Travel and Tourism – Discovering West Nepal – the Wild Frontier

A Visit to Bhaktapur Durbar Square

Last winter our class made an educational visit to Bhaktapur Durbar Square, one of the most famous historical places in Nepal. We left school by bus at eight in the morning, and in less than an hour we arrived at the old city.

As soon as we entered, we felt as if we had stepped back several centuries. The red-brick streets, carved wooden windows and tall temples were beautiful. Our guide told us that the city was once the capital of the Malla kings, and that the palace area was built and enlarged over many years. We saw the Fifty-five Window Palace, the Golden Gate, which is a masterpiece of metal work, and the five-storeyed Nyatapola Temple, the tallest temple in Nepal. The two stone statues of wrestlers, elephants, lions and other guardians on its steps impressed us the most. We also learnt that the earthquake of 2015 had damaged many buildings, which were being repaired with great care.

At noon we ate juju dhau, the famous king curd of Bhaktapur, and watched potters making clay pots in Pottery Square. Some of us bought small souvenirs.

We returned in the evening, tired but happy. The visit taught me how rich our heritage is and how important it is to protect it. I will always remember that day.

(a) America was discovered by Christopher Columbus.

(b) St. Paul's Cathedral was designed by Christopher Wren.

(c) London was destroyed (largely) by the Great Fire of 1666.

(d) Penicillin was discovered by Alexander Fleming.

(e) The Mona Lisa was painted by Leonardo da Vinci.

All the sentences use the simple past passive: was/were + past participle, with the doer introduced by by.

(b) The remote, rugged and less-explored areas of western Nepal

The chapter uses "Wild Frontier" to describe the far-flung, thinly populated and largely untouched tracts of western Nepal — its mountains, forests and river valleys — which remain outside the usual tourist trail.

Five major attractions of West Nepal, as presented in Discovering West Nepal – the Wild Frontier, are the following.

1. Rara Lake and Rara National Park (Mugu). Rara is the largest and deepest lake in Nepal, surrounded by pine and spruce forests and snow peaks. It is significant for its scenery, boating and quiet trekking.
2. Shey Phoksundo Lake and National Park (Dolpa). This is Nepal's largest national park, with a turquoise lake and rare wildlife such as the snow leopard and blue sheep. It attracts nature lovers and wildlife watchers.
3. Dolpo and the trans-Himalayan valleys. Remote villages, monasteries and the Buddhist and Bon culture of the Dolpo-pa offer a rare look at a living Himalayan culture, valuable to cultural travellers and trekkers.
4. The Karnali River. One of the great rivers of Nepal, with deep gorges, it provides white-water rafting and kayaking for adventure tourists.
5. Bardia National Park. This lowland Terai park shelters tigers, rhinos, elephants and river dolphins. It offers jungle safaris and bird watching away from the crowds of Chitwan.

West Nepal, which includes Karnali and Sudurpashchim Provinces and districts such as Humla, Mugu, Dolpa and Jumla, is rich in nature and culture but remains little developed for tourism. Travellers commonly face the following challenges.

1. Poor transport and road access. Many routes are rough, unpaved or reachable only on foot or by small aircraft, and monsoon landslides block roads for days. Solution: travel in the dry seasons (October–November, March–May), keep spare days in the itinerary, and use reliable operators or domestic flights.
2. Lack of accommodation and basic facilities. Outside district headquarters there are few hotels, and food and heating are limited. Solution: use community homestays booked in advance through local tourism offices, and carry some food and warm gear.
3. Scarce health services and rescue. Health posts are far apart, and altitude sickness or injury can become serious because helicopter rescue is costly and weather-dependent. Solution: carry a first-aid kit, travel with a licensed guide and buy insurance covering high-altitude rescue.
4. Harsh terrain and climate. High passes, steep trails, avalanches and extreme cold make travel risky. Solution: acclimatise gradually, hire experienced guides and porters, and follow weather advice.
5. Weak communication and tourist services. Mobile and internet networks are poor, and there are few information centres, maps or signboards. Solution: carry offline maps, a local SIM and a power bank; local bodies should set up information centres and trail signs.

With careful planning and better investment in roads, health posts and communication, these challenges can be reduced and West Nepal can become a sustainable tourism destination.

