Pokhara buying snow

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Pokhara buying snow

Kathmandu has become a hub of international wildlife crime that poses an additional threat to the conservation of rare snow leopards. Tufan Neupane investigates. Yalung, the fourth snow leopard collared in Nepal, May The first detailed study of the illegal trade of snow leopards in Nepal was done by Larry J. Barnes, an American researcher, in After surveying 31 shops selling textiles in Kathmandu, Barnes reported finding four coats made of snow leopard skin and fur and two hats that were openly on sale. The coats and hats were made in Srinagar, Kashmir, and were smuggled to Nepal. Despite this trade being banned, Kashmiri traders were active in the open sale of such products in major cities. The customers of such expensive clothes were rich tourists from Western countries. According to Barnes, wildlife parts were also sold openly in five-star hotels in Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal. The practice of openly selling protected wildlife parts and their products has stopped in the last 32 years for two reasons. First, active law enforcement agencies, and second countries in the West have taken strict measures against wildlife smuggling, preventing tourists from travelling with such products. However, the capital city still remains a hub for the underground trade of wildlife parts, and Chinese smugglers have recently taken the place of Kashmiri traders. Wildlife parts are collected from all over the country and are transported to the Tibet Autonomous Region of China, from where they are smuggled to other parts of the world by organised smuggling gangs. An official at the Central Investigation Bureau CIB of Nepal Police said most of the poaching and illegal trade of wild animals in Nepal is being carried out in order to transport them via the Tibet border area in the north. In recent years the CIB has arrested and charged several Chinese nationals in connection with trafficking wildlife via Nepal. These cases include the smuggling of kg of pangolin scales via Kathmandu Airport and the seizure of 13 tiger bones from a hotel in Thamel. In July police arrested four Chinese nationals with several tiger, snow leopard and other wildlife parts and illegal herbs at Jianghu Kezhan Hotel and Restaurant in Kathmandu. Hotel operators Chen Fengcai and Shi Wenlong are fugitives. The District Forest Office is investigating the case and further details have not been made public. The next day Chen Qiang, owner of the hotel they were staying in, was also arrested in possession of various wildlife parts. A case has been filed against Qiang. Photo supplied. According to him, the Chinese nationals arrested in the Jianghu Kezhan Hotel case had recently started companies producing bags, purses and jackets in Kathmandu. He said police had recovered such items and sent them for forensic examination. The police are waiting for forensic results indicating that the skins and furs of animals such as tigers, leopards, and snow leopards were used in the manufacture of the products. Haribhadra Acharya, who has been working in the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation for a long time and is currently the warden of Chitwan National Park in south-central Nepal, said with the increase of Chinese investment in hotels, tourism and other sectors, wildlife smuggling networks in Nepal had increased. Cross-border smugglers are using the trans-Himalayan network to traffic snow leopard, tiger and one-horned rhino parts from Nepal to China, said Hem Sagar Baral, chief of the Nepal Chapter of the Zoological Society of London. The final destination of snow leopard parts is northern Asia. Nepal Police arrested a trader with five leopard skins and one snow leopard skin from Ghorahi, Dang district, on July 9 Photo: Wildlife Conservation Nepal. It is estimated there are between and snow leopards in the country, but the maximum number in any area is not more than Poaching and illegal trade pose the biggest threats to snow leopard conservation in the country, according to research by the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation in collaboration with the WWF and the International Snow Leopard Fund. Law enforcement agencies have not been able to reach the culprits of the snow leopard poaching. Illegal wildlife trade is flourishing in the northern part of Nepal bordering Tibet due to the inability of security personnel to reach these remote areas, the global wildlife trade monitoring group Traffic noted as far back as It is difficult to control smuggling on trade routes to Tibet due to the porous international borders, limited intelligence network and inadequate staff, the Snow Leopard Conservation Action Plan for