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Dhulikhel is the smallest
municipality of Nepal in terms of
population. It is situated only 30
km east of Kathmandu, the capital
city of Nepal on the Arniko Highway
at an elevation of 1,550 metre above
the mean sea level and along the
ridge that seperates the valley of
Banepa and Paanchkhal. According to
census of 1991, there were 9,664
population living in 1,616
households on an area of
approximately 1,087 hactres. The
projected population of Dhulikhel
for the year 2000 is about 11,000.
How
to Reach ?
It takes about forty five minutes to
reach Dhulikhel in a taxi or private
car, or two-and-a-half to three
hours by bicycle from Kathmandu. On
the way, one can enjoy the spectrum
of Nepalese landscape from lush
green rice fields to the women
washing clothes and winnowing
grains, children carrying water in
clay jugs or playing lively games.
Dhulikhel: The Gateway to Tibet
Dhulikhel has for many centuries
been an important trading centre on
the ancient commercial route linking
Nepal to Tibet. Since time
immemorial, people of Nepal travel
to Tibet to bring home salt and
gold. Likewise, the Tibetans every
year with their flocks of sheep
enter into Nepal during Dashain, the
greatest Hindu festival. They
purchased chilies and other daily
necessities in Nepal and return to
their homeland. In those days, a
whole day walk from Kathmandu to
Dhulikhel was comfortable for Tibet
trippers with easily available of
food and water at Dhulikhel at the
evening for overnight stay. Even
now, a bird's eye view from the
resorts at Dhulikhel to the
landscapes; highway to Tibet and
horizons far to the Tibetan borders,
clearly exhibits Dhulikhel as the
gateway of Tibet. After adjoining
with Tibet by motorable road in
1965, Dhulikhel got a face lift and
developed as a tourist destination
both for Tibet trippers and
tourists. Many travel agents operate
tours to Tibet. And of course,
Dhulikhel is an ideal station to
stop for overnight stay while going
to Tibet and coming back to
Kathmandu.
The
Mountains - A Tourist Paradise
The spectacular snowfed mountains
seen from Dhuklikhel must be one of
the finest panoramic views in the
world. When a blue haze covers the
lower portion of the mountains, they
seem to be floating in the air. With
the snowy mountains on the backdrop,
Dhulikhel is a stage of immense
beauty and a paradise for nature
lovers. Green inviting hills of
which still virgin and some turned
into beautifully carved agricultural
terraces cater to the beholders'
pleasure. Geographically, the plains
rise up gradually up to the green
mountains and further into the snow
capped Himalayas. The panorama
offers a majestic undisturbed views
of the Himalayan ranges stretching
from Mount Annapurna in the far west
to Mount Karolung in the far east.
More than twenty Himalayan peaks
including Mt. Annapurna (8091) m),
Mt. Ganesh Himal (7429 m), Mt.
Langtang (7234 m), Mt.
Phuribichyachu (6637 m), Mt.
Gaurishanker (7134 m), Mt. Lhotse
(2516 m) and many others can be seen
in their full glory from the
different vantage points in
Dhulikhel. In short, it is the
foremost point for the
mountain-oriented sight seeing since
time immemorial. The eco-himalayan
atmosphere will surprise any one an
unforgettable experience in
lifetime.
Dhulikhel is an exotic place to
magnify a dramatic and beautiful
changing color of the mountain range
from gray to silver and to gold with
the rising of the sun. Both sunrise
and sunset views are really
breathtaking and sensational.
To enjoy the best mountain views,
one should get up at dawn and watch
the changing light as the sun
reaches the southern side of the
mountains. Many people walk up to
the Kali Temple (half an hour from
the town) where one can see a
breathtaking view of snow-fed peaks
from Annapurna to the Everest range.
But one can also enjoy this view
nearly as much in the comfort of
many hotel roof-tops and terraces.
The
Old Town
The oldest area of the town, the
southern end, is an assembly of fine
old Newari houses, often occupied by
20 or more members of the local
extended families. They may not all
have glazed windows, hot water or
modern furniture, but they have
dignity and a friendly atmosphere.
Their most valuable assets are the
beautifully carved windows and
doors, fine examples of traditional
Newari craftsmanship.
As one wanders down the traffic free
narrow streets, one passes through a
medieval city inhabited for at least
five centuries and may have a
feeling that he is in the garden of
cultural theme park. The plan of the
city is based on ancient Hindu
planning doctrine with the position,
shape, scale & dominance between
buildings, temples, public squares
all having their own meaning and
harmony. The artistic skill and
urban ethos of its Newar inhabitants
have created a place of charm and
beauty. Here, people greet the
visitors, with smiles and a
leisurely pace of life. The cobbled
lane and worn brick buildings, and
the open yards surrounded by the
traditional houses with flower pots,
old pagoda-style temples with
glittering gajurs and a typical
mountain lifestyle of the people
speak silently of the rich history
and the cultural heritage of the
people. This all creates an aura,
which is unique, but at the same
time blends so well into what is
often described as Nepali Style.
There are organically developed
compact settlements around Dhulikhel.
