Tourists flock to ABC as weather improves

KASKI: The number of tourists trekking to the world-famous Annapurna Base Camp (ABC) has increased significantly in recent days as the weather improves and roads previously blocked by floods and landslides have reopened.

Tourism entrepreneurs say tourist arrivals in the Annapurna region have increased after continuous rains subsided and weather conditions improved. The number of tourists heading to ABC has also risen as trekking routes in the Manang and Manaslu regions remain affected by landslides.

According to Dilip Gurung, secretary of the Chhomrong Tourism Management Committee, around 300 tourists are currently reaching Annapurna Base Camp each day. There are six hotels and lodges at ABC, with a combined capacity to accommodate up to 350 tourists.

“There are no domestic tourists, but the arrival of foreign and SAARC tourists has increased. Now that all the roads leading here are open, trekking has become easier,” Gurung said.

The tourism sector had earlier been badly affected after roads and trekking routes in various parts of the Annapurna region were disrupted by heavy rain and floods. Roads were blocked for an extended period after the Modi River eroded sections of the road at Birethanti and Syauli Bazaar in Annapurna Rural Municipality. The rural municipality reopened the roads in the first week of Asoj after they had remained blocked for about one and a half months.

With landslides blocking some roads and trekking routes leading to the Manang and Manaslu regions, tourists who had planned to visit those destinations have started choosing ABC as an alternative, Gurung said.