The surrounding snow walls, the aroma of the Sherpa culture, and the fascinating view of the mountain beauty have attracted the attention of thousands of tourists in the Everest region. With the beginning of the spring season, the activity of tourists in the Everest region has increased. According to the Everest National Park Office, 12,030 tourists visited the Everest region last month.
According to National Park Ranger Vivek Shrestha, the arrival of tourists has increased as this season is suitable for mountain climbing, trekking and mountain views. "Since this is the best time for mountain climbing and sightseeing, foreign and local tourists continue to come. Since the mountains including Everest are within the Everest National Park area, our busyness has also increased with the increase in tourists here," Ranger Shrestha said. Along with the increase in the traffic of tourists, the commercial activities in the Khumbu area, the busyness of hotel lodges have also increased.
Currently, hotels from Namche Bazar to Lukla are full of tourists. When the weather is favorable, hundreds of tourists are entering the park through Lukla every day from Manthali Airport in Kathmandu and Ramechhap. However, when the weather is unfavorable, the same tourists choose an alternative route and travel by jeep from Kathmandu to Surke via Salleri, according to transport professionals.
Air and Road Ways to reach the Everest region
Previously, the only major option to reach Everest was the air travel to Lukla. But in recent years, with the expansion of the road up to Lukla, it is now possible to reach the lap of the mountain even by car. When the weather is bad, the tourists who are looking for an alternative route travel through Khurkot, Ghurmi, Okhaldhunga and reach Solukhumbu headquarters Salleri.
From here they travel from Bolero to Surke, a place near Lukla. From drivers working in the park to hoteliers, they have welcomed the recent road development. Tourism professionals say that now that the weather has turned bad, the compulsion to return before reaching Lukla is gone. Transport businessman Ram Bahadur Baraili said that with Lukla-Manthali and Kathmandu-Lukla air services being affected, the number of foreign tourists traveling to places below Lukla via Salleri is high.
If the weather deteriorates, the hotel lodges of Salleri and Phaplu are filled with foreigners who came from Kathmandu via Sumo Jeep. Tourists who have arrived at Salleri from Solukhumbu district headquarters via Khurkot, Ghurmi via jeep from Kathmandu, reach Surke from Salleri by Bolero. Driver Santosh Tamang said that since the road above Salleri is rough, Sumo Jeep cannot go, so they use Bolero.
Karma Sherpa, Senior Vice President of Trekking Agency Association of Nepal (TAN) said that because the unpaved road is near Lukla, the tourists have an alternative to the ship. "Due to the bad weather in Lukla, the flight is frequently interrupted, but now that the road is near Lukla, it is possible to go by car, this is a happy thing," said Vice President Sherpa. Although some tourists who want to come to Khumbu are diverted due to the weather, businessmen say.
Businessman Tembachiring Sherpa said, 'The easiest way to go to Khumbu is by airplane, but when the weather in Lukla is bad, some foreigners going to Khumbu went to other places. Since they come with a certain time 'visa', the possibility of going to other places increases when the weather is unfavorable.'
