Nepal Himalayas Permission to scale the holy mountain Nepal Information Trekking Information

Discussion: Permission to scale the holy mountain?

Pokhara- Pokharel is seem to be reluctant to let go of their position in not allowing Mt. Machhapuchhare to be climbed, since the peak is the symbol of their religious faith and dignity. It has been four decades since Mt. Machhapuchhare was put under a statutory ban from being climbed. The Ministry of Tourism has given a green signal for reopening of a few peaks for the mountaineers and this includes Mt. Machhapuchhare.

According to the 1956 route mapping of Mt. Machhapuchhare, which stands at 6,696 meters, it was then a British expedition team, led by Colonel Jim Robert, that made an attempt to scale the mountain in 1957.

But Colonel Robert and his team had to relinquish their daring attempt just before 150 meters short of the peak, due to bad weather and much opposition from the Gurung community of Pokhara. Since then, Mt. Machhapuchhare was never climbed due to the oft-repeated protest, especially by the Gurung community of Pokhara.

In 2002 the joint secretary of Ministry of Tourism has hinted that Mt. Machhapuchhare is likely to be opened for the mountaineers, after a four decade long ban.

Against this decision, notonly the Gurung community, but the majority of hotel entrepreneurs and other tourism-relatedbusinessmen, have come heavily. A prominent hotelier of Pokhara said, "Mt. Machhapuchhare is not only a peak for the people of Pokhara. It is the symbol of our religious faith and pride as well. According to the Hindu mythology, it is believed that fromthe top of the mountain Matasya Kanya (whose upper part is that of a girl and below is fish) wasborn.

So far, no one has polluted the sanctity of this peak. If the government allows scaling of the peak, it does not mean that Pokhara business will see a bumper profit.

The government must thinkthat nothing of this sort is going to happen. The co-ordinator of the International Mountainous Museum and a prominent tourism entrepreneur of Pokhara opined, "In terms of its height,there is no doubt it is lower than Mt. Everest, but as far as the people's respect and religioussentiments are concerned, it is the tallest peak for the people of Pokhara".

A prominent environmentalist and geologist opines that if this Himalaya is opened for the climbing there would be a great rush of tourists. He believes thatPokhara tourism will progress in leaps and bounds, if merely Mt. Machhapuchhare is opened forthe climbing. Contrary to this statement , the local lakeside business community hasentirely an opposite thinking.

They say that Pokhara tourism will drastically decrease because mostof the tourists will stay at Hemja and return from there without staying at the famous lakeside at Pokhara.

Another geologist and hotel entrepreneur has another opinion: "As far as financial gain is concerned, no doubt there will be some financial gains out of this decision, but at the same time we have to listen to the local people's plea as well". According to a statistics, there are more than 1310 famous peaks in Nepal. But among them, only 158 peaks are open for climbers. And among the 14 highest peaks of the world, 8 peaks are in Nepal.

Around Annapurna Mountain Peaks

Machhapuchre	Machhapuchre