Beni, September 24
The movement of tourists and climbers at the Dhaulagiri base camp is gradually increasing after the government resumed long-halted mountain climbing due to the Covid-19 pandemic since August-end.
Most of the tourists and climbers reaching the base camp have reached there by air.
Lately, tourists and climbers have preferred a costlier airway to reach the base camp, thanks to a long journey involving hardship and a lack of security and communications along the trail.
“Most climbers, guides, porters and tourists have reached the base camp on helicopters. Only six Sherpa guides have taken the trail to the camp,” says a local resident Suk Bahadur Sunar. Around 80 climbers, guides and porters have reached the base camp through helicopters, he says.
As a result, the local economy has been affected. Hotel entrepreneurs and mule transportation services have been marred as they have faced a double whammy of the infection and tourists reaching the base camp preferring airway in many cases.
The Dhaulagiri mountain (8,167 metres) based in the Dhaulagiri mountain range is the seventh highest peak in the world. The Dhaulagiri trekking route is considered adventurous as it cuts through rocky and stark cliffs, dense forests and rivers.
