(Jiri holds enormous possibilities to revive it as a next tourism destination in Nepal)
It was in 1960, when the
Swiss Government Aid decided to set up an agricultural development centre in Jiri. Nepal was a forbidden country to outsiders
before 1950 but two years later the Swiss geologist Dr.Toni Hagen was given
go-ahead signal by the Nepalese government to carry out geological survey in
the country. Dr Hagen had envisioned this Jiri as a land of agricultural and
development possibilities after he travelled in the region.Since then the Swiss government has spent millions of dollars worth of development schemes to develop this region.The Swiss aid has helped to established Jiri Hospital, Jiri Technical School, Jiri Livestock Development Farm, Jiri Yak Cheese Production Centre and the road that linked Lamosangu on the Kathmandu-Tibet highway to Jiri (the road was completed in 1982)
Now, it takes just 7-8 hours
to reach Jiri Bazar from the capital, Kathmandu. Everyday buses and micro bus
carry passengers from Old Bus Park Terminal at Ratna Park. Jiri is connected
with capital city by 190 km of narrow and winding road. When you geared uphill
from Bhotekoshi River you will feel the cool breezing and see the landscape
changes along with changing altitude. The narrow road passes through hills,
rivers, valley, villages, small towns and terraced farmlands before you reach Jiri
Bazar.
Jiri is a small farming and
tourist village located at the altitude of 1905m. Jiri Valley is surrounded by
Cherdung in the East, Khawa Valley in the West, Hanumante in the North and Tame
Dande in the South. The name Jiri is derived from local indigenous group called
Jirels. Although Jirels are the dominant caste in the region various others castes
such as Sherpas, Sunuwars, Tamangs and Chhetris are residing alongside. People
in Jiri are primarily engaged in the agricultural and livestock rearing sector.
Rice, wheat, maize and potatoes are the major crops that grow in the region. Cows
and yaks are the sources of dairy product in the region.
Today, Jiri becomes a favorite
place to hang out for short duration to Kathmanduties and other travel
enthusiast. The unique landscape, flora and fauna diversity, weather
conditions, rich culture and traditions of this area attracts thousands of
internal and external tourists annually. Hundreds of school and college
students come here in an educational field trips and the flow is very high
during the time of New Year. Farmers from different part of the region come
here to observe and learn modern farming techniques and livestock rearing
practices while youngsters and families come here to enjoy the climate, landscapes
and to undertake short hiking in the area.
Most of the youngsters love
to come Jiri by riding on a motorbikes and they want to spend the nights in a
cooling environment, hanging around in a local pub, drinking locally made
alcohol called Padaamchal (alcohol made by mixing herbal spices) and Tongba (a
vessel which holds the fermented millet based alcohol, and hot water is poured
on the brim of vessel and is left for 5 minutes undisturbed and then the tongba
is ready to drink)
There are few good hotels and
lodges to accommodate travelers in the area. Most of the restaurants in the
area serve local foods and few of them serves exotic foods. The Jiri Bazar is
extended in a strip of main road of about 600-700 meters long. The hotels,
restaurants, fancy clothes shop, cooperatives, and the only bank in the area
‘Prime Commercial Bank’, all are found on the either sides of the main road.
Travelers have to carry enough of cash to spend in the region as there are no
any ATM machines to withdraw cash. The best time to travel in the region is between
March and May as you could see the national flower ‘Rhododendron’ blossoming in
a full spectrum along the way and it will be amazing to see the hills turning
into red. If you are lucky you could easily spot deer, jackals, and different colorful
birds while hiking in the region. There was a couple of Himalayan Black Bear
attack incidence reported by the locals in the upper densely forested area.
There is a chance of rare encounter with the wild beast when you go deep into
the forest without consulting locals. Travelers don’t have to scare as the
incident happens on the off track trail but not in the common trekking trail.
After visiting extensively
throughout Nepal’s during his survey period, Dr Toni Hagen published book
comparing Nepal with Switzerland in the field of tourism, hydropower and
infrastructure, then the Nepalese started materializing this region
(specifically Jiri, Dolakha) as second Switzerland in the world. After Hagen had
made comparison in his book ‘Decentralization and Development: The Role of Democratic
Principles’ whenever any Nepalese travelers who haven’t been to Switzerland
before, reached this place, their general expression is ‘Is really Switzerland
look like this?’ Whatever the geographical
realities between two countries is, one thing is for sure Dr Hagen had envisioned
this Jiri as a land of agricultural and development possibilities and as a
result the Swiss government had put lots of effort to develop the region. The blocks
of houses of Jiri Technical School, and Jiri Hospital are all built in a Swiss
Fashion and this is an eye-catching structure one will first experience when
riding downhill from Haatdanda.
Jiri is also considered as a
classical route to Mount Everest and it takes 8-10 days to reach into the Mount
Everest region. But the construction of the airport in Mount Everest region has
drastically reduced the tourist in the region as they prefer to fly rather than
to spend 8-10 days trekking into the region. Also in later years the impact of
globalization and the pressure of population have been seen in this place. Lately
houses are built in a haphazard manner by blurring the originality of the
region and much effort has not been taken by the Village Development Committee
to maintain the originality and uniqueness of housing style of this place. The
charm of this place started to deteriorate after the Swiss packed their bags
and left the area handing all the facilities to Nepalese government. I still remember
what Dharma Sankar Ghimire said when returning back to Kathmandu: “The Swiss
has transformed this place by introducing all the modern development techniques
and their expertise but what sadden me is, people in this region never learn to
be independent by hardworking, the culture of aid dependent always prevails
here”.
Besides these few drawbacks
of the region Jiri could offer so many things to excite and amaze travelers. Travelers
could do around 3-4 hours of short hiking in an around the valley. The hiking
to only Yak Cheese Production factory in the region takes around 3 hours. The uphill
hiking crossing through scattered settlements, suspension bridge, terraced
farming, range land and rhododendron forest could be a spectacular experience.
Similarly, short walk to Jireshwor Mahadav Temple (a holy place of lord shiva,
situated in the middle of the forest under the cave like structure) could be
reached by 1 and ½ hour and the trail passes through the pine forest. And to
those who are not very fond of hiking can spend time visiting local shops and
tasting local food. Visitors could engage themselves taking photographs of the
landscapes, streams, Swiss fashioned buildings and the cows lazily grazing on
the pasture land. Visitors could pop into the Jiri Technical School and Jiri
Livestock Development Farm which can be reached within a walking distance of
10-15 minutes from Jiri Bazar. Staffs at those centers are very cooperative and
you could learn about the achievements of those centres and know how the local
are getting benefit by the services provided by those centers. All in all, this
uniqueness of the Jiri holds enormous
possibilities to revive it as a next tourism destination in Nepal………………..
Mahesh Sharma & Bejoy Ghimire
