Covid-19 and tourism in Nepal- The latest status.

The Corona virus situation in Nepal is moving on like a roller coaster with 4000-5000 new cases in a day while the next day the new cases return back to the 2000 range and it has been going on like this for a week now. Overall, the number of cases of Covid-19 has suddenly hit a massive increment from a few days now. The capital of Nepal, Kathmandu which is the major part of the country has been receiving high number of Covid-19 cases for a whole now and it is no doubt that the capital could be known as a risk zone as of now. 

Around 50% of the daily new cases are recorde in Kathmandu alone.

Kathmandu alone collects 50% of the total new cases recorded in a single day. With high density and the frequent movement of people from one place to another, it is no doubt the virus is going to spread like a wildfire but the actual question is that if the health services are available to treat those infected. Are the medical kits, beds, ventilators, ICUs enough to treat the  patients and the answer clearly is ‘No'. There are not enough health se vices and medicals kits and other equipment to treat the rising number of Covid-19 patients. The daily news have reported that the hospitals in Kathmandu are filled with patients and it is very much hard to get a bed for the new patients. Now this here is the actual problem apart from the virus itself. 

Roaming around in Kathmandu or skipping the capital?

As far as traveling and roaming around capital is concerned, the durbar square and different other cultural and heritage sites has seen a huge number of visitors since last few weeks despite the Covid-19 situation. Bike riding and heading on for a short hiking seems quite common these days in the capital. Some even travel to different destinations nearby Kathmandu with their friends.

 However, if you are planning to travel to Kathmandu after the resumption of trekking then I would suggest you to skip and ignore these activities as of now. You should head on straight to your trekking destination after completing your quarantine protocols and head to the mountains for fresh air. Kathmandu might not be the best place to roam freely and visit different tourist destinations this time due to Covid-19 concerns. The capital definitely is one of the best places to be in Nepal but this is nit the right time for the adventure of the capital, the experience might not be worth it this time.  With Dashain soon to start, Kathmandu will be quite  as well, so head straight in to your trekking destination and enjoy the places which are free from Covid-19.

The rest of Nepal is not quite affected from the virus as the capital, Kathmandu.

The situation is Kathmandu looks normal as of now despite the increasing number of Covid-19 cases as there is a huge mobility of people every day in the capital and different tourist destinations but the stats in the health sector tells otherwise. However, the Covid-19 situation at rest of the country is not as bad as it is in the capital. Most parts of the Terai region has managed the Covid-19 situation as per nepalitimes. The other parts of the country has not seen a worse condition of the Covid-19 situation and different tourism sectors have been smoothly operating tourists activities with the movement of domestic tourists. 

Tourist activities are increasing in Pokhara with canyoning being latest adventure to join the field. 

Moving on, the tourism industry is working on for the resumption of trekking activities in Nepal. As of now, the Nepal Government has not  mentioned anything about the decision to resume the trekking and mountain activities in Nepal, so with few days remaining for the resumption, the decision will most likely stand. Apart from that, the major tourist destinations of Nepal like Pokhara has been operating different tourist activities for a while now. Recently the canyoning service( one of the most popular tourist activity of Nepal) has been resumed after 7 months of its suspension. Canyoning was suspended with the start of lockdown back in March and now has finally restarted and waiting for the arrival of its tourist. Canyoning is one of the adventure water sports that is quite popular with both domestic and international tourists in Nepal. 

Mountains are far from city area but could it really be safe for trekking?

As far as trekking is concerned, the mountain region of Nepal is still one of the safest places to travel and head on for trekking and other mountain activities. With fewer density, smaller communities and quite far from cities, the mountain areas has very less chance of getting in touch with the virus. So trekking can be the safest tourist activity that you could do but the people living over there might only allow tourist to head on for trekking if they have Covid-19 negative report. Apart from that, you might spend a little quality time on different tourist destinations that has very less chance of getting contact with the virus. 

If you are planning for a Nepal tour or for trekking in Nepal soon then you should keep up with the latest news update and the Covid-19 situation of the country as there might be frequent changes in decisions of the government due to Covid-19 concerns. 


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