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Peace Brings Much Hope To Junbensi Tourism

Sunday - 29th April 2007

The tourism business of the beautiful valley of Junbensi s steadily reviving following the end of the decade-long political instability coupled with internal conflict. Local tourism entrepreneurs are quite optimistic that the tourism industry, which is the mainstay of local economy, will continue to grow in the days ahead.

"More trekkers have come to this area. I think, this area has attracted the highest number of visitors this spring in the last 10 years," says Mingma Doma Sherpa, the owner of J.B. Lodge.

She is hopeful that more tourists will visit the area in the upcoming autumn. "Junbensi and other tourist areas in the district are now as safe as they were before the internal conflict," she says.

Situated at an elevation of about 2,700 metres above sea level, Junbensi is on the popular Jiri-Everest Trail. Until some years ago, Junbensi was an important route to the Khumbu Region. Several thousand trekkers and many expedition teams used to pass through this scenic valley. But the number of trekkers passing through this route declined due to the Maoist insurgency.

Junbensi is in the Beni Village Development Committee (VDC), which lies to southwestern part of the Solukhumbu district. Lying on the banks of the Solu River, the clean Sherpa settlement is surrounded by attractive hills with green alpine forests. Tourists are attracted to this valley because of its spectacular landscape, cultural richness, hospitable Sherpa people and the Buddhist monasteries.

With about 50 households, the typical Sherpa village of Junbensi has more than a dozen of tourist standard hotels and lodges. The family-run lodges of the village can accommodate more than 250 tourists per night. The lodges have also modern facilities such as hot showers. Although the area is remote, visitors can get a variety of food items ranging from local apple pie, apple alcohol to fresh organic vegetables.

Ngima Dawa Lama, owner of local Sagarmatha Lodge, says that lodge business has started to show signs of recovery this spring. "With the start of peace process, tourism business of this area is picking up," he said.

He also believes that the area will see more tourists in future.

With the growth in the number of trekkers at Junbensi, their stay has also started to lengthen. According to lodge owners, trekkers' stay there ranges from one to seven nights.

Phurba Zangbu Lama, a teacher of local Junbensi Secondary School, says that visitors visiting Junbensi mostly visit the Thuptenchholing monastery, Dudhkunda, Pikey Peak, Takshindo, Phaplu and other nearby areas. The school was constructed with the financial and technical assistance of the Himalaya Trust, which was founded by world-famous mountaineer Sir Edmund Hillary.

The Dumji festival of the Sherpa community is another attraction at Junbensi. Normally, the festival falls in the month of April. The festival is celebrated in the premises of the Junbensi monastery.
As one of the biggest monasteries in Nepal, the Thuptenchholing monastery is home to about 550 Buddhist monks and nuns.

Hit hard by the internal conflict, some of the lodges were not in operation in the past due to low flow of tourists. Some of the local entrepreneurs and trekking guides migrated to Kathmandu and other areas in search of job opportunities.

Junbensi also falls on the Pikey-Dudhkunda trail. The trail, which has been developed and promoted by the Tourism for Rural Poverty Alleviation Programme (TRPAP), in association with various stakeholders, explores rich cultural and natural heritage of the lower part of the district. The trail begins from Phaplu and passes Salleri, the district headquarters, several villages, alpine forests, the 4065-metre Pikey Peak, famous Thuptenchholing monastery, Sangeephuk and Dhudhkunda (4,560m). From the top of Pikey Peak, one can have a breathtaking view of most of the eastern and central Himalayan peaks such as Mt. Everest, Mt. Makalu, Mt. Kanchenjunga, Mt. Annapurna, Mt. Gaurishankar, Mt. Lhotse, Mt. Ama Dablam, Mt. Shishapangma, Mera Peak and Mt. Thamserku.

Dudhkunda is a holy mountain lake on the lap of Mt. Numbur (6,956m). The trek to this area can also be combined with unique cultural experience of the Khaling Rais and the Sherpas. Dense rhododendron forests and a myriad of wildlife are found on the trail.

Although Junbensi has been a major tourist spot for years, the efforts of TRPAP have really brought about some tangible changes in tourism services and facilities of the area. It has not only created awareness about tourism, environment, health and hygiene among the local people but also conducted various training programmes like handicraft production, cooking and hospitality. The pilot programme has also developed some physical infrastructures such as improvement of trekking trails and mobilisation of local people for the protection and promotion of their culture.

Junbensi has now a Tourist Information Centre that provides tourists with necessary information about various tourist spots and trails in the district. The centre is a joint project of the Solukhumbu DDC, TRPAP, Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) and local organizations. A committee has been formed at local level to operate the centre in a sustainable manner. The centre is expected to be instrumental in diversifying tourism to the southern belt of the district and help develop Junbensi as a trekker's hub. The inflow of tourists into the upper part of the district is very high, but the areas in southern and eastern parts have yet to gain due benefits from tourism.

Meanwhile, an updated tourist map, which includes the Everest Trail, Pikey-Dudhkunda Cultural Trail and other trekking routes of the district, is now available in the market. The map could be useful to trekking agencies as well as trekkers.


Source Gorkhapatra