TAPLEJUNG: The Kanchenjunga Base Camp area in Taplejung, home to Nepal’s second-highest mountain, has turned quiet with the end of the main tourist season.
Tourism activities in the Kanchenjunga region have slowed significantly after the peak trekking period ended, leaving once-bustling base camp areas largely deserted. Popular locations such as Khambachen, Lhonak and Pangpema in the northern base camp, as well as the southern base camp areas including Cheram and Ramjer, are currently devoid of visitors.
During the trekking season, these areas are typically crowded with both domestic and foreign tourists. However, tourism entrepreneurs say the flow of visitors has almost completely stopped following the close of the travel season.
Tourism entrepreneur Tenzing Serap Sherpa said hotel operators and other business owners who had been running services in the upper settlements have returned to lower areas after tourists stopped arriving. “Once the trekking season ends, there are no visitors, so business owners also move back down,” he said.
Meanwhile, data from the Kanchenjunga Conservation Area Office shows a steady increase in the number of foreign tourists visiting the region in recent years. According to Tourism Assistant Tashi Tenzing Sherpa at the Kanchenjunga Conservation Area Management Council, 950 foreign tourists visited the Kanchenjunga region during the first trekking season this year.
He added that although tourist arrivals decline after Mangsir, a small number of visitors continue to arrive sporadically. Alongside foreign tourists, the number of domestic visitors to the region has also been increasing.
In comparison, 877 foreign tourists visited the Kanchenjunga area during the first trekking season last year, reflecting a gradual rise in interest in the remote Himalayan destination despite its seasonal nature.
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