Nepal notes. The plan estimates that poaching of snow leopards in Nepal will increase due to the growing number of gateways for illegal wildlife trade in the Nepal-China border area, including Lomanthang-Nechung, Manang-Surkhang-Gara, Sangta-Dolpa, Upper Mustang-Pokhara and Kathmandu-Tatopani-Khasa. The sentence was reduced in the Supreme Court. Photo: Kamal Jung Kunwar. The only case of snow leopard poaching and illegal trade that reached the Supreme Court, the apex court in Nepal, involved three people caught trying to sell two snow leopard skins in Paradise Guesthouse in the Mustang border district border on May 28 Then they appealed to the Supreme Court. They were both released on September 24 Nepal follows a common legal system. This means that the decision of the Supreme Court and its grounds for the ruling should be followed by the lower courts as a precedent, requiring them to impose a minimum sentence in cases of poaching and illegal trade of snow leopards. This was a case in which police had arrested Prakash Pun in the Dang district bordering India on July 9 in possession of one snow leopard skin and five leopard skins that were hidden in his house. Police and forest officials were unable to determine the origin of the snow leopard and other skins seized. No one has appealed to the high court in this case. Shahi was jailed for five years, Parki was acquitted. Photo: Nepal Police. In another case, on March 12 police arrested Janak Bahadur Shahi from Darchula district of western Nepal bordering both India and China, and seized a snow leopard skin and skeleton. The Api Nampa Conservation Area located in the district is home to snow leopards. Shahi said he had killed a snow leopard by setting a trap and was transporting it to Tibet for sale. He said he was assisted by Kalamram Parki, who was also arrested but denied the allegations. The district court sentenced Shahi to five years in prison and acquitted Parki. On April 19 , the Mahendranagar High Court upheld the decision of the district court. The five-year imprisonment of Shahi was comparatively more than the previous two cases. Find the details of these and other snow leopard court cases on our WildEye Asia crime tracking tool. Tufan Neupane is a senior sub editor with Kantipur National Daily in Kathmandu, Nepal, and writes on transitional justice, human rights, judiciary, wildlife crime, and the environment. This investigation is part of a series on illegal trade of snow leopards, supported by Oxpeckers Investigative Environmental Journalism and the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime. Tags: WildEye , Asia , Nepal , snow leopards , wildlife crime. Print page. Oxpeckers Reporters figav mweb.

Climbing Mountains in and Around Pokhara: An Adventure Beyond the Summits

Pokhara buying snow

After spending 2 days in Kathmandu mostly eating momos in Thamel , we decide to make our way to Pokhara. We figure that the buses from Kathmandu to Pokhara left from quite close to our guest house in Thamel. We woke up early in the morning and reached to the bus stop at 7 am which was hardly 5 mins from Newa Home where we stayed, recommended by a friend. There were buses and all of them were headed to either Pokhara or other tourist-friendly destinations. I noticed that 3 of the buses were bound for Pokhara. Our aim was to catch the bus which would leave the earliest. Also read : A Day in Misty Kurseong. We were 4 of us and knew that since it was off season, there was plenty of scope for bargaining on the bus ticket price. A guy approaches us from the Kathmandu-Pokhara Air Conditioned bus, scheduled to leave at am and quotes a price of per person. After checking that the seats were in the middle and not the rear, we agreed a final price of Nepali Rupees per person. There were many foreigners in the bus and were rushing the bus to leave on time. We were hungry and found a small local eatery serving tea, sell roti with chickpeas. The bus leaves on time and is almost full. We hope to reach Pokhara by pm as the distance from Kathmandu to Pokhara is only kms. It begins drizzling after we cross the sizeable city of Kathmandu and we are stuck in a massive traffic jam around am. We are reminded of India a decade or two ago with the chaos of the traffic jam with no news of its resolution. The progress is painfully slow and instead of reaching Pokhara at pm, we have just reached a lunch place set by the river! The restaurant-dhaba is an expensive place, with buffet lunch for NPR per person. We are hungry and have no choice but to eat; the spread is excellent though with salad, papad, noodles, dall, rice, and 2 vegetable curries. The sitting area is shaded and we eat well considering it might be our only meal of the day. It is sweltering hot and humid and we