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The number of trekkers visiting the Annapurna Conservation Area has bounced back and reached the pre-covid levels.

A total of 172,108 trekkers visited the area in the fiscal year 2022/23, according to Rabin Kadariya, the information officer of the Annapurna Conservation Area Project (ACAP). This figure comes close to the pre-covod record of 183,357 trekkers in 2018/19. This is the highest footfall the area has seen so far

After the outbreak, however, trekker numbers dropped to 104,165 trekkers in 2019/20 and a meager 4,916 in 2020/21 during the peak of the pandemic. However, there was a positive resurgence, with numbers picking up to 75,824 in 2021/22. In the fiscal year 2022/23, ACAP generated Rs 299.43m (including VAT) from permit fees.

As only the ACAP and Pokhara International Airport records the number of tourists visiting Pokhara, the exact number of foreign tourists visiting Gandaki Province is not precisely known. The provincial tourism ministry had initiated the registration of foreign tourists two years before the covid pandemic, but it has been discontinued now.

With the commencement of construction on Pokhara International Airport, tourism entrepreneurs have made substantial investments in various tourism infrastructures such as hotels, restaurants, and several adventure activities. The hotel industry alone received investments of over Rs 100bn in the past five years, according to Laxman Subedi, president of Pashchimanchal Hotel Song Pokhara, the industry lobby representing hotels operating in Pokhara and its surrounding areas.

Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi handed over the ceremonial key of Pokhara Regional International Airport to his Nepali counterpart Narayan Khadka this past week.

But is the airport, built with Chinese assistance, ready for operation? And the answer is a resounding no.

A lot remains to be done, say officials.

According to Binesh Munkarmi, the project chief, decoration and finishing works, procurement of ground vehicles, installation of boarding bridges and construction of fuel storage have not even started.

But the main hurdle to flight operation, he says, lies outside the main project area.

Pokhara’s landfill site, which lies within a 3km radius of the airport, is one of the major obstacles, as it attracts the birds that in turn could hit aircrafts.

Ornithologist Hemsagar Baral says it is an international practice to relocate the landfill site close to a new airport six months prior to its operation.

Pokhara has many species of scavenger vultures and eagles, some of them endangered, Baral says. “It is important to relocate the existing landfill site to protect these birds.”

Rithepani hill, situated east of the airport, presents another hurdle.

 The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal has suggested flattening the hilltop by 40 meters for the operation of international flights. But the work for the same hasn’t progressed much. An environmental assessment report (EIA) for clearing the trees on the hill is yet to be approved by the Ministry of Forests and Environment. The hill must be cut down by at least 14 meters to conduct calibration flights.

“We can cut down the hill within a month. But first we need government approval,” says Munkarmi.

Pokhara’s unmanaged sewage and canal system could also hinder airport operation. The airport is located close to an irrigation canal, which overflows during the rainy season.

Last year, the canal was breached following heavy rains. The overflow of floodwater had then led to the erosion of a cliff overlooking the Bijayapur River east of the airport. 

“Without effective measures against flood and erosion, the ground where the airport stands itself is in danger,” says Hemanta Dhakal, a local resident.

There could be a problem in securing international route permits if these problems are not addressed soon.

Project officials say they have already requested Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, Finance Minister Janardan Sharma, Civil Aviation Minister Prem Ale, Gandaki Chief Minister Krishna Chandra Nepali and Pokhara Mayor Man Bahadur GC to remove these hurdles at the earliest.

Bishnuhari Adhikari, Pokhara’s civil-society leader, says obstructions posed by Pokhara’s landfill site, Rithepani hill, and unmanaged sewage and canal system weren’t unforeseen contingencies.

“These hurdles were there all along. But they were not acknowledged on time,” he says.

Climate change has affected just about every living creature on planet earth. Birds are not immune to it as well. Bird habitats are dwindling due to rising temperatures, greenhouse gas emissions, and drying of water sources and wetlands. As a result, the number of raptor species such as eagles and vultures are declining too.

Tulsi Subedi, who holds a doctorate in biodiversity conservation and has been researching migratory birds since 2012, says the sightings of birds of prey over the Kaski district area have been decreasing in recent times. He adds that, until 2012, around 14,000 carnivorous birds used to fly over the place in the migration season but their number has come down to around 6,000-8,000 of late. This number includes 33 different species of raptors.

Census of raptor species are conducted every year from the second week of September when they migrate in huge numbers, flying over Kande and Thula Kharka of Annapurna Rural Municipality in Kaski district. Migratory birds have been counted every year since 1983.

Steppe eagles (locally known as Gomayu Mahacheel) are the most common raptors flying over Nepal’s skies. Around 8,500 steppe eagles migrated via Kaski’s Kande and Thula Kharka in 2013 but their number declined to 4,300 in 2020, says Subedi. The bird census report of 2021 is yet to be finalized.

