Nepal is a beautiful country embellished with natural and cultural attractions located between China and India in the Asian continent. The snowcapped peaks, lush valleys, diverse landscapes, courteous people with unique culture and tradition always welcome a large number of tourists every year. The Government of Nepal (GoN) has been organizing tourism year and visit Nepal campaigns to globally promote the tourism status of Nepal. GoN had organized the Visit Nepal Year 1998 and Tourism Year 2011 for the global publicity of Nepal as a best tourist destination. Those two campaigns were really successful in giving Nepal an international recognition in the tourism sector and uplift the economic status.
To make such campaigns a culture of Nepal, in 2015, GoN had declared to observe Visit Nepal 2018. The Gorkha Earthquake 2015 caused a great loss of life and property of Nepalese people along with the major cultural, historical and religious sites. Even the important trekking trails around Everest Region, Manaslu Region and Annapurna Region were said to have been affected of the quake. The reconstruction and renovation process to the damaged heritage sites and the trekking trails took a quite long time. Then the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation (MoCTCA) realized the technical shortcomings to conduct Visit Nepal 2018. Finally, GoN and MoCTCA postponed the campaign by making Visit Nepal 2022 slogan “Lifetime Experience”.
Promotion of Nepal as the best tourist destination and uplifting the economic status of the people are the objectives of Visit Nepal 2022. For this purpose, GoN has launched Visit Nepal 2022 campaign to double the number of tourists to two millions. The government has targeted to operate two other international airports: Pokhara and Lumbini and introduce new airbus 330-200 to meet the tourists’ demand. Similarly, to facilitate the increased number of tourists, the private sector will add nearly 4,000 new rooms in 4 and 5-star hotels. Even some new international chain hotels like Hilton, DoubleTree, Marriot, etc. are also going to operate their services in Nepal.
No matter, in which country you live; you are cordially invited to participate in Visit Nepal 2022 to gain the ‘lifetime experiences’. You can grab Visit Nepal 2022 as a lifetime opportunity to witness beauty of the high Himalayas and culture tradition of Nepal. The immaculate natural attractions, soaring peaks, villages across the Himalayas and typically organic culture and tradition are waving at you from Nepal. You can do many activities like mountaineering, trekking, sightseeing, sky diving, jungle safari, cultural visit, rafting, kayaking, mountain biking, etc. in Nepal. You can help the local people to reconstruct and renovate the damages of the Gorkha Earthquake 2015 if you have necessary permission.
Why Visit Nepal 2022?
You may wonder why Visit Nepal 2022, an international campaign for promoting Nepalese tourism held second time in a decade! Visit Nepal 2022 is one of the grand celebrations of the Nepalese Tourism that started formally in 1950s. In Visit Nepal 2022, you can contribute to uplift the living standard of Nepalese besides observing the ecstatic natural settings and cultural diversity. You’ll also contribute in helping the people below the poverty line to meet their basic requirements in their life. The MoCTCA has already initiated the Visit Nepal 2020 campaign in Europe and other parts of the world. GoN has focused on the new tourist destinations like Khaptad Region, Rara Lake Region including the most visited ones.
The Major Sites and Activities for Visit Nepal 2022:
Trekking and Mountain Climbing:
Trekking in Nepal is the Number One choice of the tourists from all over the world. One of the most appreciated activities, trekking in Nepal offers you an opportunity to walk through the rugged trails in the wilderness. Everest Region Trek, Annapurna Region Trek, Manaslu Region Trek and Dolpo Region Trek are the most liked trekking packages in Nepal. Trekking in Nepal through these regions are the outstanding opportunities to gather lifetime experiences of the magnificent view of the snowcapped mountains. You can also be familiar with the rustic villages, people and their socio-cultural assets in the high Himalayas of Nepal.
Mountain climbing is another major attraction of travelling in Nepal which contains more than 1,300 peaks above 6,000 meters. Out of ten eight-thousanders in the world, eight peaks including the world’s highest, Mount Everest are located in Nepal. The peaks in the vicinity of Everest, Annapurna and Langtang regions are the most popular for mountain climbing in Nepal. The climbers, who love challenges in life, also go for Mera Peak climbing and Island Peak climbing in the Khumbu region. Even though a bit more challenging, the victory over the highest peaks of the world gives you a lifetime accomplishment!
Culture, Tradition and UNESCO World Heritage Sites:
Visit Nepal 2022 has aimed at focusing the culture, tradition and UNESCO World Heritage Sites in and out of Kathmandu Valley. Nepal contains ten of the World Heritage Sites: seven in the Kathmandu Valley and Lumbini, Chitwan NP and Sagarmatha NP. To learn about the art and artifacts of Nepal, you can visit Kathmandu Durbar Square, Patan Durbar Square and Bhaktapur Durbar Square. Besides, Swayambhunath Stupa (Monkey Temple), Pashupatinath Temple, Bouddhanath Stupa and Changunarayan Temple are religiously important and good for sightseeing in Kathmandu.
