Society

Now you will be able to walk on Phewatal

Krishna Mani Baral

Jan. 2, 2019, 6:47 p.m.

Now you will be able to walk on Phewatal

Gandaki province government is planning three new tourist attractions on Phewatal in an attempt to develop Pokhara as a complete tourist destination. There are plans to build a multimedia-dancing fountain on Phewatal, a water-walk over the lake, and a canopy walk to enable tourists to walk over jungles of the surrounding Raniban.

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.