7th Mountain Festival in Pokhara to kick off on December 10

POKHARA, Dec 01:The 7th International Mountain Festival will be held in Pokhara on December 10th and 11th. The United Nations has been celebrating December 11 as International Mountain Day. On the same day, the Nepal Mountaineering Association (NMA) started celebrating the annual mountain festival for 7 years.

In the two-day festival, special emphasis has been placed on enhancing knowledge about mountain environment, biological diversity, natural resources, etc., according to the organizers. In addition, Thakur Raj Pandey, the coordinator of the main organizing committee of the festival, informed that stalls will also be set up to market the products produced in the mountain areas.

"There will also be a comprehensive discussion regarding the past, present and future of mountain tourism and mountain climbing in the presence of experts in the field of mountaineering," said coordinator Pandey, "We believe that this will also help to raise the standard of living of the locals living in the mountainous region."

In the festival, along with dishes from the Himalayan region, games in the mountainous region have also been prioritized, according to the organizers. According to the organizers, archery, Chhelo and others are also included in the festival. "Cycling, road races, film screenings will also be held in the festival," said Pandey.

Apart from these, an interactive program related to Everest base camp management has also been organized in the festival in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation. There will also be a debate on increasing Pokhara's tourism business.

According to Jinesh Sindukar, chief administrative officer of NMA and program director, programs such as products produced in the mountain area and sports projects, traditional sports and archery projects, exhibition of mountain documentaries and wall climbing are included in the festival. Entry to the festival is free.

According to program director Sindukar, this time the festival is trying to create a sense of belonging by giving responsibility to the local people. "We market the products produced in the mountainous area, which are not in the market," he said.

Chief of the Gandaki chapter of NMA, Shesh Kant Sharma and member secretary Nirmala Neupane are the co-coordinators of the festival. Neupane, member secretary of the organizing committee, expressed her belief that the festival will help in increasing the awareness of mountaineering tourism in the public mind. Ganesh Gurung, advisor of the association, said that the mountain festival will play an important role in the development and intellectual debate of the mountain region of Nepal.

The theme of this year's International Mountain Day is 'Women Move Mountain'. Which has the main goal of improving the economic and social level of the residents living in the mountainous areas.