How Nepal Went From A Backpacker’s Haven To A Luxury Destination

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It wasn’t too long ago that Lonely Planet named Nepal the ‘best-value destination for budget-conscious travellers’.

The travel bible praised the country’s easy access to world-renowned hiking trails and underappreciated wildlife, while keeping daily expenses low with a plethora of low-cost guesthouses and hostels.

Nepal truly was a dream destination for those on a shoestring budget. But today, tour operators and luxury lodges are increasingly catering to the wealthy adventurers flocking to this area of the Himalayas.

Thailand-based hospitality consultant Jason Friedman believes that Nepal has not been able to keep up with the demand for high-end retreats and resorts, with many still catering to the backpackers flocking there. “Despite having always been a popular destination for affluent travellers, Nepal’s accommodation offerings haven’t been keeping pace with demand,” says Friedman. “This was particularly evident in the Everest region, where climbers spend up to $200,000 (R3.8 million) per person, but lodging facilities have largely remained unchanged for the last three decades.”

Seeing the ever-increasing number of private jets touching down in the region, Friedman saw a gap in the market and teamed up with Nepali entrepreneur Namgyal Sherpa’s Sherpa Hospitality Group to launch Mountain Lodges of Nepal (MLN) – a growing collection of luxury lodges dotting the Everest region, the Annapurna circuit, and southern Nepal’s Chitwan National Park.

By next year, MLN will operate eight luxury resorts around the country.

“Just before the pandemic, I spotted Abercrombie & Kent’s private Boeing on the tarmac of Kathmandu airport,” Friedman says. “If that doesn’t indicate demand for luxury, I’m not sure what does.”

The lodges might be in backpacking country, but the amenities are not for those only hoping to take home a string of flags. Guests can expect down pillows and 300-thread-count bed linen, as well as impeccable service and world-class culinary experiences made from local ingredients.

One of their flagship locations is the Bill Bensley–designed Shinta Mani Mustang, which opened last August in Nepal’s remote Mustang region. Rooms here go for R34,000 per night and you have to stay a minimum of five nights to get a booking.

Here, enlightenment comes with a price tag, and the 29-suite retreat provides personalised health treatments by a resident Tibetan healer, rooms are decorated with work by some of Nepal’s best-known painters and craftsmen, and a restaurant provides fine dining, with a twist on regional cuisine.

The rooms, which have floor-to-ceiling windows with views of the snow-capped Nilgiri mountain, are decorated with yak fur, Tibetan antiquities, and handmade cashmere throws by Altai-Himalaya, a Kathmandu-based weaving mill that counts Hermès as one of its biggest clients.

“The idea is to leverage Mustang’s unique diversity of landscapes and cultures into a luxury lodge circuit, akin to what Aman has achieved with its five lodges around Bhutan,” Friedman says. “This way, we don’t only create high-value jobs in locations where they don’t yet exist, we also provide access for a whole new demographic of people who never thought that they could comfortably and safely travel around these parts of the world.”

 

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Kathmandu-based luxury tour operator Beyul Experiences has also cashed in on the increase of wealthy travellers. “We’ve received more requests for itineraries with a focus on spirituality and local communities,” says founder Ang Tshering Sherpa, who has organized trips for ohm-searching celebs like Richard Gere and Sir Don McCullin.

Beyul Camps offer tented ‘villages’ with a small army of guides, porters, chefs, and masseurs. Priced from R14,000 per person per night (again with a minimum of five nights), Beyul can create ‘bespoke itineraries’ that include everything from helicopter adventures to hanging with ornithologists, Buddhist scholars, yoga instructors, or whatever you have the money for.

Shinta Mani’s Friedman however maintains that these new developments not only cater to the needs of luxury travelers but also benefit the local communities.

“They create high-value jobs, support local farmers and foragers, and help preserve the community’s heritage architecture and culture. In essence, it’s a win-win-win situation.”

Win-win for the wealthy and the locals sure, let’s just hope that the backpackers and youth hostels don’t get demolished to build luxury spas.

[source:robbreport]