In view of the global insurance & rescue firms’ serious note on halting their services, the government decided to bar all local agents of those firms from getting involved in tourism search & rescue operations.

A high-level government panel investigating the issue announced a 15-point Mountaineering and Trekking Search and Rescue Guidelines that proposes a special police force under the Nepal Tourism Board to support mountaineering activities in place of agents.

“The guidelines aim to curb fraudulent activities while conducting search and rescue of tourists, especially foreign trekkers and mountaineers visiting high mountain areas,” says Dandu Raj Ghimire, Director General at the Department of Tourism, Nepal.

According to Ghimire, the proposed guidelines will soon come into force after rounds of consultations with all the related stakeholders.

“None of the agents will be allowed to conduct search and rescue of tourists on behalf of international companies,” he adds.

Under the new guidelines:

• A special rescue and search unit under Nepali police will offer 24/7 support in managing necessary resources, along with helicopter services and high-altitude rescues
• The special unit can also invite private helicopter companies to bid for rescue services that they want to offer tourists in high mountains
• The unit holds authority to mobilize police or army choppers in the absence of private helicopters
• The police welfare fund will be instantly utilized to conduct search & rescue, and will be reimbursed once the payment is made by the insurance companies
• A special monitoring committee under the Ministry of Tourism and Ministry of Home Affairs will take care of arrangements from fixing prices to validating documents

“Minister, secretary and representatives from different companies are scheduled to meet to finalize the guidelines,” Ghimire said in a statement.

Ghimire expressed hope the new guidelines will put an end to malpractices such a fake insurance claims concerning tourists visiting Nepal.

Also Read: Nepal Tourism Insurance Scam: Global Insurers Warn, Demand Stern Action

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A recently-released government’s special committee report found that these agencies have reportedly engaged in fraudulent practices such as fake helicopter rescues and hospital treatments in their dealings with foreign tourists.

Report Findings
In its 700-page investigation report submitted to the Tourism Minister Rabindra Adhikari, the government-appointed fact-finding committee reported that these operators have been earning thousands of dollars through illicit practices.

The committee reported that:

• Those operators have reportedly faked insurance companies making multiple claims on a single ride. They took advantage of the existing policies by claiming against tourist insurance policies for fake helicopter rescues forcing trekkers for airlift even for minor illness.
• They have reportedly submitted fake bills showing the need for various medical examinations for simple altitude-related headaches.

“Making false travel insurance sickness claims when you are not ill is fraud, and there are many agencies involved in the illegal business in Nepal,” said a member from the fact-finding committee.

• Lack of helicopter operators’ direct dealing left scope for middle-men or trekking & mountaineering agencies to easily manage rescue operations collecting hefty commissions.
• They have been garnering thousands of dollars from insurance firms by claiming multiple claims for single helicopter rides.
• Many dishonest companies have reportedly served adulterated food to make tourists sick and then moved them for sudden evacuation through fake helicopter services.

“This is a crime, and such operators should be prosecuted by the Home Ministry under organized crime after necessary investigation if anyone lodges a complaint,” the committee noted.

Report Recommendations
In its 700-page report to the government, the committee recommended to handover rescue activities completely to the Nepali Police department to ensure security & safety aspects and control the scope of illicit activities, starting from the next tourist season in September-November period.

“We are concerned by the bogus helicopter rescues and false medical insurance claims. In order to stop such offences, we have decided to entrust all tourist rescue-related tasks to the Nepal Police,” Tourism Secretary Krishna Prasad Devkota said in a statement.

Devkota informed that they are yet to ‘prepare a working guideline related to the rescue operations and implement it from the autumn season’ following the Cabinet’s approval. 

 Committee Proposals:

• As part of proposed measures, Nepali Police should start seeking quotes from helicopter companies and hospitals via open competition in line with the Public Procurement Act. 
• Necessary arrangements have to be made facilitating the reimbursement of medical and helicopter costs in line with clients’ insurance policies.
• Special tourist rescue coordination unit at Tribhuvan International Airport with dedicated tollfree number to address emergency issues during the peak tourist seasons
• Every hospital and clinic should report to the Department of Tourism with all necessary details related to treatment they offer to tourists.
• Tourists planning to trek above 3,000 meters elevations should mandatorily have a tourist guide accompanying them.