Also read: A zero-waste life: Less is more

According to Subedi, reduction in the number of prey species, habitat loss, temperature rise, and unfavorable migratory environment could be the reasons for the decline in the arrival of birds, which mostly come from Magnolia and China to escape extreme cold there. The steppe eagles prey on small rabbits, rodents, and small birds. Bird species migrating from Mongolia arrive in Pokhara before going to India and Pakistan.

Himalayan griffons (Himali Gidda) are the second most common raptors arriving in Nepal, and come from central China. The species sometimes stays in Nepal or goes to India’s Madhya Pradesh, returning to China in the month of May. While steppe eagles go to Mongolia from here, while Himalayan griffons come from Mongolia. Likewise, the slender-billed vultures (Khairo Gidda) come to Nepal from Europe and fly south from here.

Cinereous vultures (Raj Gidda), slender-billed vultures, and Indian vultures (Lamo Thunde Gidda) are among the other birds that arrive in Nepal to avoid the extremely cold winter. But these birds don’t incubate their eggs here. According to ornithologist Krishna Bhusal, the Indian vultures have been frequent visitors to Nepal.

“The slender-billed vultures, which come to Nepal for shelter as they migrate to escape extreme cold, have been prolonging their stay here,” says Bhusal. The birds of prey mostly enter Nepal from over the Kanchanjunga and Makalu Barun Himalayan ranges. Some birds coming from the east stop at Thula Kharka to take thermal air.

It is not just the number of visiting raptor species that is declining. The number of water birds coming here to escape extreme cold are down too, says Pokhara Bird Society Chairman Manshanta Ghimire. 

Visitors to Pokhara this October can savor the breathtaking aerial views of the Fewa Lake, the city, and mountains such as Annapurna, Dhaulagiri, and Machhapuchhre onboard a gondola of the soon-to-be-launched cable car service.

The service connects Sarangkot, one of the most popular destinations in the Lake City to observe the rising sun, to Sedibagar on the banks of the Fewa.

“Construction had been delayed due to the corona crisis. As soon as the first lockdown was over, a team of Japanese technicians arrived and installed the gondolas,” says Tirtha Raj Tripathi, director of Annapurna Cablecar Pvt Ltd, the company setting up the service. 

Tripathi informs that the launch of the service was postponed due to the second wave of Covid-19 infections. As soon as covid restrictions are lifted, a Japanese technical team will come to Pokhara. He says the company hopes to launch the cable car service in the period between Dashain and Tihar. 

Fares for the trip to Sarangkot and back have also been fixed. A ticket will cost Rs 600 per person for Nepalis and Rs 700 for Asian tourists. The ticket will be priced at Rs 800 for tourists from elsewhere. Tripathi also adds that students and the elderly will be eligible for a 20 to 25 percent discount. The system has 18 gondolas—17 for ferrying passengers and one for cargo. The company has also set up a view tower in Sarangkot and a restaurant is also being prepared.

The estimated cost of the project has gone up several times due to the Covid-19 situation. Tripathi says that the project also had to procure more land than planned and increments in prices of construction materials hiked costs. According to Tripathi, the project’s price tag now stands at Rs 2 billion. 

A team of entrepreneurs, including Kalu Gurung, chairman of Annapurna Cable Car Pvt Ltd had begun work on the project four years ago. The cable car can serve 1,500 people per hour. 

According to Bikas Lam­sal, Minister for Industry, Tourism, Forests and Environment for Gandaki, Rs 5 million budget has been apportioned for each of the three projects.

Lamsal says the provin­cial government is thinking beyond developing the prov­ince capital of Pokhara and is analyzing new projects in other districts of the province as well. This is being done in the lead up to the inter­national investment confer­ence the province is hosting in March 2019.

The provincial government has set aside a total of Rs 80 million for the Fewa Lake Conservation Program, which includes the three projects, and is working in collabora­tion with Pokhara munici­pality, according to Diwakar Poudel, the ministry spokes­person. By 2022, the pro­vincial government aims to welcome two million interna­tional tourists to Gandaki.

According to province government, tourists in Pokhara stay for an average of 2.5 days

The province foreign minis­try informs that tourists tend to stay for an average of 2.5 days in Pokhara. By introduc­ing new man-made tourist attractions without disrupting the natural beauty of the area, the goal is to make them stay longer. Local tourism entre­preneurs believe adventure activities such as paragliding, ultra-light aviation, bungee jumping, zip flying, canoeing and rafting have contributed to prolonging the Pokhara stay of tourists. The new attrac­tions will persuade even more folks to do so, they say.

Gandaki needs the permis­sion of the federal government for these endeavors as Phe­watal falls under the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance and Raniban forests is an ecologi­cally diverse zone. A Detailed Project Report is being pre­pared while waiting for the final permission.

Tour operators in Pokhara say that recently trekkers have been taking buses to Manang and Mustang from Kathmandu. They treat Pokhara only as a brief tran­sit before their return to the national capital. Data shows that 64 percent of interna­tional tourists come to Nepal for trekking.