West Nepal—the belt of hills, mountains and river valleys lying west of the Kali Gandaki, taking in the regions of Rara, Dolpo, Jumla, Humla, Darchula, Baitadi and the Karnali basin—is genuinely a treasure house of adventure and cultural tourism. Yet, as the chapter Discovering West Nepal – the Wild Frontier points out, it remains one of the least visited parts of the country. The statement is justified on the following grounds.

Natural beauty. West Nepal holds some of the most pristine and unspoiled landscapes in the Himalaya. Rara Lake, the largest and deepest lake in Nepal, lies in a national park of the same name, ringed by pine forests and snow-capped peaks. The Karnali, Seti and Mahakali rivers cut deep gorges through the hills. Shey Phoksundo National Park in Dolpo contains Phoksundo Lake, whose turquoise water and surrounding cliffs are among the most striking sights in the country. The Api and Saipal ranges, the high pastures of Humla and the remote trans-Himalayan valleys of Dolpo and Mugu offer scenery that is at least as impressive as the crowded trekking routes of Annapurna and Everest, but without the crowds. Because roads and lodges are scarce, the area has kept its natural character intact.

Cultural richness. The region is a living museum of ethnic and religious diversity. Dolpo preserves an old Tibetan Buddhist culture, with gompas, mani walls and the ancient Bon tradition; the Shey festival and the pre-Buddhist practices of the Dolpo-pa are found nowhere else. Jumla and Jajarkot are centres of Hindu pilgrimage and of the Khas-Arya hill culture, with temples such as Chandannath and the historic Sinja Valley, regarded as the cradle of the Nepali language. Humla and Mugu are home to Hindu and Buddhist communities living side by side, and the far-western districts preserve folk music, Deuda and Chhaliya dances, and distinctive festivals such as Gaura. This cultural depth gives West Nepal a strong claim to be a cultural tourism destination.

Adventure opportunities. The chapter presents West Nepal as a "wild frontier" for adventure. The Karnali, one of the finest big-volume rafting rivers in the world, offers multi-day expeditions; the Seti and Bheri provide shorter rafting and kayaking runs. The region has excellent trekking routes—the Rara Lake trek, the Dolpo trek, the Limi Valley trek in Humla and the Dhaulagiri circuit—that combine high passes, remote villages and wilderness camping. There is scope for mountaineering on Api and Saipal, mountain biking on the rough hill tracks, jungle safari and birdwatching in Bardia National Park, and fishing in the Karnali and its tributaries. Hunting was once practised in Dolpo, but the chapter stresses that this must give way to wildlife conservation and photographic tourism.

Why it remains underexplored. Poor road access and air links, the long and expensive journey from Kathmandu, lack of good hotels and trained guides, weak publicity abroad, the lingering image of the Maoist conflict and the remoteness of the region all keep visitor numbers low. As a result, the local people get little benefit from tourism and the area stays poor.

Steps for sustainable tourism. To promote the region without damaging it, the chapter suggests the following measures:

• Improve transport links—roads, airstrips and regular flights—so that the area becomes accessible without making it overcrowded.
• Develop community-based homestays and eco-lodges so that tourism money stays with local families.
• Train local youths as guides, porters and cooks, and give them a fair share of the income.
• Advertise West Nepal through digital media, travel fairs and documentaries, highlighting Rara, Dolpo and the Karnali.
• Protect national parks, lakes and forests, and strictly control hunting, littering and the number of trekkers in sensitive areas.
• Preserve local languages, festivals and crafts, and involve the community in planning tourism.
• Encourage off-season and responsible tourism so that benefits spread throughout the year.

In conclusion, West Nepal possesses natural beauty, cultural wealth and adventure potential comparable to any other region of the country. Its very lack of development has preserved its charm. If the government, tourism entrepreneurs and local communities work together to develop infrastructure while protecting the environment and culture, West Nepal can truly become a sustainable tourism frontier—justifying the claim that it is a hidden treasure.

I hate being laughed at.

The gerund phrase "people laughing at me" becomes the passive gerund being laughed at; the phrasal verb keeps its preposition at.

English is spoken all over the world.

The agent people is general, so it is omitted. The present simple active becomes is/are + past participle.