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Pokhara Lodge voted among World's Top
Five Rooms with a view
The UK based Independent newspaper on March 19, 2005 voted
Tiger Mountain Pokhara Lodge as one of the World's Top Five
Rooms with a View. According to the paper, this lodge offers
the sort of views usually reserved for climbers. The lodge
has uninterrupted vistas of the Annapurna range, from their
subtropical base right up to the 8,000m Fish Tail, the
region's highest and most distinctive peak.
Tiger Mountain Pokhara Lodge supports a range of education
and community forestry initiatives in Kandani Danda and the
area. This lodge is located on a ridge in the Annapurna
Mountains. The lodge was inaugurated by Sir Edmund Hillary
in 1998.
Trek to EBC holds 7th position in Top Ten 'Once In A
Lifetime' Trips
iExplore announced a list of Top Ten "Once-in-a-Lifetime"
Trips, as determined by unique travel inquiries at iExplore
over the last year on March 7, 2005. Trek to Mount Everest
Base Camp (EBC) has been placed in seventh position in Top
Ten ranking. Nepal is the only South Asian country to have
chosen in this prestigious list. Last year The UK's leading
magazine The Observer had ranked the Everest Base Camp in
seventh position in 20 Journeys of a Lifetime. Champagne
Flight to the North Pole has been registered as number one
in the ranking which is followed by Travel to Timbuktu
(Mali) and Back and Sea Kayak the Panama Canal.
iExplore founder and CEO, George Deeb, said, "As the Baby
Boomers are approaching early retirement, they are less
interested in accumulating hard assets at this stage in
their life, and they are more interested in accumulating
life changing experiences."
Deeb continued, "The above list shows you how far consumers
are willing to go to get as unique an experience as
possible, providing them with travel memories and 'travel
bragging rights' for a lifetime."
Founded in 1999, iExplore(R) is the leading online seller of
adventure and experiential travel. iExplore offers hundreds
of made-to-order, guided tours that visit the farthest
corners of the earth, particularly the man-made and natural
wonders of the world.
Top Ten Ranking are as follows:
-
Champagne Flight to the North Pole
-
Travel to Timbuktu (Mali) and Back
-
Sea Kayak the Panama Canal
-
Stay With a Mongolian Family in the Gobi Desert
-
Cage Dive with Great White Sharks in South Africa
-
Camel Caravan Across the Sahara Desert
-
Trek to Mount Everest Base Camp
-
Take a Hot Springs Bath in Iceland
-
Balloon Safari Over the Serengeti (Tanzania)
-
Walk Rainforest Tree Canopies in the Amazon
Royalty fee halved for Mt. Makalu & Kanchanjungha
As part of its efforts to revitalize adventure tourism in
Nepal, His Majesty's Government has offered a very
attractive travel incentive to mountaineers who wish to
climb Mt. Makalu and Mt. Kanchanjungha. The Government has
announced the 50% waiver of mountaineering royalty of Mt.
Makalu and Mt. Kanchanjungha on the occasion of the Golden
Jubilee Celebration of the first ascent on both the
mountains.
Expedition teams coming to scale the mountains from March to
June this year will be given 50% exemption on royalty,
according to the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil
Aviation issued on February 21, 2005.
As per the new decision, a team of seven members needs to
pay a royalty of US $5,000. The Golden Jubilee of Mt. Makalu
and Mt. Kanchanjungha will be observed on May 15 and 25
respectively.
Furthermore, regular flights from more than 20 destinations
have made Nepal an international hub for tourists going to
Tibet, Bhutan, Malaysia and Middle East countries. Air China
has recently announced to operate 4 flights a week from
Lhasa and Chendu from March, 2004 as per its plan to expand
air service to Nepal. Complementing the effort made by
Nepalese Tourism industry, Phuket Air has now geared up to
have its maiden flight from March 9, 2005 connecting
Kathmandu with Bangkok and Dubai thrice a week.
As part of its efforts to upgrade its facilities to the
passengers, the Tribhuvan International Airport has recently
introduced the computerized flight information system for
all international flights which provides detail information
about arrival and departure of international flights.
The State run Radio Nepal in its news bulletin in the
morning reported that Pokhara, Chitwan and Bhairawa bound
vehicles have been running smoothly without facing any
problem. Moreover, it is specially advised to book holiday
tours in Nepal through registered travel/tour operators.
In order to better facilitate tourists, the Tourism Crisis
Response Action Unit at Nepal Tourism Board responds to the
queries and facilitates or takes necessary initiatives. This
operation has been supported by Media Center of Nepal
Tourism Board. The staff on duty is available at number
977-1-4227381. The telephone number of Media Center is
977-1-4225709.
New Tourism Service Fee Scheme implemented
His Majesty's Government has issued the Financial Ordinance
2061-62 on January 14, 2005 which has made the new provision
for Nepal Tourism Board to collect its Tourism Service Fee
of NRs. 565 (including VAT) from Tribhuvan International
Airport from the Foreign nationals/ tourists traveling by
air only at the time of their departure revoking the
previous system of collecting 2% Tourism Service Fee from
tourists in different services which includes hotel,
restaurant, rafting, trekking, tour, cable car etc. The
Foreign nationals/ tourists will have to pay it at the
counter of NABIL Bank at the airport along with Passenger
Service Charge (Airport tax) while departing from Tribhuvan
International Airport. This new scheme is expected to better
facilitate the tourists, says Nepal Tourism Board.
Nepal in 2005
The Independent UK asked the travel experts to name this
year's top destinations under the banner of Where to be,
what to see in 2005. Here is the comments of two travel
experts who mentioned Nepal in their interviews. These
interviews were appeared in The Independent Online Edition
in January 01, 2004.
Steven Berry, owner of Himalayan Kingdoms, UK's leading
adventure company and a veteran climber. Travelers are also
looking at trekking beyond the Himalaya and the Andes. There
are increasing opportunities to go walking in countries such
as Laos and Cambodia, where people have only ever really
gone to see the sights. We hope things will improve in
Nepal, though all our trips went off without incident this
autumn.
Piers Pickard, deputy editor, 'Wanderlust' Something that
I'm sure will take off this year is adventure travel with
children. It's becoming far more common, and for travel
agents it's a big area of business. Twenty years ago, mum
and dad went off trekking in Nepal. Now they've got two
little nippers and they're discovering they can still go.
Mt. Cho-Oyu climbing fee halved
The government has reduced climbing fee by 50 percent for
ascending 8,201-metre high Mt. Cho-Oyu for five years (from
December 1, 2004 to November 30, 2009) in a bid to encourage
mountaineers to use Nepali route while scaling the mountain.
A mountaineering expedition team with seven members had to
pay the royalty of US$ 10,000 to climb the Mt. Cho- Oyu.
Mountaineers have been using the Tibetan route to climb Mt.
Cho-Oyu for sometimes. The Golden Jubilee of the first
ascent Mt. Cho-Oyu was observed on October 19, 2004. The
Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation had decided
to mark the golden jubilees of the eight thousanders
following the success of the Golden Jubilee Anniversary of
Mt. Everest in 2003 which had immensely helped boost Nepal’s
mountaineering tourism in the international market.
Visa & Trekking Permits on Public Holidays
The offices of the Department of Immigration will remain
open on public holidays, including Saturdays and Sundays to
provide visa and trekking permits to tourists and trekkers.
The Home Ministry says the offices will remain open from
11:00 AM to 4:00 PM on holidays. It further says
instructions have already been given to the offices to
implement the decisions. The process to form a committee had
also been started to see whether any change in laws and
regulations were needed to help the travel and tourism
sector of the country.
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