Road threat to Nepal's top tourist area

[wayno]

A spate of road building projects in and around the most popular trekking area in Nepal has sparked a battle involving local people, tourist entrepreneurs and developers.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-26551637

[RonK]

The Annapurna Circuit was ruined as a trekking route some years ago. There is really only a relative short section crossing the Thorong La that the road has not yet reached. On the other side the road now extends to Muktinath, at the foot of the La. I've done the Dhaulagiri Circuit, on the other side of the Kali Ghandaki a couple of times, but it has also been shortened by this road.

When my wife first started guiding treks on this circuit, the walking started in Pokhara, and it took 5 weeks to complete. Now the trailhead is at Beni Bazaar, site of a terrible massacre during the Maoist insurrection, and is completed in around 3 weeks. And it returns to the road at Tukuche, leaving little motivation to walk the last few days.

Manaslu and Kangchenjunga are far more appealing than the Annapurna Circuit now if you want to get away from roads. If you want a tea house trek then the Khumbu is the place to go.