Adventure Tourism in Nepal

   The Hindu kingdom of Nepal is sandwiched between India and Chinese-occupied Tibet. It forms part of the central Himalayas and boasts the majority of the world’s highest summits, over 8000 meters. Nepal offers an attractive environment for Western tourists seeking wilderness adventure. In fact, surprisingly little of this mountainous but quite densely populated country is uninhabited wilderness in the North American sense. Adventure tourism includes the following related activities:
_ Mountain climbing The expedition to climb Annapurna was the first group of Western visitors allowed into Nepal. It was followed three years later by Hillary and Tenzing’s successful ascent of Mount Everest in 1953, which attracted worldwide attention. Climbing the Himalayas is exceptionally hazardous, because of the extreme weather conditions and the lack of oxygen at high altitudes; even the base of a mountain like Annapurna is at a higher level than any summit in the Alps. In view of these conditions, most expeditions have been organized on a lavish scale, involving teams of climbers, sophisticated equipment and a small army of Sherpa guides and porters to provide logistical support. While some climbers are adopting the minimalist approach, pioneered by Reinhold Messner, who proved it was possible to climb peaks at over 8000 metres without the use of supplementary oxygen, others rely on an infrastructure of ropes and ladders put in place by the experts. Some peaks are so popular in fact that they need to be ‘booked’ years in advance, and are increasingly the focus of publicity stunts. Moreover the accumulated waste left by successive expeditions – particularly on Everest – continues to be an environmental disgrace, necessitating a major clean-up operation.
_ River running Nepal’s fast-flowing rivers, including the Trisuli, Sun Kosi and Karnali, offer ideal conditions for white-water rafting and kayaking, particularly the first two, which are more accessible from Kathmandu.
_ Mountain biking Like river running, this is often combined with trekking by younger Western tourists, and takes place at relatively low altitudes.