are grateful for having chosen an air conditioned bus over the faster but non-ac maxi shared taxi instead. We are ecstatic when the conductor announces that we have reached Pokhara at about 4 pm. The bus parking is at an almost inaccessible place full of slush, leading to a gaggle of taxi operators quoting astronomical prices. We made our way out of the area and immediately found a taxi for NPR that dropped us close to Phewa Lake. Our aim was to find a reasonably priced place to stay in Pokhara. It was a family run place with some open spaces; the bathroom was shared but since we there were only 4 of us — it was no problem at all. The young guy at the reception was happy to fill our bottles with filter water and that really saved us a lot of money! After having done all this in less than an hour, there was still plenty of time left for us to stroll to Phewa Lake. There was a temple at the start of the entry point to Phewa Lake I was mightily surprised to see some geisha-like tourists there. It was nice to know that there were no entry charges for the entrance to the lakeside. It felt like a festive atmosphere as we strolled on the walking path around Phewa Lake. Many local families were out for a picnic with their kids. Colourful boats occupy centerstage in the lake and with the sun setting with the mountain view, made for a pristine sight. I enjoyed clicking photographs of the serene setting. Prices of the restaurants were quite high because this was a proper tourist spot. It felt like a wonderland, full of happy people with smiling faces. We continued walking on the path and sat whenever we felt the urge to enjoy the views fully. The ticket counter had rates for the same which seemed quite reasonable. Some hawkers were also selling freshly prepared corn on cob. It is a joyful atmosphere with impromptu guitar and singing sessions. We start having hunger pangs with the lunch feeling like a distant memory now! The air is still pretty humid and we are thankful for the breeze without which it would have been quite sweaty on the walk. Many guest houses and hostels for backpackers. Advertised food joints serving different variety of food; Tibetan, Vietnamese, Chinese, European. Free-wifi is advertised prominently; it reminds me of backpacker friendly tourist destinations in India many years ago where wifi is a popular way of enticing international tourists. We come across a stunningly beautiful restaurant by the name of Byanjan — done up in gorgeous blue and white colours but it turns out to be super expensive when we check the menu! We sit on the upper floor of a nearby restaurant and sip draught Sherpa beer and eat excellent Margarita Pizza. The staff recommends an authentic Nepali restaurant for dinner nearby, one Fewa Thakali Bhanchha Ghar. We enter the eatery and are pleasantly surprised to see it is fully occupied with local families. The interior sitting space is in a traditional style, walls are in maroon and white with low tables and cushions laid out on the floor. We find a solitary empty table on the roof and grab the same! The food turns out to be excellent; served in brass plates. We were recommended momos made with buckwheat and a thali which was full of greens that had a unique taste. The prices are reasonable too for the excellent and authentic variety of food and the Thali costs us NPR We thank the staff and go walking on the streets of Pokhara. There are cyclewallahs as fruit sellers roaming on a cycle with a juicer and offering fruits like pineapples, avocados, mangoes, banana, oranges etc like a mobile fruit market on wheels! Its fun to see them stop wherever they see foreign tourists. Pokhara is a busy market with many souvenir shops. We enter a shop selling Tibetan singing bowls, and it has a wide and staggering variety. The singing bowls make a serene and calming sound but the handmade ones are priced very high medium sized ones at NPR and we choose not to buy anything for the moment. We walk back to our guest house and are relieved that the weather has turned cooler with the recent rain. Sleep comes in no time with the tiredness of the bus ride! I had spotted the bus from Pokhara to Begnas Tal and found that the starting point of the same was from Phewa Lake itself! So, we woke up in the morning, had chai and an early breakfast and got ready quickly to leave in the bus bound for Begnas Tal. The ticket is only 60 NPR per person and we are the only 4 people in the bus when it starts from Phewa Lake! It is a comfortable bus and will take around an hour for the 25 odd kilometre distance to Begnas Tal. We call Jai after the bus drops us in Begnas Tal. He explains the directions to get to a place called Sanu Lake on D Water. A local street festival is going on in Begnas Tal, we are delighted to