Ghalegaon Of Lamjung Waiting For Tourists Ghalegaon is a mine of diversity. Beautiful white mountains at the top. Forest in the middle. At the bottom, there is a village with a majority of Ghales. This is a village which is considered to be historically and touristically important.
The northern area of the district is located in the lap of Lamjung and Annapurna Himals, situated at an altitude of 2000 meters above sea level.
Most tourists visit this village in the entire district. It is known as the country’s first smart village, a happy village, and a model village in South Asia. Many Gurung villages in the district have tourism potential.
At the moment, local and homestay operators are looking for tourists. With the arrival of 200 to 300 tourists every day, it has become almost deserted after the arrival of tourists has decreased. That is why the Gharwas owners are eager to welcome tourists at the end of the summer season.
The office secretary of the Rural Ghalegaon Tourism Management Committee and the owner of Gharvas, Ghilraj Ghale, said that this village, which has been deserted due to the lack of tourists since the beginning of June, is now coming to an end because the weather will be clear and the roads leading here will be clean.
Tourism is the main source of income for most of the homestay operators here. Here, during the tourist season, each household earns more than 50,000.
Gharwasa owners, who have become leisurely without tourists, are waiting for tourists and are busy preparing the necessary organic materials for them.
Tourists who come to the village are welcomed, honored, and farewelled by the locals with white tikas, flower garlands, bunches, and food. And they serve Gundruk, corn soybeans, millet bread, tea, and other dishes.
It is a tradition of the people of Ghalegaon to take tourists home and perform traditional dances such as Ghatu, Krishna character dance, Ghyaber, Lama, Sorthi, etc. based on Gurung Sanskar. Prem Bahadur Ghale, Chairman of the Tourism Management Committee, Ghalegaon, and former chairman of Kholasothar Rural Municipality, said that this will promote their traditions and culture and tourists will enjoy information about it.
He says that the residents of Ghalegaon, who are waiting for the tourists, will be excited when the tourists arrive. He informed us that when there are more tourists than the capacity of Gharvas in Ghalegaon, they are sent to Gharvas in other neighboring villages.
After the people’s movement of 2062/63, the SAARC meeting, which was formed after the establishment of the republic in the country, announced Ghalegaon as a model rural tourism village of the SAARC nation at the initiative of the Nepal government. Smart Village and Happy Village have been announced a few years ago.
It is the birthplace of the Gurungs among Nepal’s indigenous tribes and the village where Ghaleraja ruled the last kingdom. There are about 135 households in this village.
From here, Manaslu Himal with a height of 8 thousand 163 meters, Ngadichuli (Da Hark Himal) with a height of 7 thousand 835 meters, Annapurna Himal with a height of 7 thousand 935 meters (second), Annapurna Himal with a height of 6 thousand 963 meters, Machhapuchhre Himalaya with a height of 7 thousand 893 meters. High Himalchuli, 6,986-meter-high Lamjung Himal, and 6,672-meter-high Budv Himal can be seen.
Here you can also see the sculpture of the last Ghaleraja Jalbu Ruja Clay. In Ghalegaon, a fee of 1,250 per person per night is charged. For that amount, you get one night’s sleep and one meal each of non-vegetarian and non-vegetarian meals.
Besides, tourists get tea, millet roti, vegetables and eggs for breakfast. Ghalegaon is 172 km from Kathmandu via Dumre Bazar in Tanahun to Benisihar and 110 km from provincial capital Pokhara to Benisihar. You have to travel 24 km from Bensihar to reach Ghalegaon.
