Why now it is the perfect time to visit Nepal.
April 2016, exactly one year after the two massive earthquakes hit Nepal, as well as the month I came back from my first backpack trip to Nepal. During my trip, I experienced that the Nepal’s tourism industry still is recovering from the earthquakes of last year. Nevertheless, I also experienced that now, in spite of all the repairing and rebuilding, it is the perfect time to visit Nepal.
After the earthquakes, the media images made it look as Nepal was completely destroyed. At that time, you only heard about all the deaths, collapsed historical temples and other damaged buildings. When something like this happens to a country that depends so heavily on tourism, it is crucial to also show the remaining beautiful things within the country in order to persuade the tourists to still visit the country.
Nowadays, most of the hotels, restaurants, tourist shops, temples and trekking infrastructure are open and running again. At some areas, you will not notice a thing of the earthquake damages and at other areas, you can still witness or help by the rebuilding. In the areas that are hit the hardest, you can notice that the rebuilding is a slow process. Despite of all the damage, it is essential that tourists still visit the ‘damaged’ touristic places, in order to speed up the rebuilding by means of donations and increased entree fees. On one hand I think it is weird to pay a higher entrance fee for something that is less nice than before with a lower entrance fee, but on the other hand it is a good way to help collecting money from foreigners for the recovery and by this way of donating you can be sure that the money will be used for the rebuilding rather than donating to big organisations and wondering if the money will reach its goal.
During my backpack trip to Nepal I sometimes noticed the consequences of the earthquakes. In the main cities like Kathmandu, Pokhara or the Chitwan district, I almost did not notice a thing. There were plenty of hotels, restaurants and tourist shops opening their doors for us and you will see busy people going about their lives as they always have. People are smiling and greeting you with ‘Namaste’ (hello) as you walk by. As I did some excursions, like paragliding in Pokhara and jungle walking in Chitwan National Park, you will hear from the local instructors and guides about the tuff time they went through after the earthquake. The tourism industry dropped significantly and people were facing a hard time to keep their jobs. Both, the instructor in Pokhara and guide in Chitwan National Park, tell me it is better than before and the tourism industry is growing again. I am happy to hear that, so they can continue the job the love to do.
During my seven days trekking to Gosaikunda in Langtang National Park, I still noticed lots of damage of the earthquakes. We were often welcomed as the first guests after the earthquake (first guests in a year time!) and the locals tried to make us feel at home as possible even though there were often no beds, toilets, showers or rooms at all. Once we arrived after seven hours trekking in a village, where all the guesthouses were destroyed and we had to overnight in a tent provided by the locals. It is very impressive to still see all the damage up in the mountains and how those inhabitants adjusted to the new situation and try to slowly rebuild and live their lives as they did before. The mountain areas in Langtang show a huge contrast to the main cities of Nepal.
After travelling to Nepal I have a lot of respect for the Nepali people and how they try to recover from the earthquakes. Nowadays, it is still a time of rebuilding in Nepal and it is still a time that Nepal needs more tourists than ever before. I strongly recommend you to visit this amazing and beautiful country as soon as possible, as now the tourism is still at a low level, and you will be more welcomed as ever before. It is still an amazing country to visit temples, do trekking through the Himalayas, enjoy wildlife, experience cultural beliefs and meet new people.
Author: Daphne
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12 Comments
Pinay Flying High
Lovely post and I do have Nepal in my to-visit list. I hope that someday will be nearer.
Girlswanderlust
Thank you Pinay. Hope so too! =)
Holly Robertson
I’ve been thinking about Nepal, specifically an Everest Basecamp Trek this October. But I admit, I’ve too been a little wary of the earthquakes. I understand you could be anywhere and a natural disaster could strike! But I’m glad you’re pushing for more tourism in Nepal. It’s definitely a country I aim to see some day!
Girlswanderlust
I can understand your concerns Holly. Hope you will do the trekking to Mt. Everest Base camp one day! Now it is the perfect time to visit Nepal! = )
Claire
This is a lovely post – we definitely shouldn’t give up on countries just because they’ve experienced a disaster of some sorts – we should in fact be helping them as much as possible! It’s great to see that Nepal is getting back on its feet again after the earthquake. It’s always been near the top of my list and the threat of earthquakes definitely won’t keep me away! Did you do much in the way of trekking whilst there?
Girlswanderlust
Yes, we definitely shouldn’t give up on them Claire! Yes, I did 7-days trekking to Gosaikunda, which I enjoyed a lot. I planned to do the Mount Everest Base camp trekking too, but unfortunately in that week two local flights to Lukla (starting point of Everest Base camp trek) crashed, so I changed my mind. Would love to go back on day to do some trekking to Mt. Everest Base camp 😉
Kevin Wagar
Amazing post and spectacular photo’s. I have been dreaming of visiting Nepal for a long time now, and I can’t wait to introduce my children to the landscapes and culture of this incredible country. It’s tough to see them hurting so much from the earthquakes, but it’s good to see that normal life is returning, however slowly.
Girlswanderlust
Thank you Kevin. I hope one day you can visit this amazing country with your children and will enjoy as much as I did!
Tatiana Bastos
It’s our responsability as travellers, to support places that have been striked with awful crisis, specially natural catastrophes! I was radicated in Greece for 8 years and have seen how a crisis can affect the tourism in a country!
Girlswanderlust
Yes, I definitely agree with you Tatiana. Unfortunately, most of the tourists are afraid to visit countries who are remaining in a crisis or are suffering from a nature disaster…. =(
Amandas_Wanderlust
This is a great post and it is so important to encourage people to return to Nepal, a country that has welcomed so many international travelers over the years and now needs our support as it rebuilds it’s tourism industry..
Girlswanderlust
Yes, definitely agree to that! This month more posts about my great experience with Nepal will be published in order to encourage more people to visit Nepal as soon as possible! =)