see the dances and the ladies all dressed for the occasion. We keep walking across Begnas Tal lake, cross a small hillock and arrive at the beautifully located Sanu Lake on D Water. It is a pristine scene, with not a soul around and calm, placid waters of the lake. There are blue and yellow coloured boats in the water and with the surrounding green hills look very pretty. We meet with Sanu and check the rooms and agree on the price. It is a gorgeously located guest house with rustic tables set in an open sit-out very close to the lake. Sanu tells us that some of the rooms are blessed with views of the Himalayan peaks when the weather is clear. Kayaking is also possible in the lake and Jai has already told me about the fantastic swimming experiences possible here. Relaxed opera music is being played and reflections of the nearby mountains in the water look enchanting. We fix the prices with Sanu NPR per room including breakfast. We walk out and spot some nicely located tiny eateries near the lake, it is a surreal setting for sure. Some of the walls at Sanu Lake on D Water are painted with graffiti and they also have life jackets available for for swimmers. Jai calls and asks us to come to the village where a festival is being held in the fields! The rice fields are submerged in water and youngsters are happily singing and dancing in the muddy water over some funny looking competitions! Its very humid and we find a shaded corner to protect ourselves in the harsh sun. Locals are watching the proceedings and it is an especially funny scene to see foreigners rolling in the mud too! I decide to try a bread at a small bakery and it turns out to be delicious! We order thalis and the family sets about the task of making everything fresh. Food takes a lot of time to appear but is well worth the wait when it does. Rice, fried potatoes, dall, vegetable, curd, chutney and salad and the puri sabji is excellent too. It is the World Cup and today is England vs India; Jai leads us to an open air space with an expansive view of Begnas Tal and a television screen. Jai is mostly interested in watching cricket and all of us take turns with the match too! It is a supremely serene setting. We go back in the evening after an early dinner of chowmein at a small eatery nearby because the food at Sanu is quite expensive! There is no electricity for a few hours and it is blissful to enjoy the stars overhead. We all go for a short swim in the lake in the darkness when Jai insists it is an unbelievable experience! It is a comfortable sleep with the breeze blowing and next morning we enjoy the tea and breakfast sitting by the lake. The sun is out and we jump in the water to enjoy the blissfully cool lake! Tranquil setting with live guitar playing, a traveller is playing and singing. Breakfast is roti, potatoes, egg bhurji and fruits. He has apparently charged them for beers that they never had. We have been charged princely prices for bananas and fat rotis that he has served in the name of breakfast which he had included in the prices earlier! We walk to the market in Begnas Tal and book 2 small Maruti Altos to drop us to Deorali area, an uphill climb of 3 kms. Pay NPR each cab, very reasonable. The woman in charge there shows us the rooms and even though they are not very well ventilated, the weather is mild and we agree on a price of INR per room including breakfast. Prerita orders our thalis too at their in-house kitchen. We go to the roof to catch the sunset amid the surreal evening skies. We enjoy a few chilled beers in the evening as the clouds turn stormy and bring rain in the night. The electricity goes with the sky thundering intermittently and it continues raining for a good two hours. We sleep well and wake up to the the best sight of our trip or life?! The skies have cleared and the majestic Annapurna range is visible from our balcony. Jai and Prerita also join us and tell us that we are very lucky to see this sight in the monsoon month of July. We enjoy the show for an hour or so until the clouds decide to come back. After breakfast, we have a shower and decide to walk around the area. It has progressed into a hot day with the sun out in full force. We visit the nearby Deorali temple and are stunned with the majestic wood carvings. The entrance to the temples in Nepal is very ornate and artistic. I am especially glad to come across a non-touristy local temple in a real village. It is afternoon time and we are all hungry with all the aimless walking around in the humidity. We come across a small eatery run by a lady and ask her if she can make noodles with mint chutney and vegetables? She says it will take time as everything will be freshly made. We are pleased with the answer and decide to wait and help her in making it! The