15, Jul 2019 at 10:21 am
Arriving in a new country for a short time where social and cultural values are vastly different from those of your home country, does not allow much time to gain an appreciation of these matters. So consider a few pointers to help you develop respect and understanding.
In the 50 years since Nepal opened its borders to outsiders, tourism has brought many benefits, in terms of wealth generation, employment opportunities, infrastructure, health care, education and transport. However, the massive influx of trekkers and travelers has also brought problems in the form of environmental degradation, social breakdown and the loss of traditional culture to some extent.
It is an irony that we as company runners and travelers are often craving for new off the beaten track but inadvertently end up creating another beaten track. We want to experience traditional culture but don’t want o lose our homely comforts, and we are often disappointed when traditional villages adopt modern housing, transport and dress…These are among many contradictions – inherent in travel- you will face when visiting Nepal. We as tour operators are making conscious efforts to address these problems, but its slow going. We have plans to operate a number of ‘clean – up treks’, where participants are involved in helping clean up villages along the trekking routes.
One important contribution you can make is to reduce the growing rubbish heaps of plastic waste by not buying bottles of mineral water; instead carry a water bottle and filter or treat with iodine. Exception only for Everest trek we provide 2 liters of Hot boiled water every evening just to avoid the littering. And we wish we could continue this service with other destinations as well but not without the support from the local Inn keepers. The challenge for you as a visitor to Nepal is to respect the rights and beliefs of the local people, and to minimize your impact – culturally and environmentally. The further you venture off the beaten track , the greater your responsibility as a visitor becomes. As the saying goes, ‘ the Himalaya is here to change you, not for you to change the Himalaya’.
We are striving to make a positive move towards protecting our fragile ecosystem, and we really look forward to your positive anticipation. Also any healthy suggestions in this regard will be highly appreciated.
- The Mystical Nepal Treks