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Business News/ News / World/  Nepal bans solo trekking from 1 April. Check latest mandates here
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Nepal bans solo trekking from 1 April. Check latest mandates here

According to the Nepal government travelers who hope to trek in remote regions must hire a government-licensed guide or join a group.

(Representative image) In addition to the challenges caused when hikers go missing in rural areas, unlicensed tour guides and companies are also an issuePremium
(Representative image) In addition to the challenges caused when hikers go missing in rural areas, unlicensed tour guides and companies are also an issue

Nepal government has now imposed a ban on solo trekking throughout the country, five years after banning the same on Mount Everest. The mountainous witnesses a huge influx of mountain loving travellers who hike on the beautiful Himalayan peaks. 

The Nepal Tourism Board (NTB)took the decision in this regard which would come into force from April 1, confirmed the director Maniraj Lamichhane.

Nepal is home to eight of the world’s tallest mountains, but it is also known for its beautiful rural trekking regions. From now on, travelers who hope to trek in remote regions must hire a government-licensed guide or join a group.

Tourism and especially trekking forms Nepal's biggest revenue earner. However, the cost of search and rescue missions that the country ensues every time  looking for solo hiker who got lost account for a bigger monetary share.

“When you are traveling solo, in case of emergencies there is no one to help you," Mani R. Lamichhane, Director of the Nepal Tourism Board, told CNN. “It is fine if they are traveling in the cities, but in the remote mountains, the infrastructure is not adequate."

“When tourists go missing or they are found dead, even the government cannot track them because they have taken remote routes." Lamichhane added. 

In addition to the challenges caused when hikers go missing in rural areas, Lamichhane says that unlicensed tour guides and companies are also an issue. These companies who do not register with the government do not pay taxes and, the tourism director alleges, take jobs away from Nepalis.

“There have been some cases where the trekking association has been requesting us to stop these unauthorized trekking operations. This has been a demand from tourism associations for a long time," he says.

Those in the climbing and trekking community have mixed opinions on the new ruling.

According to the NTB, around 50,000 tourists trekked without a guide or a porter in Nepal in 2019. These tourists trekked by obtaining a route permit and a Trekkers Information Management System (TIMS) card.

A TIMS card is a basic trekking permit that is required by foreign tourists who go around in adventure tourism. But the latest round of decisions also has put a ban on the TIMS permit without a guide. "Tourists would have to trek via a trekking company," added Lamichhane.

The board has also increased the price of the TIMS permit to 2,000 per person. Prior to this, people who travelled in large groups paid 1,000 for the TIMS card while those who travelled alone paid 2,000. TIMS permit for SAARC nationals has also increased to 1,000.

(With agency inputs)

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Published: 13 Mar 2023, 06:15 PM IST
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