noodles take around 45 minutes to make and turn out to be the most delicious noodles of our entire Nepal trip. We go back happily to Deorali and witness the cloudy skies in the evening with the beautiful landscape and the views of Begnas Tal lake. It rains in the evening making the proceedings cooler. The food is delicious again and we also watch another World Cup cricket match in progress. We decide to drop all plans for Muktinath or hiking in the Pokhara region and plan to get to Kathmandu next day Bhaktapur. The cloud cover is heavy in the morning and the mountains are not clearly visible. We have tea and breakfast with the greenery glistening in the brief period of sunshine. In an hour or so, when the clouds part a gap in the clouds reveals a dazzling array of peaks! It is like a goodbye photograph from Pokhara as we are going to leave in some time. See some souvenir shops selling Shaligrams. The pizza is ok-ok and we eat cake and pastries for dessert at another nearby place. Say goodbye to Jai and Prerita and thank them for a lovely time! We decide to go by shared maxi cab while going back. We are quoted NPR per seat but the intense competition between the cabs works and we get into a maxi cab for NPR per person! They are faster than a bus but non-aircontioned. Thankfully the weather is good today and we have reasonable space in the maxi cab! Last time I was in Kathmandu and Pokhara was in early These photos and your descriptions stun me. Most fav photo was of the sun over the blue boats on the water and the misty mountains of Dinesh. Extremely well-written blog. We also curate travel blogs to help our fellow travelers gain the best experience of their life. Wah brings back memories from almost 10 years ago when we visited Pokhara…have been wanting to go back ever since…. I am a Pokhara based freelance writer and author. I liked your article that you wrote about your experience in Pokhara. I will be happy to meet you next time if you happen to visit this city. I really liked the vibe of Pokhara and the happy feel. Would love to meet you next time I am there. Impressive writing. It is beautiful written about the journey to Pokhra. It will be big help for the person who wants to visit Pokhra first time. It is perfect guide for him. Thanks for such a beautiful and very clear writing of your travelling. Thank you for sharing such beautiful experience I m going to travel this Sunday it will help me alot to alot. Amazing experience of Water also visit Gupteshwar Mahadev temple. Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive. Type your email…. Continue reading. Our Kathmandu to Pokhara bus. Also read : A Day in Misty Kurseong We were 4 of us and knew that since it was off season, there was plenty of scope for bargaining on the bus ticket price. Breakfast of Sel Roti — a staple Nepali dish made with rice flour. Locals posing where the bus stopped! The kid is wearing a Gorkha hat while the gentleman on the right is sporting a It begins drizzling after we cross the sizeable city of Kathmandu and we are stuck in a massive traffic jam around am. The geisha-like ladies to the right before the entrance to Phewa lake. Very intriguing. Witnessed this majestic sight on the walk We are ecstatic when the conductor announces that we have reached Pokhara at about 4 pm. The cosmopolitan nature of Pokhara means there are plenty of options for cuisines from different parts of the world. We thought about a boat ride but instead chose to enjoy the views just like that. Phewa Lake After having done all this in less than an hour, there was still plenty of time left for us to stroll to Phewa Lake. The unique flag of Nepal. Gorgeous frames are dime-a-dozen at Phewa Lake, especially during sunset time. Excellent place filled with locals. A juice bar at Pokhara Lakeside — the surprising thing was that a glass of juice cost more than a bottle of beer! Just before the sun went down. Sunset at Phewa Lake can be a calming experience if one can manage to find a quiet place to sit. The mobile fruit and juice seller in Pokhara — very innovative idea. Singing bowls in Nepal come in a great variety. The best ones are the ones that are handmade and give the most calming sound. A tranquil moment at Begnas Tal. Festival on the street in Begnas Tal Sanu Lake on D Water in Lekhnath It is a pristine scene, with not a soul around and calm, placid waters of the lake. My favourite frame from Begnas Tal in Pokhara. A typical temple in Nepal. Scene while walking to Sanu Lake on d Water. This slideshow requires JavaScript. Leave a Reply Cancel reply. Discover more from The Bum Who Travels Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive. Type your email… Subscribe. Loading Comments Email Required Name Required Website.

Pokhara buying snow