The committee’s recommendations were based on a detailed study on similar cases of rescue operations in other parts of the world such as Switzerland, Scotland, Canada and France.

In total, the committee recommended action against five such companies without foreign exchange permits for claiming rescue charges from tourists, six hospitals for collecting heavy fees from tourists for treatment & claims against their insurance policies, and many others involving in tax evasion.

Overall, the committee investigated 36 trekking, travel and rescue agencies, 10 helicopter companies, 6 hospitals considering complaints by tourism entrepreneurs.

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After having set her mark globally as the eight-time climber to Mount Everest in the past, the Guinness Book record holder Lhakpa Sherpa completed her ninth one very recently.

Eight previous successful attempts apart, Sherpa says the recent one was the toughest among all she did so far.

For this rare feat, the tourism community of Nepal honored her with a certification for her contribution to the mountaineering activity in Nepal.
A Dedicated Climber
Beginning with her successful attempt in 2000 without any formal training, Lhakpa Sherpa moved on to make eight successful summits to Mount Everest and made her ninth one very recently on May 16, 2018.

With this, Lhakpa Sherpa broke her own record as the first woman to have made the highest number of summits to the Everest peak.

You will be shocked to know that Sherpa made two of her summits to the Everest peak, one immediately eight months after giving birth to her first child and the other while she was two months pregnant with her second child.

“I have been climbing mountains for women’s empowerment,” she says.

Besides, she has also been a guru during her life and has so far trained many trekking lovers. As on May 16, 2018, she guided a total of 50 trekkers up their journey to the Mount Everest.

An Inspiring Woman

Born in Makalu VDC of Sankhuwasabha (Nepal), the 44-year-old Lhakpa Sherpa lives in the United States with her three children.

Despite her lack of education, Lhakpa Sherpa never looked back in her life, from having begun her employment career at a very young age to balancing her personal as a mother of three kids and finally evolving as a successful climber and a Guinness Book record holder.

Sharing about her childhood, she says she would have loved to be a pilot or a doctor if not her current profession. As a girl in the ethnic Sherpa community, she could not get a chance to go to school. May be in that case, the world would have missed to see a climber in her.

 “If an uneducated woman who is a single mother can climb Everest nine times, any woman can achieve their dreams,” says Sherpa.

It was sixteen years ago that she left her home Nepal to the United States with her three kids (one boy and two girl children) after getting married.

Before she moved to the US, Sherpa and her brothers were working as Everest guides in Nepal where she faced various pushbacks for being a woman.

Sherpa’s passion for hiking mountains travelled all along from her personal life in Nepal to her employment career when she was assisting and carrying supplies for Everest climbers at her young age. She is currently working as a dishwasher with a firm called Whole Foods.

“You would never know she hiked Everest unless you knew her and talked to her about it. She’s the most humble person I know and her work ethic is astounding,” says Dan Furtado, the manager who recruited Lhakpa for Whole Foods.

“You would never know she hiked Everest unless you knew her and talked to her about it. She’s the most humble person I know and her work ethic is astounding,” says Dan Furtado, the manager who recruited Lhakpa to Whole Foods.

“We believe Everest is a god. The Earth and the mother. Mount Everest and I have a connection. I feel it talking when snow blows on the top of the mountain,” she adds.

She also strives to ensure that all her activities should be an inspiration to the women across the world and always wants to show the world that a woman, especially all alone, can do more in life. “We don’t give up. We will not go down after divorce, after hurt. I want to show them. I can do. You too,” she says boldly.

Seems sky is the only limit for her dedication. She says, “People who are 70 years old are still climbing Everest, I am no where there” and is all set for her next trip too again in the coming year.

So far, the record number for successful number of climbs to the Mount Everest was 21 shared by three men from the Sherpa community who worked as mountain guides. While two of them were already retired, Kami Rita become the topper by completing his 22^nd summit very recently.

