Published On: December 22, 2018 11:29 AM NPT By: Rohit Rai

Danda Bazar and Dhwaje Danda await tourists

Danda Bazar and Dhwaje Danda await tourists

DHARAN, Dec 22: Despite being blessed with breathtaking places to allure tourists, only a few have chosen Danda Bazar as their holiday destination. This small town is located at Sagurigadi Rural Municipality.

Locals and tourism activists lament that the beauty and attraction of the place have not been able to lure tourists citing the lack of proper promotion. Danda Bazar was an independent rural municipality in past. Now, it has been included in Sagurigadi Rural Municipality. Bhedetar, Namje, Okhare and Namaste Falls are the popular tourist destinations in this Rural Municipality. These places witness high inflow of tourists. However, few people visit Danda Bazar.  

Trilochan Ghimire, chairperson of Tourism Development Committee of Danda Bazar said the place has been overshadowed due to lack of tourism promotion—despite having a high potential as tourism destination. “With the initiation of locals, homestay facility has also been introduced in this place. However, the influx of the tourist is unexciting, because of insufficient promotion,” said chairperson Ghimire. He further added, “The rural municipality also neither allocates budget nor provides tourism activities for the promotion of the place.  We are ready to welcome tourist, but the arrival of tourist is not quite good.”

Main attraction in Danda Bazar
Danda Bazar is nestled about 13 kilometers east of the famous tourist destination—Bhedetar.  Visitors can enjoy the breathtaking view of sunrise and sunset from Kailash Danda and Dhwaje Danda. Danda Bazar is at the height of 6,000 ft and Kailash Danda is 7,000 ft above sea level respectively.  Besides sunrise, the tourists also can savor scenic views mountains in eastern Nepal and Terai plains. 

According to the elderly locals, the ‘Lepcha’ tribe used to offer ‘Dhwajapat’ in hills while worshipping. This is how the place got its name: Dhwaje Danda.  Lepchatar is another tourist hub in Danda Bazar.  According to locals, this place is named after the Lepcha tribe living in this place. 

The visitors get a clearer and a majestic view of the mountain ranges that include Kanchenjunga, Kumbhakarna, and Makalu. The Department of Tourism, Jhapa has constructed a view tower in Dhwaje Danda. Kirati tribes have installed Manghim (Kirat Temple) on top of the hill, helping to foster religious tourism. 

“We have planned to provide a package for tourists. It includes the view of sunset in evening, homestay facility and sunrise in evening,” said Krishna Blon, former chairperson of tourism committee and a rural tourism activist. “Tourists are pleased to see the eye-catching view of hills, mountains and Terai. They can also witness the culture of Lepcha in Lepchatar”, he added. 

Master Plan for Tourism Development  
According to the chairperson of Sangurigadhi Rural Municipality, Kumarjung Yakha, the Municipality are preparing a major plan for the growth of tourism in the Rural Municipality.  Yakha said the province and Rural Municipality are investing on tourism sector after preparing the master plan. “There is a high possibility of tourism in Danda Bazar and we are making plans for fostering tourism in this place. We shall allocate the budget only after the completion of the master plan,’’ said Yakha. He further added, “We are only focused on the development of basic infrastructures for now.”

Palak Bahadur Basnet, chairperson of ward 5 added that they are set to construct a Janajati (indigenous) park in Kailash Danda which will be an additional attraction in the place. “Roads will also be extended up to Dhwaje Danda. Currently, the major problem is the availability of drinking water.  If the province and central government provides water supply project, it will add on the development of tourism and agriculture sectors,” according to Basnet. 




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