Number of tourists trekking to Bukipatan rises to 50 a day
DHORPATAN, BAGLUNG: The number of tourists trekking at elevations above 4,000 metres has surged this season, with visitors seen ascending the slopes almost daily. Towering green mountains overlook flat plains at their feet, and Baglung’s Bukipatan has emerged as a new hotspot for both domestic and international trekkers.
Until five years ago, Bukipatan was inhabited only by local shepherds and their livestock. Social media promotions and word of mouth have driven a sharp rise in visitor numbers, according to Gun Bahadur Budhamagar of Dhorpatan Municipality-9.
“Tourists who reach Bukipatan can see dozens of mountain ranges up close, witness shepherd life and enjoy cool summer temperatures,” Budhamagar said. “That experience has fuelled young people’s fascination with trekking.”
Bukipatan sits within Nepal’s only hunting reserve at an altitude of 3,000 to 4,500 metres. It can be reached after a four-and-a-half-hour walk from Dhorpatan Valley, and its climbing season runs from Asar (mid-June) to Asoj (mid-October).
Budhamagar recalled that locals once led their livestock up to Bukipatan during the monsoon and descended in winter, but outsiders rarely visited until recently. “About 50 young people now trek there daily during this season,” he said.
Dhirendra Gharti Magar, a hotel entrepreneur in Dhorpatan Valley, confirmed that Bukipatan was previously unknown but now attracts trekkers almost every day. “Youths from Pokhara, Kathmandu, Butwal and Chitwan come here for the challenge,” he added.
Revan Kumar Shakya, a trekker from Chitwan, said he travelled by car to Dhorpatan and then trekked up to Bukipatan to escape the Tarai heat. “I saw many other groups on the way,” Shakya said, and stressed that the local government should manage the route.
In response to growing visitor numbers, Gandaki provincial government has allocated Rs 2 million in the current fiscal year for trail construction and related infrastructure.
Par Singh Thapa, head of the Tourism and Industry Office in Baglung, reported that a five-kilometre path from Pakhathar to Garpachheda in Dhorpatan Municipality-9 has already been built, complete with wooden bridges at key points. He said further structures are planned in the coming weeks.
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