Dadeldhura's Alital, which is important and has great potential from a tourism perspective, has started to come into the spotlight again in recent years with conservation, management, and infrastructure development.

Located in Alital Rural Municipality-3, this lake is full of natural beauty, peaceful environment and biodiversity. In recent times, after the active initiatives of the local level, the attraction of domestic and foreign tourists has been increasing. Alital Rural Municipality is named after this lake.

‘Alital’ located in the inner Madhes region of Dadeldhura is located at an altitude of about eight hundred meters above sea level at the foot of the Mahabharata mountain range. This lake, which is a natural confluence of water coming from the Mahabharata region, is spread over a width of about two hundred meters and a length of four hundred meters.

The depth of this lake is 22 meters. The natural structure, lush forests and lush hills surrounded by the landscape have made Alital beautiful. This lake is located three kilometers from Ghumti Bazaar on the Budar-Jogbudha road.

As Alital Rural Municipality has prioritized the long-term conservation and tourism development of the lake area, its appearance has gradually become more organized. Programs are being implemented to improve the infrastructure necessary for waste management around the lake, watershed conservation, greenery promotion, and observation. Due to these efforts, about 50 to 60 tourists currently visit Alital daily.

According to Alital Rural Municipality Chairman Sher Singh Parki, Alital itself is a lake full of natural beauty and it carries the identity of the municipality. According to him, tourists have started coming from other municipalities recently. The lake is still in the development phase, he said.

‘In the current fiscal year, the rural municipality has allocated a budget of Rs 9 million for the reconstruction and further development of the lake area,’ he said.

He informed that the work of constructing a temple on the sky bridge connected to religious faith, constructing an RCC wall for water drainage management, constructing a well-organized park, and enhancing the beauty of the lake area will be carried out soon. He also said that there are plans to build a well-organized car parking lot five hundred meters away from the lake and set up a picnic center at the same place. According to him, Alital is a lake that is also connected to religious beliefs. Earlier, five boats were operating in the lake, but problems arose due to the lack of organized structures and boat operations were stopped. This time, preparations are being made to organize the boat parking lot and purchase boats again and bring them into operation. This is expected to make the lake an additional center of attraction for tourists.

Chairman Parki informed that the construction of the Samaiji temple was completed last year at a cost of Rs. 2.5 million and preparations are currently underway for its inauguration. He said that the sky bridge has also been developed in conjunction with religious beliefs. He said that a 'view tower' has been built in the lake area.

According to Gagan Singh Punamagar, a local resident of Alital Rural Municipality-3, Alital was not so organized and developed until a few years ago. He said that recently, the rural municipality has taken the initiative to improve the structure, cleanliness and management of the lake, and after the construction of the temple, the appearance of the lake area has changed. According to him, now if the lake is beautified by arranging lights around it, it will further help in promoting tourism. He also believes that if small businesses like restaurants are allowed to operate, it will provide more facilities for domestic and foreign tourists.

According to him, the lush forest along the lake, the various animals found there, and the peaceful environment have become the main attraction for tourists. He said that the number of people coming from different places to have picnics has been increasing recently, and especially on Fridays and Saturdays, there is a lot of people visiting Alital.

Tilsari Saru Bohara, who currently lives in Lamki, Kailali, said that when she visited Alital after a long time, she saw the changes clearly. Since her mother-in-law is in this area, she said that when she visited Alital from time to time, she experienced the conservation and beautification of the lake compared to before. According to her, earlier this lake was in a normal condition and was used as a place for grazing cows. She said that she was happy to see that Alital, which had been neglected due to lack of adequate publicity, is now gaining recognition through local level initiatives. She also pointed out the need to systematically develop Alital and promote it as a tourist hub.

If the Alital area, adorned with lush green forests, can be linked to ecotourism by developing homestays, observation sites, and religious tourism, it has the potential to develop as a major tourist destination in Dadeldhura. If Alital moves forward by maintaining a balance between conservation and development, it is expected to make a significant contribution to the local economy, job creation, and tourism identity of the district.

Origin of Alital

There are interesting stories about the origin of Alital. According to local folklore, the place where the lake is today was previously a large field, where rice was planted in the month of Asar.

According to legend, a woman had a dream the day before sowing. She was warned in the dream. ‘It will be inauspicious if you sow in the field tomorrow, do not go to the field.’ She told this to her family and the villagers. But no one believed her words. The next day, she went to sow paddy in the field with Halgoru and other farmers.