Ghalegaon's homestays crowded with tourists

LAMJUNG, Jan 04:Homestays in Lamjung are packed with local and foreign tourists celebrating the English New Year 2024. As the habit of celebrating the English New Year with pomp grows, so does the number of domestic tourists visiting homestays.

The Ghalegaun homestay, located in Kwholasothar Rural Municipality-3, is currently crowded with tourists celebrating the New Year 2024.

According to the Office Secretary of the Rural Ghalegaon Tourism Management Committee, Ghalegaon, which is 2,100 meters above sea level, is rich of natural beauty and tourists. "Even though 40-50 tourists arrived in the past, the number of tourists coming to celebrate the New Year has increased," he remarked.

Now around 300 to 400 tourists come every day. He said that the homestay in Ghalegaon, which has a capacity of 300 people, were filled with tourists and shifted to other houses and hotels. 

He informed that at present when tourists come, every resident earns more than Rs 50,000. Homestay , which has been in operation since 2057, has increased to 42 homestay now. Along with the hospitality of the tourists, cultural dances are also presented along with the ethnic identity of the people who are trying to preserve their arts, costumes, customs, and culture.

At the initiative of the Nepalese government, the SAARC foreign ministers designated Ghalegaon as a model rural tourism village for the SAARC region.

Mount Manaslu at 8,163 meters, Mount Ngadichuli (Da Hark Himal) at 7,835, Mount Annapurna at 7,935 meters (second), and Mount Annapurna (fourth) can all be seen from Ghalegaon. The proprietor of the homestay prepares great food for the guests who come here, using rice, maize, millet, soybeans, greens, rice, local chicken and goat farmed in the village.

Along with the Gurungseni ethnic identity, endangered cultural dances such as Krishna character, Lama, Sorthi, Ghyabre, Pacchu, Jhyaure, Chutka, Jhankri, Serga, and others are presented to tourists who come to the village to welcome, respect, and bid farewell. The people of Ghalegaun have a tradition of performing several traditional dances. Ghalegaon charges a cost of Rs 1,250 per person.