 ½ hour walk to Namche Bazaar, arriving 3.25.   The steep downhill from Tengboche made me wonder how I had ever staggered up it with my pack some days ago.  There were numerous fine red flowering rhododendron trees on this section of the route.  The twisting track high above the Dhud Kosi valley seemed interminable. Spent an hour on the internet in N.B. catching up with the last few days.

Wednesday 13^th April.
Last leg of trek – Namche Bazaar to Lukla.  Day started sunny and fine, but incoming haze soon thickened to cloud with occasional sprinkles of rain, followed by weak sun in the evening.

Left N.B. at 7.30 for the long walk down to Phakding, taking 3 ¾ hours including 1 hour down the steep path to the bridge over the Dhud Kosi.  There were numerous rhododendron trees in flower along the river, mostly crimson but some were cerise and pink. After a 40m. stop in Phakding walked foranother 2h to reach Lukla and it’s airstrip. While approaching Lukla we could hear several aircraft operating during the afternoon, which means that it is – untypically- windless this p.m., and these flights were probably Kathmandu flights delayed from their normal early morning slots.  There were a lot of ups and downs on rocky paths in today’s stage and I felt tired and sore. Lukla is a lack-lustre one-street town, essentially a child of the airstrip perched on this shelf of mountain land.

Thursday 14^th April.
Return to Kathmandu. Up for 5.30 for breakfast in my “Sunrise Hotel” Lukla and to the airstrip for a 7a.m. flight but – no planes due to foggy weather in Kathmandu.  So my flight was delayed 2 ½ hours to 9.20, the fifth to leave after the planes started arriving about 08.25. Some remarkable turnaround speeds were to be seen, in one case less than 5 minutes from landing to take-off (they have to keep moving because there is space for only 5 small aircraft to park).  The engine on the passenger side – only – was turned off while incoming passengers and baggage were exchanged for the outgoing load.   The on-the-ground time of “my” flight was delayed to 7 minutes to allow the next incoming aircraft to land.   Weather all this time was overcast, hazy with a varying cloud ceiling above.   Our Sita Airways flight, operated by a weathered Dornier 228-200K (17 seats), took 15 seconds to get airborne from its plunge down the runway towards the cliff edge.   There were numerous flowering, leafless magnolia trees on the hillsides of the lowlands below Lukla, from the plane their big  white flowers appeared like star clusters against the bare mountainsides.    But then what should have been a 25 / 30 minute flight to Kathmandu (which saves a 4-day walk, each way) was drawn out to 70 minutes, delayed it transpired later by security around the arrival in Ktm. of the King of Bhutan !!  While circling low over the hills around Kathmandu we passed over numerous brick manufacturing plants, each with the high chimney from the kiln surrounded by stacks of cooling / distribution-ready bricks.   It took 45 minutes to get my bag and get into town by taxi to my Marshyangdi Hotel in Thamel , and another 1 ½ hours to repack everything, washing and towel drying shirt, socks and underclothes, shave and my first shower for 11d. After a good lunch of Wiener Schnitzel went for a massage where recommended by the hotel receptionist, at NR1500 for the hour – my legs felt quite sore and tired after the long 3-day forced march back from Everest B.C.  It was a crushing massage – nearly worse than the soreness I wanted it to cure, but when I complained my masseuse’s treatment changed and at her suggestion she spent the rest of the hour gently massaging me in the right places to relieve stress I didn’t know I was suffering from, but she was very good at that.  Then after dawdling in an English-language bookshop for ½ hour I met Binod as arranged to tell him how the trek had gone for me, and then went for tea with Dil – getting back to Kathmandu a day early he has been lucky enough to land another job in the Annapurna region starting tomorrow and is heading for Pokhara on the 7a.m.bus. Got to bed very tired 11 p.m.

We were presented with brochures, business cards, short video, banners and posters. Whoever visited to our stall showed a great enthusiasm to work with our company and promote Nepal, since many people and agencies’ representatives were unknown about the tourism of Nepal. It was our great opportunity to explain them about Nepal, tourism places, weather, attractions and about our own company Aarya Village Travel as well. Aarya Village Travel put every effort to unleash the potentials of Nepal tourism in world market.

