"After the local road tracks in the villages started affecting the earlier trekking route badly, we had to think about the new route. Tourists cannot trek peacefully in the old one due to the dust," said Bidur Kuinkel, ACAP Chief. "Annapurna range and particularly this circuit are quite popular among tourists from all over the world. The deteriorating condition of the trekking route gave out negative message and so it was important to have an optional pristine route for trekkers," he added.
In the last few years, new road tracks are being opened in remote villages as part of various development projects. However, in lack of proper engineering and supervision, those tracks have failed to sustain well. Reports warn that such roads have affected the environment and have triggered landslides in several places. Similarly, as they are hardly blacktopped, dust is the common problem in and around such routes. Several such road tracks have been lately opened in Mustang as well affecting the Annapurna circuit. Kuinkel said that dust in the circuit is so thick that the trekkers get covered by dust from head to toe just few minutes after setting off for the journey.
The new route goes around Muktinath - Ranipauwa - Lupra - Thini - Chhairo - Chimang - Chokhopani - Kokhethati - Titi lake - Takula - Jhipra Deurali to Thapla of Myagdi. It normally takes around 7 days for a trekker to complete the 50 kilometer long route. Earlier route for the Annanpurna circuit was through Muktinath - Kagbani - Jomsom - Marpha - Tukuche and Ghasa to Thapla.
After the issue of the dust seriously affected the trekkers, a group of experts including foreigners were deployed by ACAP in search of optional trekking route. While the old trekking route would get along Dhaulagiri side, the new one falls on the side of the Annapurna Mountain. The newly opened route has red, white and blue signs for trekkers, established with financial assistance from a German tourist.
Som Thapa, member of Pokhara, Trekking Agencies Association - Nepal (TAAN) stated that it was very essential to get the new route as the old one had become useless for the tourists due to the excess dust. "The tourists come here to enjoy natural beauty. That's for what trekking is chosen. But when everything is clouded with dust, the trek looses its meaning," he said. "That's why we all had figure out a new trekking route that provided tourists abundant opportunities to explore Nepal's natural beauty," he said.
Chief of Mustang, ACAP Santosh Sherchan added that Mustang and Annapurna range attracts huge number of tourists from the USA, United Kingdom and Korea, among several other countries. "Biodiversity and cultural and historical studies, apart from the thrill of the trekking bring the tourists here," he said.
"New route will boost flow of tourists to this region and encourage the entire tourism sector. This new route will also assist in extending the stay of," added a trekking guide Manoj Shrepa.
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