Tourists upset over not being able to enter Ratna Mandir

KATHMANDU, July 26: Many tourists have been left disappointed after not being able to see the inner structures of the Ratna Mandir located on the shores of Phewa Lake in Pokhara. The tourists complained about not being allowed to enter the premises of Ratna Mandir Palace, which was opened to the public after Republic Day on May 29, 2023.    

Soni Sharma of Parbat, who came to visit the spot with her sixty-five-year-old mother was one of the dissatisfied tourists who came to visit Ratna Mandir that day. "We came with the curiosity of what is inside the palace but after not being able to see inside, we are not satisfied," she said adding that her mother also wanted to see the palace more than her which is why they were on a tour in the first place.

Similarly, Sabita Bishwakarma, another fellow tourist who came to visit Pokhara along with his daughter shared that she got a useless ticket as she was also not able to visit the Ratna Mandir. 

Muna Poudel, the owner of Crystal Palace, also shared that his guests were disappointed after they were not allowed to see the interiors of Ratna Mandir. He said that tourists complain about not being able to see the interiors of Ratna Mandir Palace in particular.

According to Poudel, tourists were often left disappointed when they couldn't see inside the Ratna Mandir even after buying a ticket. 

He laid emphasis on opening the premises of the Ratna Mandir to the public and promoting it as a tourist destination in Pokhara. However, despite various pleads, the mandir is not fully open to tourists.  

According to another source, many rooms inside the Ratna Mandir, which included a kitchen, living room, drawers, and bedrooms, were likely empty. He suspected that the then authorities in charge of the plane were to blame. According to him, Ratna Mandir should be protected as a historical heritage and an environment should be created where domestic and foreign tourists can easily visit it by maintaining the same minimum fee.
Pom Narayan Shrestha, chairman of the Pokhara Tourism Council, also said that there have been complaints from tourists about not being able to see the interiors of Ratna Mandi. "After a long initiative, we succeeded in opening Ratna Mandir, now tourists should also be able to easily see the interiors of the palace," he said. “However, various technical reasons are affecting the process to allow tourists inside the site. Although the complaints raised are understandable, the rooms inside the palace, from the staircase to the internal structure are narrow and very old. Opening it to tourists can pose a great challenge to the security of the historical materials in the palace," Yangjom Sherpa, a member of the board of directors of the Trust of Nepal shared.

“We are doing homework for further management in a way that is appropriate and does not affect the originality of the palace," she said, adding that after about 15 years, the Ratna Mandir complex has been opened and now arrangements will also be made to see resolve issues in the palace’s internal structures.

Late King Mahendra built Ratnamandir around 1958 in the name of his Queen Ratna. Inside the palace, there are 11 rooms including meeting room, queen's bedroom, dining hall, meeting room and bedroom for royal relatives and security officers. Ratna Mandir is spread over an area of ​​174 ropani. The Nepali Army has a separate building for security. There is also a 'Hawa Ghar' on the shore of Fewa Lake.

After the death of King Birendra and his family in the palace massacre, this palace came under Nepal Trust on November 2007.

Ratna Mandir was opened on May 29 on the occasion of Republic Day. So far, 8,564 tourists including 57 foreigners have visited the Ratna Mandir, according to Gita Mizar, Head of Nepal Trust Unit Office, Ratna Mandir Pokhara informed that 57 of them were foreign tourists.

To visit Ratna Mandir, a fee of 200 has been set for citizens of India and China, 250 for SAARC countries other than India, and 300 for citizens of other countries. Similarly, a fee of Rs 50 has been fixed for students, senior citizens, and disabled people, while Rs 100 has been fixed for other Nepalis. Mizar informed that a fee of Rs 5,000 per hour has been set for documentary, commercial videography with the prior approval of the office.