The event was quite successful in terms of exposing Aarya Village Travel in world tourism market. Many travel agencies are showing their willingness to work with our company which is very positive outcome from the event. We will continue our participation in next year as well.
See you next year!!

Many people dream to visit Nepal once in their life time. Nepal is a dream place to experience culture and history, thousands of years of artcrafts, great landscapes and trekking trails, elephant safaris into dense forest, and one of the best places in the world for outdoor and extreme sport activities and many more. You will find Nepal very small on the world map, between China and India, but as the saying goes “small is beautiful” and Nepal really enforces that saying.

People travel here and there in search of peace, tranquility and happiness. But in Nepal there are thousands of temples and monasteries situated in serene places where you can hide yourself to find peace and happiness within. You may be surprised to see villagers carrying huge loads on their backs while remaining happy, friendly, and willing to help you. Hardly few people do understand the truth behind being the happiest despite being the poorest. This may lead you to find the reason of travelling in Nepal.

It is hard to imagine that only in Nepal you can trek for weeks without carrying a tent and food stuffs. You can walk through the villages, cross the small peaks and mountains, pass through the big dense forests, and rest on top of a hill or at the bank of river in a nice hotel with all kind of facilities and nice food. You can trek from between few days to more than 25 days nonstop without carrying any camping gear or food due to the many guest houses, lodges, and little hotels along most treks. Trekking in Nepal offers numerous grades from very easy to strenuous to most challenging. It depends upon the trekker’s choice and his/her physical ability. All the hotels and lodges scattered around the trekking trails further helps you to manage your walking hours per day. Nothing feels more comforting than a good typical Nepali meal while resting in a friendly lodge after a day of trekking. Nepal’s main dish (Dal Bhat) will come with different variations keeping you always full and delighted. Momos, chowmein and spring rolls are only some other delicious “must try” of the Nepali cuisine. The menus are well adapted for tourists and also offer a wide selection of food styles including classic western food.

Every moment that you spend in Nepal will be lasting memorable. Whether you choose a heritage hotel in Kathmandu that preserved hundreds of years of history and arts or you choose one of the world’s best hotels at Pokhara lakeshore, you can be certain that Nepal is one of the best adventures and holiday destination. Whatever you do in Nepal will give you a unique and amazing experience.

Welcome to the world where religious harmony and peace prevail since the beginning. You will be surprised seeing stupas, temples, and mosques situated in the same location; it represents the deeply roots of social and religious harmony among the Nepali people.

Plan your next holiday to Nepal and get a life time experience.

The show exhibited more than 100 exhibitors and a show floor spanning five acres which makes the Expo one of the largest of its kind in the Kolkata. The Show also offers access to expert advice, domestic and international tour operators, value-prices vacation packages and show-only discounts. The show is an adventure in itself where attendees can meet their favorite travel personalities, experience cultures from around the world and enjoy on-site activities. The organizers expected more than 25000 visitors in the fair in 3 days.

Chalo Jaai is tourism fair with difference. The main objective of the fair is to promote tourism in India and its neighboring countries and to foster friendship among people. The Fair is jointly organized by a leading television channel in Kolkata “Chalo Jaai”.

Nepal received the partner country status and was promoted in a big way. Malaysia was given the theme destination.Nepal got an overwhelming response from the visitors on both days of the fair. Since it was the first time participation from Nepal in Kolkata, the visitors were indeed very happy to see our presence. Our stall stood unique and colorful with its typical decorations which attracted a larger number of media people and visitors to our stalls.

The Nepal stall fully emphasized the promotion of the upcoming Nepal Tourism Year 2011 campaign. The campaign succeeded in getting attention from the Media as well as the visitors. Some of the online travel websites have assured the coverage of Nepal emphasizing the NTY2011 Campaign in their respective websites.

Most of the visitors were quite updated about Nepal and seemed concerned about the country’s political situation. The visitors seemed serious and they queried mostly about Muktinath and Manasorovar trekking and culture tours besides travel season and connectivity. They showed due interest in the NTY 2011 and asked if the Government or private sectors had any special packages or incentives for travelers during that period.

The Fair organizers also gave a special platform for a Nepal briefing session on the final day amidst some hundred visitors. NTY2011 was fully promoted in the session and people interacted and asked many questions related to the campaign. NTB felicitated two Mount Everest Climbers from Kolkata in the event. The Summiteers made a power-point presentation on their journey to Nepal and Mt. Everest.

