Nepal - a beautiful country , was an important holiday destination on the tourist map of the world not very long back. It has been in the news for several years now but for the wrong reasons. Issues like extreme political instability and the dangers due to the Maoist insurgencies has over the years overshadowed the beauty of the picturesque locations here .
The ten year drama seems to be slowly drawing to a close with the Nepalese Government signing a peace pact in November with the Maoists. Positive developments like a temporary constitution coming into effect and formation of an interim Parliament seem to be steps in the right direction. These developments have sent across a message to the world that things are no more like they were. The return of the travel companies which had for a long time stopped tours to Nepal is a sign that the world has started believing that Nepal is going back to its past glorious days and can be visited without any kind of fears whatsoever. Things are now slowly going back to the times when Nepal was a much sought after destination for trekkers and travelers who wanted to visit a place blessed by nature.
The travel companies like Country Walkers(Waterbury) , Mountain Travel Sobek (Emeryville) and Wilderness Travel(Berkeley) among others are re-starting their trips to Nepal. The Annapurna region , Dolpo and Humla are the regions which they have decided to venture to after the long gap during which they had stopped their tours to the region.
Although quite a few countries like America and Australia are still cautious about their people making trips to Nepal. The unpredictable nature of the situation that is perceived has resulted in this feeling of a security threat and countries are time and again sending out warning messages to their people regarding obtaining security clearance before starting on their trip to Nepal.
Nepal is a beautiful place to visit and taking the present political scenario into consideration it seems a safe place as well but the warning signs must definitely be paid heed to. One must select reputed travel companies that are backed by experience and have a good network in the country so that changes in plans can be executed on short notice in case of any problems. It is advisable to approach a reputed travel company so that the trip to this heavenly abode is both safe and enjoyable.
Via: nytimes
Image credit:communityradionetwork