Lumbini tour is another significant package as this leads you to the birthplace of Lord Buddha, the “Messenger of Peace”. Lumbini tour rewards you with the beautiful scenario of Lumbini Garden in which lies the Ashoka Pillar built in around 250 BC. Lumbini Garden is surrounded by many artistic temples and monasteries built by different countries to mark homage to Buddha. Mayadevi Temple, rich in architecture is also built in Lumbini to commemorate the respect to Mayadevi, mother to Buddha. You see Pushkarni Pool where the King and the Queen of Lumbini used to take bath in front of Mayadevi Temple. Lumbini Museum contains archaeologically important assets like coins, clothes, wooden objects and bricks used in the contemporary time.
As Nepal is a multi-cultural country, it has diverse culture of 125 ethnic communities who believe in mutual harmony and co-existence. If you want, you can plan for trekking through cultural heritage trails in Nepal from sub-tropical to trans-Himalayan region. Sherpa Cultural Heritage in Everest Region, Tamang Culture Heritage in Langtang Region and Gurung Culture Heritage in Annapurna Region are notable ones. Likewise, Chepang Culture Heritage close to Chitawan National Park and Magar Culture Heritage in Guerrilla Trek and Upper Dolpo Region are also popular. Others cultural heritage trails are Indigenous People Trail in Ramechhap and Tibetan Buddhist Culture Heritage in Shey Valley and Dolpo Region.
Diverse Birds and Endangered Animals Species Watching:
Given the presence of sub-tropical to alpine forest types, diverse birds and endangered animals species watching is a must-do activity in Visit Nepal 2022. Endangered Animals watching tour can be conducted in Chitwan NP, Bardiya NP, Suklaphant NP and Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve for your lifetime experience. One-horned rhino, Bengal tiger, sloth bears, wild buffalo, Asiatic elephant, spotted deer and swamp deer are found in these conservation areas. Similarly, the snow leopard, Himalayan black bear, blue sheep, Himalayan thar and other animal species are seen in the alpine forests. The rare sight of the endangered species of birds and animals will indeed remain in your memory throughout the life.
Nepal has above 852 distinct species of birds in different climatic regions including Spiny Babbler, the bird species found only in Nepal. Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve, also the Capital of Bird Watching, Chitwan NP and Bardiya NP are the major sites for birds watching tour. Birds watching tour to Annapurna and Everest Region rewards you with the sight of Himalayan birds species like Lophophours, Nepal’s national bird. Nagarjun, Godavari, Phulchowki and Taudaha Lake around the Kathmandu valley also give you the wonderful glimpses of distinct species of birds. The various bird species inhabiting in the sub-tropical and alpine forests and conservation areas help you to research on birds.
Variation of Topography:
Nepal, despite being a small country occupying just 147,181 sq. km area, holds all sorts of climatic zones found on Earth. Major topographic division of Nepal can be compared with those climatic regions found in the world. Terai region resembles with torrid; Hilly region with temperate and Himalayan (Mountain) with frigid zones equipped with the characteristics of those climatic regions. Nepal includes variation of topography with an elevation from 59m to 8,848m (Mount Everest, the highest elevation in the world). The variation of topography is gifted with about 118 ecosystems, 852 bird species, 284 species of flowering plants and 160 animal species. To experience this variation of topography, you can visit the lowland Chitawan National Park and the highland Everest Base Camp.
Lakes in the Highest Elevation:
Next attraction for Visit Nepal 2022 can be the lakes in the highest elevation like Tilicho, Gosainkunda, Shey Phoksundo and Rara Lake. Everest Gokyo Lakes trek offers you the pristine view of a group of six glacial lakes in the Everest Region. Gosainkunda Lake in Langtang Region and Shey Phoksundo Lake in Lower Dolpo Region are the alpine freshwater lakes devoid of any organism. Tilicho Lake is the world’s highest altitude lake situated at the elevation of 4,919m in Manang of Annapurna Region. Rara Lake shelters three endemic fish species: Nepalese Snowtrout, Cyprinid Fish and Rara Snowtrout along with an endemic frog species Rara Rana Frog. Nepal has above 1,541 big-small glacial lakes in the Himalayan Region bordering to Tibetan Plateau in the northern part.
Freshwater Fastflowing Rivers and Rivulets:
Nepal encompasses above 6,000 freshwater fastflowing rivers and rivulets originating from glaciers, snow-fed lakes and Chure range. The freshwater fastflowing rivers and rivulets of Nepal are the most appropriate source for generating hydroelectricity and support a variety of aquatic eco-systems. The entire freshwater and fastflowing rivers and rivulets of Nepal can be categorized into three major river systems: Koshi, Gandaki and Karnali. These three major river systems are suitable for many water-related activities like rafting, kayaking, swimming, etc. to please the tourists. The Trishuli, the Bhotekoshi, the Tamur, the Sun Koshi and the Karnali are rivers most suitable for rafting purpose.