These settlements in one hand
conserved heat in the cold valley,
and at the same time maximized land
for agricultural use. One of such
old settlements is Shrikhandapur,
which lies 2 kms west of the core
city near the Kathmandu University,
and is also a centuries old Newari
settlement. The settlement is
protected by Swet Bhairav (an
incarnation of Lord Shiva) and
Narayan (Vishnu) deties.
Temples
There are numerious temples in the
town depicting an example of
traditional and old Newari
craftsmanship of Dhulikhel. These
are important places of worship for
local people. The core area of
Dhulikhel has interesting narrow
cobbled streets and lanes embedded
with number of Hindu Shrines and a
few Buddhist Stupa.
In the
centre of the old town is the
Narayan Temple with its yellow metal
roofs. It is dedicated to Lord
Krishna whose birthday is joyfully
celebrated here in August. Alongside
is the Harisiddhi Temple whose God
responds to the worshippers'
problems and sees their good and
wrong doings. Both the temples are
adorned with profuese wood carvings
and fronted by two Garudas in quite
different attitude. Bhagwati Temple
situated at the top of the western
part of the town is considered as
one of the best place to see around
Dhulikhel and also to enjoy the best
mountain views. The Gaukhureshwor
Mahadev Temple is about 20 minutes
walk to the east of the town near
Tundikhel Recreation Park and is
located in a peaceful and quite
environment. It is probably the most
scenic religious centre, beside a
small river surrounded by trees.
Further up hill, one reaches, within
half an hour trek, the Bhagwati
(Kali) Temple. This is a beautiful
pagoda that one can see on the
skyline as one drives into Dhulikhel.
One can get a bird's eye view of
Dhulikhel town and other surrounding
areas from this height. This is one
of the best sites around Dhulikhel
for viewing snow-fed peaks from Mt.
Annapurna to Mt. Everest range,
sunrise, sunset and the ever
changing play of light on the sky
and hills in a fine twilight show.
While going to Bhagwati (Kali)
Temple, again about 100m from the
Tundikhel Recreation Park lies
'Buddha Vihar', a Buddhist Monastery
amid lush green 'Dipendra Greenery
Park', where cool breeze whispers an
ambience of eternal peace and
tranquility. About 9 kms from
Dhulikhel on the way to Palanchowk
Bhagwati lies a holy temple of 'Sankat
Mochan Hanuman', the Monkey God,
which represents symbol of courage &
strength practiced through true
celibacy.
WHY DHULIKHEL A HUB FOR
ECOTOURISM ?
What is Ecotourism and Why
Ecotourism ?
According to World Tourism
Organisation (WTO, 1989), tourism
has been the world's third largest
industry after oil and vehicle
production that contributes about
12% of the global GNP. Nepal is one
of the best touristic destination in
the world because of its
geographical diversity, unparalled
natural beauty, enormous biological
resources, distinct cultural
heritage, live culture, religious
diversity, splendid hospitalities
etc. and tourism is the main source
of foreign currency earning. The
rich natural and man-made heritage
have made our country an unique
tourist spot for the foreigners. Our
image as the country of Mt. Everest,
the birthplace of Lord Buddha and
the country of Hindu Kingdom has
rendered as a distinct competitive
edge in tourism industry. Although
tourism in Nepal started developing
towards 70s, the economic impact of
it have been found to be
concentrated in only few
destinations and the benefits from
the tourism to the local people in
term of income generation and
employment opportunities have been
received only in few mountainous
areas. Further, due to the lack of
well planned tourism development, it
has not only destroyed the
environment but also the local
culture, historical art and music,
which are essential to the
communities' ambience.
"Tourism in Nepal has created three
different environmental problems,
first overcrowding of campsites and
littering along trekking trails,
thereby resulting in sanitation
problems, second increased
consumption of firewood by trekker
and lodge owner thereby accelerating
regional deforestation and thirdly
the erosion of indigenous
socio-cultural structures and
tradition" (A Legislative and
Environmental Framework for
Environmental Management in Nepal,
IUCN, Nepal).
Without
the development of comprehensive
program for the regulation of the
tourism, Nepal may loose some of its
very scenic and other attractive
environmental qualities, which are
the essence of its appeal as a
popular tourist destination.
Now,
the global travel and tourism
industry is becoming increasingly
influenced by the need to protect
the environment and social-cultural
values. The western world is
conscious about the ecology and
environment. Green marketing concept
is working very effectively. Thus,
the environmental and socio-cultural
concerns in recent years have given
rise to the concept of
"Eco-tourism", which is believed to
be coined by Hector
Ceballos-Lascurian in 1983, who
defined ecotourism as:
"Tourism that involves traveling to
relatively undisturbed natural areas
with the objective of admiring,
studying and enjoying the scenery
and its wild plants and animals, as
well as any cultural features found
there".
According to the Ecotourism Society,
1991, ecotourism is a nature based
travel defined as "the responsible
travel to natural areas that
conserves the environment and
sustains the well being of local
people".
Wood (1980) described it as
"purposeful travel to natural areas
to understand the culture and
natural history of the environment,
taking care not to alter the
integrity of the ecosystem while
producing economic opportunities
that make the conservation of
natural resources financially
beneficial to local citizens".
