NAGARKOT HOMESTAY: Your Home Away from Home!!!

Nagarkot Homestay, situated at Bastola Gaun (village), 22 km north-east of Kathmandu Valley on the way to Nagarkot Hill Station, is one of the fine examples of recently established Homestays in the country.

With just about an hour drive from Kathmandu, one can get the first hand experience of village life away from the hustle bustle of the city. 

Tourism industries around the globe are progressively implementing the concept of sustainable tourism.  It means being responsible towards the ecology and contributing for welfare of the local community through tourism activities.

The Government of Nepal is not far away from the concept. It has given priority to sustainable tourism and has introduced various programs to promote Homestays in different parts of the country.

Homestay is a form of tourism program, which allows visitors to rent a room at the house of local people and experience their daily lifestyle.

BASTOLA GHAU

 Specialty

The village has 17 homes resided by people of Brahmin community, out of which 13 homes with total   capacity of 40 guests are available for stay.  The accommodations are simple yet clean and comfortable.

Guests are welcomed by local children and women group, dressed in traditional gunyo, cholo and sari and offering tika and mala.“

Guests are served with organic vegetables and fresh meat from animals reared in the village. The local cuisines made by villagers like dhindo, phappar and kodo roti, gundruk achaar (Pickle), local chicken and mutton curries contain the freshness of nature and warmth of their hospitality blended in the taste.

Cultural program, which includes Khaijadi Bhajan (holy songs), folk songs like Monsoon, Teej, Ghanshi songs and folk dances, are performed by local village people on demand. It gives a glimpse of our culture to the tourists.

The best and an exclusive aspect of a Homestay program at Bastola Gaun is that the guests live with villagers as family members, sharing their kitchen and even daily activities.

You can try your hand on daily activities like cow milking, cattle grazing, firewood and grass collection from the woods and even farming. It surely gives you a peculiar and memorable feel of being a villager yourself.

In the cool and breezy evening when sitting on the courtyard of your village home, you feel nostalgic to see the sun setting down with magnificent view of Kathmandu Valley in the far horizon. The ears can hear the sound of birds chirping in nearby jungle while you can feel the aroma of fresh air.

Major Sites and Activities

• Hike to Waterfall in Mahadev Khola (Small River)

• Jungle Walk with local guide

The forest is offers a diverse fauna. Maybe you can even spot one a Peacock, parrot, deer, or even Leopard! Locals swear they can occasionally hear a tiger’s roar. The forest looks really beautiful during the month of March/ April, when it is adorbed by red Rhododendron flowers.

• Visit to Jalpadevi Temple and Pancha Maha Laxmi Temple.

Local people also organize Yoga sessions in the premise of Jalpadevi temple on request from the guests.

• Visit to Nagarkot View Tower for sunrise view.
• Visit to neighboring Tamang community village.
• Cultural program.
• Participation in village activities.                                                                                                                                

 Recommendation

Nagarkot Community Homestay has been recently established by the local community of Bastola Gaun, under the leadership of two youngsters Mr. Suraj Bastola (President) and Mr. Rajkumar Lamichhane (Secretary). The entire village is working as a team to make their village a tourism destination and aim for the sustainable development of the community, which is indeed commendable.

Hence, TNT team requests international as well as domestic tourists to visit Nagarkot Community Homestay and support the villagers. It’s memorable, affordable and reminds many of communal harmony.

Visit Nagarkot Community Homestay, experience Nagarkot beyond the popular view of sunrise and panoramic mountain range!

Contact:

Nagarkot Community Homestay

Village Tourism Management Committee,Nagarkot-2 (Bastola Gaun), Bhaktapur

Website: www.nagarkothomestay.com   Email: info@nagarkothomestay.com

 Contact person:

Suraj Bastola (Mobile: 9841211597 and 9803043010)

 Rajkumar Lamichhane (Mobile: 9849178059 and 9808865800)

Photo Feature:

               

Avalanche caused Seti flash flood: NASA

The disastrous Seti flash flood that claimed 72 lives and left dozens homeless less than two years ago was the result of a rockslide in the Seti-River gorge which created an artificial reservoir, according to the latest field research by the US-based National Aeronautical System Administration ( NASA ).