Joining the way, Lhakpa Sherpa also made her mark in in the woman’s category. “I wanted to show that a woman can do men’s jobs. There is no difference in climbing a mountain. I climb for all women,” says Sherpa.

All the Best Lhakpa Sherpa, the world awaits many more such records from you in future. Keep Reaching ‘Everest’ Heights!

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Undoubtedly, every tourist falls in love with Nepal tourism because of these exciting characteristics among which, trekking is one that the world travelers always keeping exploring for.

There are many enthusing trekking spots in Nepal such as Annapurna Circuit, Mount Everest Base Camp, among others. And, there is one more that contributes to the buzz word ‘Trekking Nepal‘.

Less heard of, but trek-worthy. It’s Indigenous Peoples (IP) Trail!

Touching Indigenous Communities

IP Trail gives you a different experience introducing to you the indigenous communities in the remote areas of Ramechhap District, Nepal and their unique culture.

A 7-8-day trek through this culturally-diverse tourism spot takes you through tiny villages, traditional local communities, amazing foods cooked on fire and a mind-blowing scenery.

The Trail gives you an unseen experience about the culture and lifestyle of around 21 different indigenous ethnic communities of Nepal such as Sherpa, Newar, Yolmo, Thami, Majhi and Tamang, among others, and ages-old religious structures belonging to the country’s predominant religions Hinduism and Buddhism.

Stays during this trip are something special! Bringing you close to nature, the stay homes here reflect simple, traditional village atmosphere, in contrast to those in regular commercial tourism centers.

Hospitality is one interesting thing as a positive note on this trail. Host families at the stay homes provide you fully- hygienic food and give you a homely feeling.

Enjoyment has no limits here! Dressed in colorful traditional attire, the locales take you through the interesting traditional folk music and dance performances by both men and women.

IP Trail Circuit: Kathmandu>Mudhe> Deurali > Dhunge> Kholakharka> Rahjbir Monastery> Surkey> Deurali> Doramba> Galpa> Khandadevi> Galpa> Dongme> Lubughat> Nepalthok> Kathmandu

In short, though the trek journey of IP Trail actually begins at Dhunge, one has start it from Mudhe as there is no direct transport to Dhunge. One needs to cover an approximate 91-km trek and 200-km journey to entirely complete the IP Trail Circuit.

Authentic and enriched culture is the unique feature of this amazing trip!

Iconic Geography

Indigenous Peoples Trail in Nepal is a trekking spot that exists as low as 3000 metres and lies in the Mahabharata range, 100 km east of Kathmandu.

Surrounded by Thulo Sailung in the North, the golden Sun Koshi River in the South and the Tama Koshi peak in the East, the trail presents to you a breath-taking Himalayan view from Dhaulagiri and Annapurna in the West to Numbur Chuli and the world’s third highest peak Kangchenjunga in the East.

Though possible through-out the year, one can have a pleasant experience with a travel in October-December season.

The trail was actually created in 2011 and was developed jointly by the Nepal Tourism Board and the United Nations as part of efforts to promote domestic tourism in Ramechhap District.

It is also the result of the efforts by Ramechhap Local Economic Development (LED) Forum and UN’s International Labor Organization (ILO) to promote untouched non-commercial trekking spots outside the well-established regions and enhance access to them while also supporting the deprived communities living in such regions.

However, the trek witnessed a major blow through the April 2015 earthquake which created a devastating impact on the District’s local stay homes and community halls which once served as major tourist destinations, thus finally impacting the potential of IP Trail.

Now that Nepal is fast growing in terms of development with with a major focus on tourism, the IP Trail will hopefully see its full potential in the years ahead.

All the best the Indigenous Peoples Trail, a trekking journey that’s a combination of culture and diversity.

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Often described as a PhD in mountaineering, the course run by the Swiss-based International Federation of Mountain Guides (IFMG) has so far been awarded to 6000 people across the globe and to just 50 Nepali men.