Boo (1991), explains that ecotourism
should be participatory and
nature-oriented and stresses the
importance of maximizing the local
benefits. The second line of thought
is that ecotourism should be
entirely ecologically responsible,
leaving no impact on the ecosystem
it accesses (Zell, 1991).
"The approach will be in accordance
with the principle that the local
population must be made custodians
of their own environment" (Sherpa
et. al. 1989)
From the above said, it is very
clear that if tourism is to be
sustainable and natural and cultural
environments are to be conserved,
tourism management needs to be
integrated with community
development and benefit the local
inhabitants themselves and this can
be achieved only through ecotourism.
Some definitions and
characterizations of ecotourism are
as follows:
" Ecotourism is a subset of Nature
tourism in which conservation and
tourist interests work together to
preserve environmental quality while
mutually protecting tourism
" Ecotourism is purposely focused on
enhancing and maintaining natural
systems through tourism. It is a
contemporary strategy that is vital
to the maintenance of healthy
ecosystems.
" Currently the term ecotourism is
apt to be used as a catchhall
applied indiscriminately to almost
anything that links tourism and
nature.
" Ecotourism, narrowly defined, is a
nature-oriented tour program based
on Nature and Archaeological
resources. In a broader sense, it
would include indigenous or local
culture as a natural resource
" Ecotourism, a new tourism strategy
that balances development and
economic gains, is seen as a new
force that can benefit both nature
and developing destinations.
Since recent past, it is because of
the increasing concern of the people
about environmental and
socio-cultural damages, eco-tourism
has become popular to minimize the
negative impact of tourism. This
fact has been realised by His
Majesty's Government of Nepal and
Ministry of Tourism and National
Planning Commission have also
emphasized on the promotion of
eco-tourism in Nepal. Among others,
the following are the benefits to be
received from the ecotourism:
" Ecotourism consists of nature and
village tourism. 90% of the people
of Nepal live in the villages.
Hence, villagers are the backbone of
Nepal. Without development of
villages and village resources, the
national development is not
possible. Village tourism will
assist to develop villages through
tourist trade and business. It will
provide employment opportunities,
generate income for rural people
including to poor and disadvantaged
group and uplift quality of life
thus helping in national tourism
development and poverty alleviation
program of the government
" The revenue generated through
tourism activities will assist in
conservation of biodiversity and
natural environment, which is the
key objectives of ecotourism.
" Ecotourism will help to minimize
conflicts between hosts and guests
and tourism quality will improve and
will have contribution in foreign
currency earnings even in rural
areas.
" Women are more related to the
natural environment than men as they
are the principal users of the
firewood, fodder and other natural
products. In this context, the
involvement of women in promotion of
ecotourism is must, which means lots
of women will also get employment
opportunities and generate income
" Ecotourism will help to establish
several indigenous industries, cash
crop farming, milk production etc.,
which will again generate additional
income for the local people.
Why in Dhulikhel ?
The first destination of most of the
tourists visiting Nepal is the
capital city of Kathmandu and whole
of the Kathmandu valley is becoming
more and more overcrowded and
polluted. The valley is converting
into a chaotic "Concrete Jungle".
Hence, there is a growing need to
develop a touristic destination in a
nearly pollution free environment to
diversify the centralised stay of
the tourists in Kathmandu valley.
Nagarkot, Kakani and Dhulikhel could
be such nearest touristic
destinations. Out of these three
destinations. Dhulikhel is the most
idyllic hill destination because of
its locational advantage and natural
gift. Besides, it is a medieval city
full of ancient heritage and rich
traditional socio-cultural millieu,
which both Nagarkot and Kakani lack
and also the industries that
Dhulikhel is seeking are tourism
related.
Dhulikhel already has about 24
hotels and resorts, and visitors can
find accommodation ranging from the
budget class to luxury
lodges/resorts. These resorts have
hospitable staff, lovely gardens
with peaceful and pleasant
environment, neat and clean rooms
with attached bath running hot and
cold water, STD, ISTD, money
exchange facilities and mailing
services. They serve popular menus -
Continental, Chinese, Indian and
exquisite Nepalese cuisine. They
also have conference halls for
seminar, training sessions,
workshops and meetings. But,
tourists in Dhulikhel come through
the personal contacts of the
individual resort promoters. There
is a cut-throat competition and
there is no joint efforts of the
hoteliers for introducing an
efficient marketing strategy to
promote Dhulikhel as one of the best
touristic destination. Because of
this lack, Dhulikhel has not gained
due recognition and popularity among
the local and foreign travel agents
and they are selling other
destinations like Pokhara and
Nagarkot.
Further, except few short treks,
walking through old city and
watching mountains, there are no
such recreational activities/programmes
run by hoteliers, which attracts
tourists more and prolong their
numbers of days of stay. Hence,
until and unless the Dhulikhel Dream
Land Project (discussed in separate
Article in this Souvenir) is not
realized and the Ecotourism (Nature
and Village Tourism) is not
introduced in Dhulikhel, the desire
to make Dhulikhel an idyllic
touristic hill destination will
remain only in dreams.
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