The rich traditional culture of the Chepang, Gurung and Magars inhabitants can also be a draw, and provide additional income to the indigenous people of the region. There are already new homestays in Gadi and Tallo Kaule, that offer visitors a place to stay and immerse in local traditions and wildlife tourism.
BES is providing homestay training in a sustainable and eco-friendly way for local people, many of whom are from marginalised communities. The Municipality will now have to invest in proper homestays, improve trails, and train locals. Bird and biodiversity conservation and would be highly beneficial to ecotourism development here.
When local villagers find they are benefitting financially from such grassroots tourism, they are much more likely to actively protect their wondrous forests with its bio-diversity. And this is also the kind of post-Covid tourism model Nepal should strive for.
Carol Inskipp is a UK conservationist and author of books on Nepal birds and their conservation, who has been coming to Nepal since 1977.
Rupendra Karmacharya runs a lodge in Gadi village, and works to preserve the local culture and biodiversity.
Prem Thapa is an avid birder, trekker, life member of Bird Education Society, and works at Samsara Trekking & Safari in Kathmandu.