– Khemraj Gautam
Galkot, September 10: A new trekking route connecting two tourism destinations, Panchakot and Dhorpatan, has been identified in Baglung. The trekking route is expected to explore and promote other tourism potentials of the region. In the first phase, the sketch has been drawn to connect the area from Baglung municipality-6, Panchakot to Kathekhola rural municipality and Beldhunga, Beni in Myagdi.
According to the plan, the trekking route will be expanded to Dhorpatan. Raju Khadka, Chairperson of Baglung Tourism Development Committee, said trekking route (Panchakot, Sansarkot, Thapleko Dhuri, Kanchhi Dhaulagiri and Beldhunga) has been identified to connect potential tourism sites of the district.
Trekking route sketch has been developed to help promote tourism by informing tourists coming to Baglung on Visit Nepal 2020 about the new tourism hotspots. The trekking route has been named Dhaulagiri Circuit.
The Panchakot-Beldhunga trekking route covers the tourism sites and historically important area of ward 6 and 7 of Baglung, ward 2 and 3 of Beni municipality and ward 1, 2, and 3 of Kathekola rural municipality. Khimananda Kandel, Chairperson of Dhaulagiri Tourism Promotion Committee shared the sketch of 25-km trekking route stretching from Panchakot to Dhorpatan via Beldhunga and Tarakhola was prepared in the first phase. The trekking route from Panchakot to Dhorpatan stretches around 100-km.
“The target is to connect two tourism sites and take foreign tourists to Dhorpatan hunting reserve through Panchakot”, Kandel added. It is expected that tourists’ movement through trekking routes would further promote other tourism sites located in the affinity of the trekking route. Kandel further noted that Baglung district has high potentials to be developed as a tourism destination if all tourism sites of the district are integrated through the trekking route. A committee has been formed under the leadership of Kathekhol-7 ward chair Prem Lamichhane to work for the development of the trekking route by integrating all the local levels. geographically linked to the trekking route.