Annapurna Rural Municipality constructing infrastructure on Annapurna Base Camp trekking route

MYAGDI, Jan 28:Infrastructure constructing started at the Annapurna Base Camp and Maurice Herzog Trekking Trail in Annapurna Rural Municipality-4, Myagdi, with a cost of Rs 12.5 million. Shelters, toilets, drinking water, trekking trails, tea shops, and an open museum are being built with a budget of Rs 10 million from Annapurna Rural Municipality, Rs 2 million from Nepal Tourism Board, and Rs 500,000 from the Annapurna Conservation Area Project.

Annapurna Rural Municipality Chairman Bharat Kumar Pun stated that temporary shelters are being built at the Annapurna Base Camp and Panchkunda Lake. "Since it falls under ACAP, there are policy issues in constructing permanent structures, so temporary structures have been constructed for the convenience of tourists," he told me. "The rural municipality has invited tenders for operating tea and snack shops at the Annapurna Base Camp and trekking trails."

According to Annapurna's Chief Administrative Officer, Ram Prasad Sharma Kandel, a study of the plan, cost estimates, and a consumer committee have been constituted. Three shelters are being built at a cost of Rs 400,000 in the Sandhikharka, Bhusket, and Panchkunda lake locations. Rs 300,000 has been set up for the development of drinking water and toilets in Humkhola, Phutphute Jharana, Gufaphat, Bhusket, and Panchkunda.

Rs 100,000 has been set aside for the development of a tea shop in the Phutphute Jharana area and an open museum at the base camp. The open museum's purpose is to collect and preserve archives from the base camp, according to Annapurna Rural Municipality Sub-Engineer Balkrishna Poudel.

A user committee has been formed to raise the Tourism Board's Rs 200,000 budget, the rural municipality's Rs 100,000 budget, and the ACAP's Rs 500,000 budget for the building and improvement of the trekking path. A team of Chief Administrative Officer Kandel, Sub-Engineer Poudel, and Samunta Yadav went to the base camp last week and returned after examining the building site.

The infrastructure building began after tourists visiting the 8,091-meter-high Mt. Annapurna's base camp, which is remote and lacks hotels and restaurants, encountered issues with food, lodging, and waste management. According to Lok Bahadur Phagami, the ward chairman of Annapurna Rural Municipality-4, over 5,000 domestic tourists visited the Annapurna base camp during Dashain-Tihar. He also stated that plans have been made to enlarge the suspension bridge, improve communication and energy infrastructure, and establish a tourist checkpoint along the Maurice Herzog trekking trail.

The base camp is accessible by watching the waterfalls, stunning mountain ranges, unique topography, mountains, and uncommon flora and fauna along the banks of the Mistrikhola river, which flows from the Mt Annapurna and Mt Nilgiri. The azure Panchkund Lake near the Annapurna foothills is the base camp's main feature. The Annapurna base camp is a popular choice among tourists because it can be completed in three days.

Following the route taken by Maurice Herzog's team to climb Annapurna, Tej Gurung of Narchyang and his group identified Mount Annapurna and its base camp in Myagdi in 2068 BS. The Annapurna Rural Municipality dubbed the trekking route 'Maurice Herzog'. A 20-kilometer road from Narchyang to Humkhola and a basic 22-kilometer trekking trail from Humkhola to the base camp have been planned.