A Very Different Take on Nepal

Travel Blog  •  Jim Benning  •  01.20.11 | 12:29 PM ET

Writes Andrew Hyde:

A deep depression hit me about an hour into my visit to Nepal and lasted for the first two weeks. Nepal, as a travel destination, is nothing short of raved about. “The Himalayan Mountains are majestic and the people are the nicest in the world!” was a common travel tidbit I heard. What I found was a developing nation with deep problems becoming worse by the month with tourism hastening the poisoning of the well. The pollution is the worst I have ever seen. Air, land, sound and water, nothing is spared the careless trash.

(Via Kottke)



4 Comments for A Very Different Take on Nepal

Ram Mahrjan 01.26.11 | 2:26 AM ET

It has a list of all the travel operators in Nepal. It consists total information about travelling to nepal and also the directory of travel agencies in nepal. It features list of trekking, expedition, operators.

zadu 02.01.11 | 5:14 AM ET

A very different take on Nepal … ? I don’t think so. There were already problems with trash management 20 years ago. The road from Pokhara via Sarangkot began in the early 90’s, destroying some picturesque hamlets just above the lake. This is not a new topic; it’s been written about and mulled over for more than 30 years. Sure, certain people around the circuit (Manangi’s in particular) have become really affluent and are quite hardcore business savants. Hash (or bullshit) has always been a commodity and there were schoolgirls selling dope in 1990. And the pahari (hillmen) of Indian & Nepal have little regard for refuse collection. The forest around Pokhara and the Annarpurna circuit has diminished, but this is a tea-house trek, not a wilderness experience. (You don’t go to Mexico and expect to see Disneyland.) Over the last 10 years Nepali people have suffered under the Mawadi (Maoists) and attitudes have hardened in major places. Still, it’s wonderful and with a little imagination there are numerous side treks. Venture over to the little known, Garnesh himal, with precarious trails and dhal-bhat+rakshi (rice, lentils& gut rot) for dinner every night, but then you would have to carry a big pack. This magazine is American, the writers are predominantly American, with American views, I think Asia is far more interesting – Jai mata-jii

Party Bus DC 02.08.11 | 1:56 AM ET

I agree with Zadu, If you stay in Nepal for couple of months or so, you will definitely know the reason why all this has happened! Its all because of the political instablility. And I read that “The pollution is the worst I have ever seen. Air, land, sound and water, nothing is spared the careless trash.” Well, if you see the millions inhabited Kathmandu, then I agree, but what about the 15000 Villages and 74 other districts of Nepal? Have you been out of kathmandu or what? Visit decentralized places such as Palpa, Dolakha, Pokhara, Poon Hill and Many places like that and u’ll know about the majestic beauty of Nepal!

vakantievilla spanje 02.28.11 | 1:36 AM ET

Is it really friends….??? I am asking this because i have never been to Nepal but from my colleagues who have visited ot last year told me that it is a fantastic destination to enjoy the vacations…I too read and see many pics of Nepal but never heard about this trash management problem….

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