Travel Update - Nepal

So I am back with another travel advisory about Nepal. Was silent for this long on travel advisories as there was not much to report...

Was reading articles on how difficult it is to travel around Nepal nowadays with highway closures, strikes etc. e.g. this article from www.nepalitimes.com "Obstacle Course" by Kunda Dixit - so I am thinking, damn! this will scare a lot of people away! Did he really paint the right picture?

So here I am, doing up a google map of popular tourism sites in Nepal, and showing where the problems are, I will also try to keep this updated as much as I can... so that potential travellers can see where the problematic travel is:-

Remember though, he also writes in that article,

"The war may be over, there is supposed to be peace, but the nationwide highway blockades, curfews and chaos have made life even more difficult than it was during the conflict. The only difference is that people aren't being killed."

Though he goes on to talk about the public lynching of suspected child smugglers, but that I think is a bit different!

View Nepal Travel Advisory in a larger map

the GREEN circuit - Press Release

24th April – The Green Circuit has been launched ‘LIVE’ today amidst the Responsible Travel Network Meeting at SATTE, New Delhi. This is a collaborative initiative started by socialtours.com in February, which was pitched at ITB Berlin at the last network meeting.

This new product offers clients an excellent opportunity to experience a selection of the best ‘responsible’ products in the Indian sub-continent. One can land at any of the many international airports, or arrive at a train station to start the journey, all of it is done overland within the sub-continent, so as to reduce carbon emissions. One can then finish off at an international airport or a train station, choose to continue the trip in one continuous circuit, or come back another time to continue on with the next product.

The product is being jointly marketed, meaning it can be booked individually, or together with any of the partner operators. It is also being offered in international retail travel portals. Again, working on responsibility ethos, it is customizable, so can be broken up into smaller trips to fit traveler requirements

We believe the scalability of the product, and it is meant to be inclusive, not exclusive, working on the ethos of responsibility, but at this stage, we are offering select products from these four operators, to smoothen out logistic challenges with zero compromise on visitor experience. Once this phase is over, we will open it to other products and operators, who are no doubt, also responsible.

The product can currently be viewed at

www.socialtours.com
www.theblueyonder.com
www.grassroutesjourneys.com
www.helptourism.com/blog

www.tourdust.com
www.traveltocare.com
www.responsibletravel.com

We invite international operators to talk to us to determine ways to market it. And also travelers to come into these websites, make enquires and/or book directly with us!

Namaste!


Vishwaraj Gyawali, Founder Director
socialtours.com travels

the GREEN circuit: launching soon...

Am not sure if this is a suitable place for this launch information, but considering that it is a tourism product, thought I might as well put it here too!

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The Green Circuit is an initiative started by socialtours.com in February 2009. It tries to bring together some of the best ‘responsible’ products in the sub-continent together in a circuit, which can then be offered to travellers all around the world. The idea is to make this information known using each others websites and the promotions that we all individualy do, creating a mass awareness of responsible practices, and also generating business for all involved.

It is aimed to become a win win situation where ‘responsible’ operators and products hand hold, share, learn, link (which are all responsible practices in itself) to the betterment of the whole.

With an aim to also make the trip “greener”, we will also support by providing information and service support to connect to these products using train and ground travel. The products are also convieniently developed around international airport, so that access is easy.

View Green Circuit, Indian Subcontinent in a larger map

Nepal: the Tamang Heritage Trail

17 days, heritage sightseeing, moderate trekking, jungle safari
from £ 675 per person

About 150 years ago, Nepal fought Tibet over salt, and some of the biggest areas where this war took place is in the Langtang Region of Nepal, wherein lies the third most popular trekking trail in Nepal. This area is connected to Tibet and the trails in this region were used by traders from Tibet bartering in Salt and mountain goats for meat (changra) with foodstuffs from the south. Developed by the Tourism for Rural Poverty Alleviation Program, the “Tamang Heritage Trail” is the newly developed tourism product, off the beaten track, which highlights an ancient lifestyle combining it with picturesque scenery and healing baths in natural hot springs.
Read more…

Eastern Himalaya: Red Panda Tea and Elephant Trail

22 days, culture, wildlife and tea gardens
from INR 67,000 per pax nett

East Himalaya is a part of one of the EIGHT HOTTEST BIODIVERSITY HOTSPOTS of the world. This is a part of the Indo-Burma region. Other then India, the East Himalaya touches the countries of Nepal, Bhutan, Tibet, China, Myanmar and Bangladesh. Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim and West Bengal occupies more than 100,000 sq. kms of East Himalaya approx. which is about 25% of the Indian Himalaya. This shows a major portion of the Himalaya is existent in the East. Similarly, the whole of Nepal and Bhutan are a part of the East Himalaya.
Read more…

East India: Orissa Odyssey

15 Days Kolkata - Visakhapatnam
from 980 Euros per person

An epic adventure through timeless India; stretching from the bustle of India’s renown cultural capital Kolkata, through vast tracts of pastoral plains and palm-fringed paddies, to dense mangroves and tranquil boat rides twisting though the tangled mangrove forest of Bhitarkanika National Park. From natural wonders to the irrepressible man-made marvels of ancient India’s earliest temples at Bhubaneshwar and Konark to the sea swept coastal town of Puri, one of India’s Char Dhams (four holy hotspots of Hinduism). Cruise along Chilika Lake, Asia’s largest salt lake lagoon and camp under a starlit sky.

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South India - The Malabar Holidays

14 days, culture, spice tour, beaches, homestays
from 815 USD net per person

Malabar was once a British Principality of India. After Independence, Malabar as a state was no longer recognized and the region was divided to form the northern part of what is today called Kerala. Though Malabar has no geographical boundaries, no presence on a map of India, it still exists as a state of mind: laid-back, slow, to live and let live. This is the spirit we capture in this package that begins with Cochin and goes along backwaters, River Nila, Mountains of Wayanad, and ends at the virgin beaches of Kannur in Malabar region.

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