The park estimates that if regular air facilities are provided to Dolpa and the road to the district headquarters, Dunai, is blacktopped, the number of domestic and foreign tourists could increase further.
What you should know
Phoksundo Lake, located in Shey-Phoksundo Rural Municipality-8 of Dolpa, has become a favorite among tourists. In the past five years alone, 19,537 tourists have visited Phoksundo Lake, said Kishore Kumar Mahat, Information Officer of Shey-Phoksundo National Park.
According to him, 17,712 domestic tourists have visited the lake in the past five years. 1,825 foreigners and 92 SAARC tourists have visited the lake. Mahat said that during this period, 7,384,200 rupees were collected from the park entry fee alone. 1,771,200 rupees were collected from Nepalis and 5,613,000 rupees from foreigners. The park entry fee is 100 rupees for domestic tourists, 3,000 rupees for foreign tourists, and 1,500 rupees for SAARC tourists.
This lake, which is located at an altitude of 3,611 meters above sea level, is also known as Rigmo Lake.
The road leading to Dolpa is unpaved and flights are not regular, but the number of tourists visiting the lake is increasing every year, according to the park. With regular air facilities to Dolpa and a blacktopped road to the district headquarters, Dunai, and proper publicity, the park is estimated to attract five hundred thousand domestic and foreign tourists every year.
Tourism entrepreneur Jitendra Jhankri said that since motorcycles, public buses and other vehicles reach Dolpa directly from Kathmandu, Pokhara, Nepalgunj and other cities, Phoksundo Lake is the choice of domestic tourists.
Since Dolpa Dunai can be easily reached by motorcycle and car via Nepalgunj-Surkhet-Jajarkot-Rukum, most tourists reach Dolpa by motorcycle trek rather than by plane. There are both air and road facilities to reach Dolpa, and one can reach Phoksundo Lake by walking from Suligard via Kagni, Chhepka, and Taprija in one day and one morning.
