Nepal has always placed its mountains at first when it comes to tourism but with the potential the nation has got for tourism, it can offer several other activities to the tourists who travel to Nepal. The activities at the mountains like trekking , mountaineering has always been at the top of the list when it comes to tourism, along with that the cultural and heritage tours have also earned quite a popularity in recent years, other than that several adventures like bungee, rafting, paragliding, kayaking, rock climbing has always been the favourite activities of tourists in Nepal. These are the things that has created a massive impression amongst the tourist which lured them to travel to Nepal. Besides, there are several other attractions that has been able to catch an eye of the tourist and one of them is the crafts in Nepal. The unique art and crafts of Nepal has always been one of the major things that has impressed the tourists.
Nepal has depended on its mountains and has been selling same old products and tour packages for years now despite the potential it has got to diversify the tourism product s. Tourism has vastly changed over the last five years as the culture and traditions of Nepal has attracted several tourists from all over the world. The demand for cultural tourism has rapidly increased in the last few years in the tourism industry of Nepal. Not only the cultures, traditions and heritages but the eco-tourism, agro tourism and many other tours in Nepal has collected a huge attention from the tourists in the last couple of years. Nepal has diversified the tourism products and has been able to deliver unique tour packages to the tourists which made them to achieve the milestone of 1 million tourist arrival i. The year 2019 and with more packages to offer, the nation is aiming for two million tourist in the coming years.
Talking about the rich cultures, arts and architectures in Nepal, the indigenous crafts has always been there along with the cultures and traditions. I am pretty sure many who have travelled to Nepal might have come across with several indigenous crafts throughout their trip. When we talk about the crafts, I mean the indigenous crafts that are unique and some with traditional and cultural values. These indigenous crafts are as much rich as the diversified cultures in Nepal, so you can find unique and traditional crafts all over Nepal. From the capital, Kathmandu to the ancient villages and towns all over Nepal, there will likely be the presence of unique crafts. Although modernisation has widely hit in different cities of Nepal, many people still use the traditional ways to make these crafts that makes it so interesting which is why you will find many hand-made local products in tourist shops of Nepal.
Most of the indigenous crafts that you find in Nepal holds the cultural and religious values, some even holds the historical significance. The diversification of rich cultures and traditions in Nepal has resulted in the diversification of arts and crafts in Nepal. Some of the popular crafts that you will find in Nepal are Khukri, Mithila Chitrakala, handmade sculptures, pottery making, Thangka, Dhaka products and more. You can find many places in Kathmandu where people make traditional sculptures of different materials like wood and metal. Moving on to Bhaktapur, where you can find many Newars making the handmade pottery including the ones that is used to keep JUJU Dhau- one of the most famous food items of Bhaktapur. On to the monasteries, you will find many arts and crafts over there, different paintings, mandalas and many sculptures which are all handmade. Apart from that, there are several other crafts that Nepalese use in their daily lives. On top of that, you can find the traditional way of making alcohol, making chilly powder, making clothes in the local community of the capital. The more local you explore, the more unique crafts that you will find all over Nepal.
These indigenous crafts might have been indirectly introduced to the tourists who travel to Nepal on way or another but it is now time to promote these crafts in the tourism industry. As far as craft tourism is concerned, it is not a thing yet. Craft tourism has not actually been a whole tourism package but many travel agents in Nepal has included it as a certain part of a tour package which is most probably the best idea to introduce craft tourism. It might not create a huge impact on the tourism industry of Nepal but it will certainly be a level-up as agro tourism, plus it will help create a little more diversification in the tour package.
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