Nepal banned solo mountain expeditions without a guide for foreigners from this Saturday, a measure that has sparked criticism in some regions of the Himalayan country, considering that restricts the freedom of movement of tourists.
The Nepal Tourism Board has extended the requirement to carry a guide for solo trekkers in the high mountains in a bid to “ensure the safety of trekkers” in the country, said agency director Mani Raj Lamichhane.
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The regulations, which have been applied for a few years to mountaineers who travel alone to climb Mount Everest, It was very well received by private travel and tourism organizations in the Himalayan country who see it as a way to create domestic employment after the severe restrictions of the pandemic.
If they don’t have guides
support die
The president of the Association of Trekking Agencies of Nepal, Nilhari Bastola, calculated for EFE that this new rule would provide around 40,000 jobs for Nepalis.
In addition, hiring a guide “will not create a large financial burden for hikers, since for a day’s hike the guide’s fee ranges from $25 to $50 per day, depending on the distance,” Bastola said.
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According to the provisions, failure to comply with this rule carries a fine of 12,000 Nepali rupees (almost $92) for tourists and 10,000 Nepali rupees ($76) to agencies offering tours to foreigners traveling solo without a guide.
protect tourists
At the same time that it creates employment, the measure seeks to prevent solo high-altitude hikers from getting lost, become disoriented or stop showing signs of life for long periods of time.
Trekkers come to Nepal in search of adventure and have the right to walk freely
The inspector of the Nepal Tourist Police, Chandra Kishore Shah, told EFE that each year about a dozen hikers disappear.
Although many are later found, between “three and four foreigners disappear each year on different hiking trails,” where they often become disoriented, lost or suffer from altitude sickness, he added.
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“Most trekkers are not adequately prepared to deal with altitude sickness. If they don’t have support guides, they die,” Shah said.
This is the case of Lee Myungkap, a South Korean tourist who passed away last year due to altitude sickness in the Everest region; or that of another Korean woman who died at 5,350 meters in the Thorong La pass, in the Mustang district (northwest) last January.
To this day, the country continues to try to find the whereabouts of at least five missing hikers from South Korea, India, Israel, Jordan and Malaysia.
Everest Region opposes the measure
Despite the advantages, the rural municipality of Khumbu Pasang Lhamu, where Mount Everest is located, has shown its rejection of the application of this regulation that applies to all areas where this sport discipline is practiced.
The authorities of this region have so far limited themselves to recommending the hiring of a guide for high mountain expeditions.but refuse to restrict entry to those who go without a guide, the administrative director of the municipality, Mohan Prasad Chapagain, told EFE.
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For his part, the president of the rural municipal district of Khumbu Pasang Lhamu, Laxman Adhikari, considers that this decision restricts the free movement of hikers.
“Hikers come to Nepal in search of adventure and have the right to walk freely. We oppose this decision,” he concluded. Nepal received more than 33,000 mountain trekkers in the run-up to covid-19, although the annual average ranges from 55,000, according to government data from the Himalayan region.
Among his favorite routes are the region of Mount Annapurna (center), which receives the largest number of people interested in practicing this sport due to its low cost.
EFE
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