What Services available in the tea house during trekking?
Services of tea house can be as simple as providing Nepali meals and warm accommodation to long list of hygienic menu to cozy room for overnight. It depends on the places. For an example in Annapurna Circuit Trekking you can have vast range of hotels from 5 star to budget hotel at Jomsom though we still say tea house trekking since the other days you will have to spend night in tea houses. That is why tea house does not mean just a cup of tea instead variety of services available.
The services of tea house can be varied from place to place. However, in the case of three popular trekking regions Everest Base Camp (EBC), Annapurna Base Camp (ABC) and Circuit and Langtang have good facilities throughout the trekking. The services available are long list of menu with tasty and hygienic food, easily available treated water, single/double attached and non attached rooms, hot shower upon request, tea/coffee, nice breakfast, in most of the places telephone and internet are available.

Why Tea House Trekking?
Tea house trekking is substitute of camping trekking. In camping trek you have to carry all of your food, accommodation stuffs and personal gears. But in tea house trekking, you do not need to carry food and accommodation stuffs, what you have to carry is your personal clothes and too personal gears. Tea house trekking has almost replaced the camping trekking in major trekking areas like EBC, ABC & Langtang regions. Its easy, cheap and safe.

Tea house trekking has also great impact of local people’s life style. When you do tea house trekking, you stay in the lodge/hotel in local area where people arrange everything for your fooding and lodging. It is their means of earning for living. This kind of activities has enhanced the life of many people in rural areas. This is what we say is positive impact of tourism in rural areas.

Making your walking tea house type (a kind of Village Walk) helps to fetch you great opportunity to mingle with local people and their life style. The fascinating people and their unique life style in remote villages have attracted thousands of tourists each year. Many of them have visited the same place again and again because of love and kind hospitality of the people and their way of life attracts them.

Therefore, tea house trekking in Nepal is not just for lodging and accommodation but enjoying with people’s life style and receiving their kind hospitality that makes your trip life time memorable. To name a fewexamples, Sir Edmund Hillary – first climber of Mt. Everest and Tony Hegan renowned Swiss Geologist has written so many books about Nepali people and their culture and spend many years in remote parts of Nepal. Sir Edmund Hillary has tremendous work building hospitals and schools in Khumbu region. He spent most of his life helping people in those areas.

Fruitless forewarning
The potential dangers of a fast-expanding Imja have been cuckooed by experts for almost two decades, resulting in hardly any mitigating or adaptive responses but plenty of anxiety for local communities. This is the second time in two years that locals came together to set their own agenda on what needs to be done: no more scaremongering; we want action.

According to ICIMOD, Imja has grown from several minor supraglacial ponds in the 1950s with a total volume of 0.03 sq. km to a massive nearly 1 sq. km lake today. Between 2001 and 2006 the Imja glacier melted at an astonishing 74 m per year, its meltwater nursing the lake. In the case of a breach, the assessed damage could exceed Rs. 2.5 billion affecting a population of over 96,000. Not to mention unaccounted for intangible costs such as loss of culture, dent to tourism, disruption to children’s schooling, and psychological trauma. These conditions warranted ICIMOD’s labelling of Imja as a ‘potentially dangerous’ lake in a 2007 publication, suggesting that “mitigation measures to reduce the GLOF risks are urgent” since it “is growing so quickly”. Also recommended was the setting up of an early warning system for downstream residents, in addition to the two monitoring devices already installed at the lake transferring real-time data to a website.

In spite of these exhortations, no expenditure to adapt or to mitigate the risk was made. The cameras have recently broken down and will only be reinstalled in October. Knowledge can be paralysing, especially when in the form of a diagnosis of terminal cancer. While an exaggerated analogy, the constant visits by scientists and journalists must have been akin to this for those living in the vulnerability zone. Some villagers sold their land on the cheap and others panicked. “Just last year we had a case where people fled their houses at midnight because they thought they heard the river rumbling,” says Duryodhan Karki, the Border Administration Section Officer based in Namche. “From now on, if anyone comes here trying to make an issue of Imja without providing us with a solution, we shall chase them away,” rages Chimi Sherpa, a Khumbu civil society leader.

