Ghalegaun-Ghanpokhara in Lamjung
observed the Honey Hunting festival to attract more local and foreign tourists
to the district.
"An event like this can help
draw more local and foreign tourists if included in the calendar of events,"
said Lamjung CDO Baburam Bhandari, asking Nepal Tourism Board to help publicise
the event.
A 17-member delegation of
Trekking Agencies’ Association of Nepal (TAAN) also participated in the
festival on November 22.
TAAN president Mahendra Singh
Thapa, on the occasion, also called for publishing the event as it could lure
more tourists to the district. "But locals should change the traditional
way of honey hunting for safety reasons," he added.
Likewise, a renowned mountain
guide and goodwill ambassador of Gorkha district Sunar Bahadur Gurung provided
rock climbing ropes to honey hunters for them to harvest honey in a safer way.
"We are ready to give local honey hunters rock climbing training, if
needed,” he added.
October-November in winter and
April-May in summer are considered the main seasons for honey harvesting. In
recent years, locals have been trying to develop honey hunting as a tourism
product.
A significant chunk of honey,
which is believed to posses medicinal values, harvested in the village is
exported to different international markets, according to locals.
Besides honey hunting — one of
the important events in the area — the association is also studying the
prospects of including honey hunting and canyoning in trekking packages in
Lamjung.
The honey hunting site in
Ghanpokhara-8 can be reached after a trek of two-and-a-half hours from the
nearest motorable road near Ghimrang.
There are many honey hunting
sites in and around the Gurung village, which have become an important source
of livelihood for the people of Ghalegaun and Ghanpokhara.
The locals use indigenous
techniques to collect honeycombs from steep cliffs.
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