Dawa completed the course in January 2018.

Belonging to the Sherpa ethnic group famed for mountain guiding, Dawa had no doubts about her choice of profession right from the beginning. “I knew what I wanted to do. My passion was to be outdoors, to climb. And my family did not discourage me,” says Sherpa.

Expeditions to Everest and Other Peaks

Dawa scaled her first mountain, Nepal’s 5,500-meter Yala Peak, at the age of 17.

After that, she has never looked back. Subsequently, she became part of various successful expeditions to the summits of other mountains before climbing the world’s highest peak Mount Everest in 2012.

Upon her return from the Everest expedition, Dawa registered to become a certified mountain guide. She then scaled one of the world’s toughest climbs, the K2 peak in Pakistan, as part of the first Nepali women’s team in 2014.

Dawa’s attempt to climb the Kangchenjunga, the world’s third highest peak, was curtailed by inclement weather in 2017.

Future Plans

The 27-year-old Dawa is looking forward to guiding an expedition to Denali, North America’s highest peak, in June 2018. She will also continue her work as an instructor at a couple of climbing schools in Nepal.

“She was already moving forward to become one of the top women mountaineers not just in Nepal but in the world, but this certificate will open many new opportunities for her,” says Sunar Bahadur Gurung, President of the Nepal National Mountain Guides Association.

Dawa Yangzum Sherpa’s success is undoubtedly an inspiration to all other girls and the entire women community of Nepal and the world in making their dreams come true and progress in life.

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This rule applies even to the world-famous Mount Everest, the ambitious trekking journey for any mountaineer across the world.

The ban also covers strict measures to the double amputees and blind climbers planning their trip to Mount Everest.

The new rule demands a written doctor certificate from the trekkers with disabilities to trek the world’s highest Everest peak.

Besides safety, the new rule is also expected to create employment opportunities to the Nepali communities like Sherpas as travel guides, among others.

Sar far, more than 200 mountaineers have died on Everest in the past century. 

Other Key Announcements

In another announcement, the Government of Nepal said the mountaineering expedition teams will have to pay more amount as life insurance coverage of its liaison officers to attempt to climb Nepal’s mountains including Mt Everest, starting this year.

The newly-revised regulation mandates rise in insurance cover for the liaison officers from Rs 600,000 (USD 6,000) to Rs 1.5 million (USD 15,000).

“The mountaineering expedition team shall make medical insurance, in amount of not less than Rs 400,000 (USD 4,000) for the peaks above 6,500 m and Rs 300,000 (USD 3,000) for other peaks below 6,500 m, of the liaison officer, headman, mountain guide, high altitude worker, base camp worker and local worker for their minor injuries in an accident,” read an official release.

The new provision also says ‘no’ to use of helicopter, aircraft and balloon for summitting a peak. This move is coming after a move by a Chinese climber Wang Jing who used helicopter to bypass the Khumbu Icefall to reach Camp II of Mount Everest in 2014.

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The Academy, under the Tribhuvan University (TU) Nepal, is the first such college in the world offering academic course in mountaineering.

The college has been offering Bachelors in Mountaineering course since it received accreditation from TU on February 7, 2017 and is currently planning to offer post graduate course in Masters of Adventure Tourism soon.

The college, that has been running its classes at Satdobato, is now moving to Solukhumbu, where the instituted has a well-built infrastructure of international standards.

According to TU administrators, the institute has potential to attract foreign students as well and can offer highly-skilled training courses that can contribute to the development of mountain tourism in the country.

“An academic course in mountaineering and other adventure sports was inevitable in the country. We have now established a college that will not only produce human resources for mountain tourism but also convert the whole mountain range into economic powerhouse of the country,” says Educationalist and the academic adviser of the college Ramesh Raj Kunwar.

According to Ridish Kumar Pokharel, Executive Director at the Office of the Planning Directorate (TU), the academy will offer a sound knowledge on the mountaineering and other adventure sports.

Students will have to climb 6,000-7,000 meter tall mountains as part of their assignment in the final semester of the course.

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