Tourist Activity Intensifies in the Kanchenjunga Region

5 Baisakh, Taplejung – Tourist arrivals have started increasing in the Kanchenjunga region, home to the world’s third highest mountain, located in Taplejung. As the weather improves, both domestic and international tourists are flocking to the area. The period from the first week of Chaitra to the third week of Jestha is considered the best time to visit Kanchenjunga.

According to Tansichiring Sherpa, Tourism Assistant at the Ghunsa Checkpost of the Kanchenjunga Conservation Area Management Council, 165 foreign tourists have visited the region in the past month. There are two main peak tourist seasons here annually; the first from Chaitra to Jestha and the second from Ashwin to Mangsir. Last year, 750 international tourists visited during the first season alone, the Ghunsa Checkpost reported.

There are two primary trekking routes to reach Kanchenjunga Base Camp. One passes through Ganeshchok in Panchthar and the Sirijangga rural municipality, while the other is accessible by air via Suketar Airport from Kathmandu and then through the Fikkal rural municipality. Catering to tourists, there are currently 52 hotels of varying sizes operating along the Kanchenjunga trekking route, as per the Conservation Area Management Council.

In Fikkal rural municipality-6, Gyapla, ‘Singhi Namjong Hotel’ has been established with an investment exceeding NPR 70 million. Additionally, four hotels built at elevations between 3,500 to 4,500 meters above sea level have been constructed with investments over NPR 10 million, according to Tourism Assistant Sherpa at Ghunsa Checkpost.

In the district headquarters of Phungling market, large-scale hotels have also been developed, focusing on tourists. With increasing tourist arrivals, local tourism and hotel entrepreneurs have become more optimistic. The primary sources of livelihood for the local communities within the Kanchenjunga Conservation Area are tourism, hotel business, and animal husbandry. Most families in Ghunsa, Phale, and Yampudin areas are directly connected to tourism, Sherpa noted.

He added that while some have become self-employed by running hotels, others earn income as tourist guides or assistants. Due to limited agricultural prospects, young generations are increasingly inclined toward tourism-related occupations rather than animal husbandry.

Kanchenjunga has a historical significance with its first ascent on May 25, 1955. Previously, a trek from Phungling took about 24 days, but now both base camps can be reached and return completed within 11 to 16 days. Tourist demand peaks during Chaitra, Baisakh, Jestha, Ashwin, Kartik, and Mangsir. Mountain climbing mainly occurs in Baisakh and Jestha, Sherpa explained. Visitors come from countries including Japan, Germany, Australia, the United States, France, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Canada, Switzerland, Belgium, the Philippines, Spain, Sweden, among others. A smaller number of tourists and climbers also come from India and China.