Adventure Tourism for Visit Nepal 2022:
Being a country gifted with natural variation from high Himalayas to Whitewater Rivers, Nepal is the Capital for Adventurous Tourism. As a tourist, you can do a lot of activities regarding adventure tourism for Visit Nepal 2022 from sky diving to rafting. The major adventurous activities to enjoy in Visit Nepal 2022 are given below:
Hot air ballooning in Pokhara is introduced as Nepal adventure tourism package to have an aerial view of the lake city Pokhara. Hot air ballooning in Pokhara takes you up to 1,000ft above the land for about 40 to 60 minutes. You see the spellbinding sight of the lakes, landscapes and the snowcapped mountains of the Annapurna region, Dhaulagiri region and Manaslu region. Flying like a bird in the sky of the touristic center Pokhara is a rare lifetime opportunity for you. Hot air ballooning in Pokhara contains the packages like Hot Air Balloon Tour, Hot Air Balloon Birthday, Hot Air Balloon Anniversary, etc. Hot Air Balloon Photography is one of the best packages to take the extraordinary snaps of the lake city Pokhara and its surrounding.
Bungee Jump that is available only in Sindhupalchowk and Pokhara is another activity under adventure tourism for Visit Nepal 2022. Last Resort bungee jump is done from a suspension bridge from 160 m height to the gushing Bhote Koshi River. Last Resort bungee jump lies north to Kathmandu and you can reach there in about 3 hours’ drive. The highest water touch Pokhara bungee jump is done from a tower of nearly 80 meters. You will dive to a pond of over 18 m depth with a thrilling swing in the air. The surrounding of Nepal bungee jump sites are really unforgettable and the experience beyond any price!
Paragliding in Nepal is another must-do adventure tourism activity for Visit Nepal 2022 for a lifelong reminiscence. Paragliding in Nepal is only available in the lake city Pokhara and the Capital of Nepal Tourism. Paragliding in Pokhara is done from Sarangkot that is located at the height of 1,600m from the sea level. You can experience a regular flight for 30 minutes and cross country flight for 60 minutes over the sky of Pokhara. Flying with a bird and a kite high in the sky gives you a feeling of ecstasy due to the mesmerizing view of Pokhara and its green surrounding.
Another sports item for adventure lovers is zip flyer in Nepal under adventure tourism for Visit Nepal 2022. The launching site of zip flyer in Pokhara is Sarangkot, Pokhara at an elevation of above 1,600m to stop at Hemja Plain (960m). Zip flyer in Nepal is one of the longest routes with the total length of 1,860 meters. Superman Zipline Dhulikhel, just a few kilometers eastward from Kathmandu also offers zip flyer in Nepal. It is about 1,000m long above 2,300m above the sea level. 73 meters high, this zip flyer in Nepal starts from Thakle, Dhulikhel to Khawa, Paanchkhal.
Jungle Safari is one among the most phenomenal activities of adventure tourism for Visit Nepal 2022 at your services. Jungle safari in Nepal is useful for seeing the endangered but dangerous animal species that are on the verge of extinction. Jungle safari in Nepal is available in Chitwan NP, Bardiya NP, Suklaphant NP and Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve. Via jeep or elephant, jungle safari in Nepal rewards you with the captivating sight of one-horned rhino, Bengal tiger and Asiatic elephant. Similarly, jungle safari in Nepal gives you opportunity to have a outstanding scene of Bengal fox, red panda and sloth bear.
Among the activities of adventure tourism for Visit Nepal 2022, whitewater rafting comes on the Number One position! The major rivers and their tributaries offer whitewater rafting in Nepal for your experience in the lively rivers flowing rapidly. The trekking agencies in Kathmandu and Pokhara design various whitewater rafting packages and itinerary at reasonable cost. The most acclaimed rivers for whitewater rafting in Nepal are the Sun Koshi, Karnali, Tamur, Trishuli, Kali Gandaki and the Marsyangdi. Spending the peaceful nights on the banks of these rivers in the tented camps is inexpressible in words!
The last but not the least, skydiving in Nepal is another alternative to enjoy in adventure tourism for Visit Nepal 2022. One of the rarest adventurous sports item in the world, skydiving in Nepal is done only in the Everest Region and Pokhara. Skydiving in Everest Region is said to be on Number 8 position out of 50 best adventure events to ‘try before you die’. Skydiving in Everest Region is performed jumping out of an AS350 B3 helicopter from 23,000ft to land on Syangboche Airport (12,340ft). Next landing spot of skydiving in Everest Region is Ama Dablam Base Camp at an elevation of 15,000ft.
Skydiving in Pokhara is comparatively less challenging as the landing surface there is safer than that of Everest Region. Skydiving in Pokhara is done by jumping out of an AS350 B3/B2 helicopter from the height of 11,000-13,000ft. The landing site of skydiving in Pokhara is Pame Danda Drop Zone located west of Phewa Lake the help of a parachute. Nevertheless, one of the most challenging skydiving in Everest Region is accomplished by a very limited number of tourists. Skydiving in Nepal rewards you with the surrealistic experience in your lifetime.
