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Nepal Ceasefire

Positive news from Nepal as Maoists and government prepare for talks


Posted: 24 July 2001
by Jon

Positive news from major trek destination Nepal, where the government and Maoist rebels have agreed a ceasefire as a prelude to talks between the two sides.

The news follows the recent resignation of the Nepali Prime Minister, Koirala - a hardliner - and his replacement by Sher Bahadur Deuba. According to this story on the BBC site, more than 1500 people have been killed since 1996.

So far the Maoist revolt has had relatively little impact on tourism, a crucial source of foreign income to an otherwise impoverished country, with most of the violence being concentrated in the west of the country and directed at the police. However, in the wake of the massacre of the royal family by the Crown Prince, there has been an underlying fear that the unrest could hurt the tourist industry worth $168.1 million in 1999.

As newspaper The Rising Nepal, said tourist arrivals in June this year fell more than 50 percent to 10,238 from 23,715 in the same period in 2000, tourist industry pressure groups demonstrated their concern by lobbying the government to remove visa fees in an effort to minimise the effect of the unrest.

Peak travel seasons in Nepal are the spring and autumn trekking periods.

For detailed 'on the ground' news from Nepal, check out the nepalnews.com site.


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Nepal is full safe country to Travel  It is relatively safe to travel within Nepal at present, and as always when you travel to an unfamiliar country you need to be aware of what to do to minimise the risks, wherever you travel to. There are some additional risks at present, however the risk of an incident is very low, when compared to travelling to London or New York for example. Almitra Von Willcox, who has been to Nepal twice now recently said she found Nepalese people "very lovely and friendly". She also stated that "Nepal is safer than my own home town of San Diego, USA in terms of robbery, car accident and shoot outs".

Ask yourself this question - Is there a town within your country or state where it is unwise to be alone late at night, wearing expensive clothes, watch or carrying a laptop or some other valuable item ?  Of course there is and yet many people go there, but they avoid the "No Go Areas" and most of them enjoy their trip.

A holiday in Nepal will expose you to additional risks, but the benefits far outweigh the risks.  Trekking along mountain trails is exilerating, so is rafting the raging rivers - these are the real risks you will be taking, compared to the anti social behavior of a few lost souls.

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The view of the British Government is...·  

 25,000 British nationals visited Nepal in 2007 (source: Nepal Tourist Board). Most visits were trouble free. The main types of incident for which British nationals required consular assistance in Nepal in 2007 were: replacing lost and stolen passports; arrests, mainly drug-related; and hospitalisations, generally as a result of trekking accidents. You are strongly advised to use a reputable Local travel agent which is fully registered under the regulation of Nepal government and only trek with an experienced guide and in a group. {Mountain Sherpa trekking & Expedition [http://www.guidenepal.com]}is one of the reputable Local travel agency based in Kathmandu. They organize all kind of Nepal outdoors adventures activities like trekking, expedition, tours, rafting etc. MST provides very reasonable price comparing to the others international companies. They are really very professional, highly trained staff. I am complete satisfied with their service & would like tp highly recommend for anyone who willing to travel Nepal in future.


Posted: 02/09/2008 at 03:29

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