The deadly event that happened on the morning of May 5, 2012 in Pokhara Valley’s Seti River was the result of an ‘artificial reservoir’ formed due to the damming of snow and ice melt which was later aggravated by a mighty avalanche on Annapurna IV. The Seti River originates from the Seti Gorge situated between Mount Annapurna and Dhaulagiri ranges in Kaski district.

The article, written by University of Arizona hydrologist Jeffrey Kargel and published on Friday in the Earth Observatory, a NASAaffiliated publication, reaffirmed what many believed to be the case.

Before and after satellite images have revealed that the Seti Gorge, the origin of the Seti River in the foothills of the Annapurna IV mountain range, had experienced smaller rockfalls and other erosion events over the previous decade, though the larger instance, occurring on May 5, was almost certainly responsible for the disaster.

Soon after the occurrence of the Seti flash flood, experts representing national and international scientific communities expressed their views regarding the likely cause of the catastrophic incident, with some categorising it as a Glacial Lake Outburst Flood.

According to the latest findings shared by Kargel and based on information gathered from frequent field visits, satellite images and local interviews, the research team observed direct evidence of avalanche-boulders and streams of debris emanating from the base of Annapurna IV to the head of the enormous Seti River Gorge. Kargel, who is also a hydrologist with Global Land Ice Measurements From Space, a project designed to monitor the world’s glaciers using data from optical satellite instruments such as ASTER  (Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer) has indicated that although the incident was terrifying and deadly, by geologic standards its magnitude was modest. The high death toll was due to residential dwellings along the vulnerable areas of the lowest terrace and on the floodplains along the river. Kargel further mentioned that the findings do not bode well for the future of small settlements scattered along the riverside, arguing that there is a strong case for the resettlement of these communities.

Snowden nominated for Nobel Peace Prize

A former Norwegian minister nominated fugitive US intelligence leaker Edward Snowden for the Nobel Peace PrizeWednesday in a letter to the Norwegian Nobel Committee.

"He has contributed to revealing the extreme level of surveillance by nations against other nations and of citizens," former Socialist Left Party minister Baard Vegar Solhjell told AFP, explaining his move.

"Snowden contributed to people knowing about what has happened and spurring public debate" on trust in government, which he said was "a fundamental requirement for peace".

In a letter to the Norwegian Nobel Committee obtained by AFP, Solhjell and his party colleague Snorre Valen said that they do not necessarily condone or support all of Snowden’s disclosures, but praised him for revealing the "nature and technological prowess of modern surveillance".

"The level of sophistication and depth of surveillance that citizens all over the world are subject to have stunned us, and stirred debate," they wrote in the nomination letter.

They added that Snowden's actions have "led to the reintroduction of trust and transparency as a leading principle in global security policies".

US National Security Agency documents leaked by Snowden in 2013 revealed widespread surveillance of individuals and institutions in the United States and around the world.

According to the whistleblowing website Wikileaks, Snowden, who is currently living in Russia, applied for asylum in several countries, including Norway, last summer.

Solhjell, who was environment minister until Norway's left-wing government lost power last year, told AFP that he was aware of Snowden’s reported request for asylum and that it should be handled according to normal procedures.

"This matter has not affected our decision to nominate Snowden for the peace prize," Solhjell said.

The deadline for submitting nominations for the 2014 peace prize is February 1.

Among those elgible to forward nominations are politicians and barristers around the world, as well as university professors from certain disciplines.

In July 2013 a Swedish sociology professor, Stefan Svallfors, nominated Snowden for the Nobel Peace Prize after the deadline had passed but the nomination is still valid for 2014.