To reach the Dhaulagiri base camp in Raghuganga village-7 of Myagdi, one has to hang on a rope and make a risky journey. At Kokhebhir and Dhaulagiri view point hill one has to take the help of ropes and straw bales to cross Akke Bhir.
Tara Garbuja Pun, a tourism businessman from Pokhara, who recently returned from Dhaulagiri base camp, said that there is a problem of having to travel 50 meters to Kokhebhir and about 100 meters to Dhaulagiri view point.
'Beni-Chimkhola-Ghyasikhark to Sugurthala can be reached by vehicle for four hours on the road built by the hydropower project under construction in Rahughat and tributaries,' he said, "Tourists have not been able to reach Dhaulagiri base camp due to lack of footpaths at Kokhebhir and Dhaulagiri view points."
Garbuja said that Dhaulagiri Base Camp, which can be reached in a short distance, is likely to be developed as a new tourist destination if temporary narrow or permanent suspension bridges can be built in two places and in some places of the Rahughat river.
Led by Lalit Garbuja from Chimkhola, who is working in the Indian Army, a team of Mandali Yuva Club officials, tourism businessmen and media personnel returned to the base camp at an altitude of 4,050 meters above sea level in the last week of January.
Garbuja said that if suspension bridges can be built at five places on the footpath and the Rahughat river, it will be possible to reach the base camp by walking for six hours from Sugurthala. The team has suggested to the representatives of the ward to build footpaths, bridges and put up signs.
Reaching the foot of Dhaulagiri Himal and getting a close look at the peak is the main attraction of the base camp. Lakes like Sun Chhahara, Nilibarah and Kalibarah can also be observed. Through this footpath, local residents go to Dhaulagiri base camp area for Yarsagumba collection in May-June.
Ministry of Tourism's 18-kilometer footpath construction project to connect Sasaldhara to the base camp at a cost of 15.4 million was started in the financial year 2079/080 and ended in 2080/081. Ward Chairman of Raghuganga Rural Municipality-7 Thak Prasad Paija (RIM) said that since Bhir was excluded during the planning survey, the footpath could not be constructed there.
'Where there was no footpath, we have demanded more budget from the state and federal government,' he said. 'At least if we can build a safe footpath in Akkere Bhir where we have to walk with the help of a rope, tourists will increase in the icefall footpath and base camp area.'
According to Paiza, the ward president, this year, 20 lakhs from the Gandaki state government and the Nepal Tourism Board for the construction of the Kalibarah-Dhaulagiri icefall trail. Five lakh budget has been allocated. After the construction of the Beni-Jomsom road, the District Development Committee led by Myagdi B.S. In 2068, the Dhaulagiri icefall trail from Galeshwar to Mustang was studied and identified.
The president of Raghuganga Rural Municipality, Bhab Bahadur Bhandari, has submitted a detailed project report (DPR) of Dhaulagiri Icefall Pathway of 122 km distance to Mustang's Lete through the axis of the high mountain hills of Piple, Bhagwati, Begkhola, Dagnam, Chimkhola, Kuinemangale, Doba and other places in Myagdi. There are dozens of tourist destinations including Dhaulagiri Base Camp, Nilibarah Lake, Kalibarah Lake, Sowangdhuri etc. under the
Icefall Trail. The leader of Chimkhola, Gum Pun, said that on the trail, the wild animals of Danfe, Munal, Kalij, Kasturi, Jharal, Naur, Ghoral, Thar, Ratuwa, Himchituwa and the habitats of the three can be directly observed.
The Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation has chosen the trail from Ruise Danda to Dhawalagiri Icefall as a new and developed tourist destination. Due to lack of infrastructure and necessary management, this footpath has not yet been formally put into operation.
Even though the construction of the footpath leading to the base camp through Sasaldhara has been started, the traditional Goretobato from the base camp via Kalibarah to the Lete of Mustang and the Ruise of Bhagwati from Pachetradhuri, Sobangdhuri, Losdhuri, Dabhuki, Fedi, Sugurthala to the Sasaldhara area, there is still work to be done to upgrade the footpath.