Brooding surgeon
Previous enlightenment on the possibility of a GLOF at Imja saw more of the negative—fear—and less of the positive—prevention. Now “aware”, the indigenous community felt obliged to act as advocates for action by those they see as responsible—the higher carbon-emitting countries as well as the pedalling researchers, the government and the I/NGO community. “Climate Change has become too politicised an issue,” explains Tsering Sherpa, a local. The reality is that “we are bearing the burden of climate change for the luxury of the global North.”

Locals here want solutions tailored to their traditions and beliefs, not like the early warning system installed in Rolwaling valley downstream of Tsho Rolpa where people complained of neglect, theft, and false alarms every time it rained heavily; and not like the monitoring system installed in Imja where observations were not widely communicated. And they want local involvement in all aspects—from data gathering to dissemination and policy-making.

There are around 20 glacial lakes of similar status across Nepal, unfortunately, the livelihood of communities living downstream of these glaciers will surely be left to the mercy of nature if the expansion of the most economically-strategic, accessible and researched glacial lake in the country doesn’t lead to concerted and appropriate action.

Courtesy: The Kathmandu Post

On day fourth, drive to Chitwan which takes 5 hours. Check in hotel, have lunch and start day activities inside Chitwan National Park -world’s well preserved national park. Riding on elephant back start Jungle Safari in Asia’s thickest forest where you will see herds of Rhinos, various kinds of birds, 4 kinds of deer, royal Bengal tiger as well and many more alike live museum. After Village Walk and eephant ride, drive back to hotel, rest for some time and get ready to watch and entertain local ethnic dance in the evening – Tharu Dance at your own hotel.

On day fifth, early in the morning after tea/coffee walk inside the National Park to see wildlife again. At that time visit elephant breeding centre and almost after an hour Jungle walk, return to hotel for breakfast. After breakfast, pack up and get ready to drive to Kathmandu. Return Kathmandu with great experience. Check in hotel and rest.

On day sixth, do some shopping, drive to Nagarkot for 45 minutes. En route walk around Bhaktapur Darbur Square – thousands of years old artistic city of Kathmandu Valley. On reaching Nagarkot – 2100 meter high from the sea level, you will be amazed by seeing mesmerizing long chain of Himalayas. Nagarkot is considered as a best place to spend overnight and to view beautiful sunrise. Check in hotel and enjoy overnight and next morning breakfast with sunrise view.

On last day, drive to Airport directly to fly back to your home. Your Nepal Travel program completes. 

This time Phurba Tamang of Khotang District, Nepal defended the eighth Tenzing-Hillary Everest Marathon.

Phurba a 22 year old chap completed the highest altitude marathon of the world in 3hrs, 41min, 20sec — a minute more than his last year’s timing. Phurba pocketed a purse of $1,000 along with the title. In all, 103 athletes — 69 locals and 34 foreigners from other 13 nations — participated in the event. Athletes from Brazil, Finland, Hungary and Poland participated for the first time in the marathon. French ambassador to Nepal Henry Gilles Garault, Malaysian ambassador to Nepal Dato’ Ilankovan Kolandavelu among others handed over the prizes.The marathon started from Khumbu Ice-fall, situated at 5,360 meters from the sea level and ended at Namche Bazaar (3,445m). Everest Marathon, the world’s highest marathon, the Toughest Marathon and the Ultimate Mountain.  This reflects the potential of Adventure Nepal destination. Race, is open for all High Altitude Running enthusiasts above 18 years of age with sound mind and body.

The Marathon Event is to salute these 2 Great Heroes of our Human Civilization, regardless of their Nationality & origin, ventured out into the unknown and carried Human spirit to the TOP of the World or the Summit of Mother Earth, glorifying the success of the entire mankind civilization.

He was quoted as saying that this time he has climbed to help efforts to increase educational opportunities in the Khumbu Region as a part of Responsible Travel.

His other mission was to campaign against climate change. According to World Wildlife Fund Nepal office, Apa reached the summit at 8:34 am with a banner reading, ‘You heard our voice, now raise yours — we can stop climate change in the Himalayas’.

He is heading the Eco Everest Expedition 2010 as well, an initiative that started three years ago to remove garbage left on Everest by earlier expeditions.

