KATHMANDU, Aug 3: Hotels in the Annapurna region are set to resume operation from August 18, according to Trekking Agencies’ Association of Nepal (TAAN).
With the absence of sufficient hotels, trekkers had to use makeshift accommodation made up of bamboo and had to share rooms amongst fellow trekkers. Trekkers had to pass the trail without the facilities hotels were providing in the past when they were in operation.
“Most of the hotels along with the trails were buried under snow,” said Khum Bahadur Subedi, senior vice president at TAAN. “Trekkers mostly used Machhapuchhre Base Camp for accommodation during the shutdown of hotels in Annapurna region,” he added. The reconstruction of damaged hotels has been completed, and the trails are clear when the snow starts melting. The hotels along the region were damaged due to the heavy snowfall in February and had remained shut till date.
Annapurna base camp hotels to be reopened from mid-September
Nava Raj Dahal, president of TAAN, said that monsoon rains, floods and landslides had affected the number of trekkers in the region. “The season has started and the resumption of hotels along with the commencement of the season is a very good thing,” he said, adding, “The damaged hotels were under construction and the news that it will resume just on time can be taken on a positive note.”
Dahal said that the completion of reconstruction will facilitate trekkers who visit the place after September.
According to Subedi, TAAN circulated the message about the resumption of hotels in the area amongst the member trekking companies after consulting with Annapurna Conservation Area Project (ACAP), Pokhara.
The member trekking companies of TAAN have been guiding trekkers to the route all along. “Despite the lack of hotels in the region the cost remained unaffected,” said Yam Bahadur Pant, managing director at a trekking company, A-One Nepal Trek Pvt Ltd, “The average cost for food and accommodations per day in the region is Rs 1,500 for Nepalis both before and after the close down of hotels.”
The trekking companies maintain that they pre-inform trekkers about the situation in the base camp. According to them, trekkers move from the city to the destination, prepared for the circumstances they might face in the base camp.
“An average of 500 trekkers trek through the base camp on daily basis,” Pant told Republica, adding, “Though the hotels have been either destroyed or damaged by the snowfall, there are sharing rooms and temporary rooms for the trekkers. Knowing the situation, trekkers accommodate
accordingly.”
Annapurna Base Camp (ABC) is considered the most visited and popular trekking trail of Nepal. The Annapurna region is one of the famous adventurous trekking destinations in the world.