Besides, he also had a historic mandate — to find a resting place for the last remains of Everest legend Sir Edmund Hillary of New Zealand, who passed away two years ago.

“I want to promote Nepal Tourism Year 2011 as Nepal’s national campaign to attract a million tourists in 2011,” he said.

Apa — famously recognised as ‘Super Sherpa’ by Western media — reached the peak of the world’s tallest mountain on May 21 last year for the 19th time.

He grew up in the foothills of the mountain. Following his father’s death, Apa started working as a porter for western adventurers at the age of 12 and later became a mountain guide. He first climbed Mt Everest in 1990. Then on, there was no resting on his laurels.

Apa moved to the Utah in the US with his family. In 2009, he founded the Apa Sherpa Foundation dedicated to improvement of education and economic development in Nepal. He wants to promote Adventure Nepal as a prime destination for all the adventure lover.

After last year’s 19th Everest ascent he had urged the world to take action against climate change.

Courtesy
The Himalayan Times, Daily Newspaper

That doesn’t mean you have to spend your hard-earned vacation days in the backyard lounge chair to be environmentally conscious. But for people looking to take an eco-friendly vacation, there are lots of ways to minimize your impact. You can start by packing a reusable water bottle, and while you’re at it toss in some soap and shampoo. (All those hotel mini-bottles add up.)

Next, get rid of unnecessary packaging. Many developing countries don’t recycle, meaning the box your toothpaste tube comes in will end up in the trash.  Instead, recycle it at home, and trim down your toiletries to the essentials. Also make sure to get your house in order before you leave. Turn down the thermostat and water heater, and put newspaper delivery on hold.

Whenever possible, take the train. Trains are more efficient than airplanes, and you won’t have to deal with one-hour-early check-in times and long security lines.

If air travel is unavoidable, consider buying carbon offsets. Companies such as TerraPass, Carbon Neutral, and Carbon Fund have websites that allow you to calculate the impact of your flight, and then buy offsets to counter CO2 emissions. In turn these companies channel your money to green projects such as re-forestation, wind farms, or to help reduce the cost differential between renewable and conventional energy.

According to the TerraPass website, the 6,920-mile round trip flight from New York to London produces 2,698 pounds of CO2 per passenger. Spend $9.95 on their Puddle Jumper offset (good for 6,000 miles of air travel) and you’re almost square. For the jet set, chose the $149.95 Globetrotter offset that’s good for 100,000 miles in the friendly skies. (Just remember that the offset enterprise is not regulated, so do your homework before you buy and don’t use offsets as a replacement for responsible behavior.)

Once you arrive at your destination, use public transportation or rent an alternative fuel car. Hertz offers “green” rentals that are EPA highway-rated at 28 MPG or better. Some cars are also SmartWay certified, indicating lower greenhouse gas emissions.

When possible walk or ride a bike: You’ll burn a few calories and increase your chances of those serendipitous encounters that make traveling so interesting in the first place.

Look for lodging that’s “green” certified by a third-party auditor. Green Globe, Green Leaf, and Sustainable Travel International are among a growing number of organizations that verify the eco-friendly practices of tourism providers. The Leading Hotels of the World, which includes 440 properties, just launched its Leading Green Initiative where all guests’ energy consumption is offset by the hotel if you mention the program when making a phone reservation or book online at lhwgreen.com.

In the absence of certifications or special programs, do your own investigating. If the person at the front desk doesn’t know the hotel’s environmental policy, chances are they don’t have one. Also make sure to convey your intent to reuse linens and towels. If the message isn’t getting across, hang out the Do Not Disturb sign. And don’t forget to turn off lights, the TV, and air conditioning when you leave your room.

Buy souvenirs from locally-owned shops that sell locally-produced wares. Avoid purchasing ivory or tortoise jewelry, and crafts constructed from endangered resources or old-growth trees such as teak.

At mealtime, try to bypass chain restaurants and opt for family-owned establishments that use locally-grown, organic ingredients. Also consider cooking your own meals whenever you can. The average restaurant meal produces 17.5 pounds of CO2, while the home-cooked variety yields just 400 grams.

Before heading home, fill out a comment card or, preferably, send an e-mail suggesting ways management might increase eco-friendliness. After all, 760 million voices can have quite an impact.

By Jason Sumner, Special Reporter to the Away Network