Run on scarce petrol

At last! Many Western governments have now canceled their general travel warning for Nepal that they had imposed after the 25 April earthquake. Instead, they are now only warning not to travel to certain regions of the Himalayan state. So the German Foreign Office called the trekking regions Langtang and Manaslu problematic areas, where access “is not possible or only with considerable difficulties”. The British Foreign Office advises against traveling  to these regions too and calls in addition the districts Sindhupalchowk and Dolakha. From the perspective of the German Government “particular caution is advised” when traveling in these or other areas that were hit hard by the quake. The US Department of State notes that “the frequency and severity of aftershocks have greatly diminished”, but encourages travelers “to consult carefully with their travel and trekking agencies for current, location-specific information and to heed warnings of potential danger”.  All those governments point to a new problem in Nepal – a political one.

Everything is short in supply

For two weeks, the border to India is next to closed due to political protests in the Terai districts. Fuel, gas, basic food, medicine – everything is running short in Nepal. “Several hotels are serving sandwiches and salad only. Many small restaurants already had to close”, Michi Muenzberg writes from the capital Kathmandu. “At normal mealtimes thick trails of smoke are billowing through the streets, as people are cooking on open fires.”

Stranded in Kathmandu

Michi Muenzberg (r.) in Kathmandu

Three years ago, the German woman, who is living in the small town of Wilthen in Saxony, traveled to Nepal for the first time. Since then, the country has become her second home. Michi founded a private aid project, “Hope for Nepal”. She arranges school sponsorships for Nepalese children and supports a children’s home in Kathmandu. Now Michi traveled to Nepal again to help the earthquake victims. But she is stranded in Kathmandu for two weeks because of the border blockades in the Terai districts.

No material transports possible

“Sure, we could rent one of the few still driving taxis, but that would generate horrendous costs so that it would be simply useless. And the transportation of construction materials could not be done this way”, Michi writes. “I feel very sorry for the people in these areas who were hoping that things turned better after the monsoon. There is an urgent need to build shelters for winter and sanitary facilities. How, in any way, can we manage this?”

Wrong impressions

The earthquake of 25 April and the numerous aftershocks have struck Nepal, which was already before the quake one of the poorest countries in the world, at the very heart. According to official figures, almost 9,000 people were killed, more than 22,000 were injured, more than 500,000 homes were destroyed, many of the roads and paths are still impassable. First the devastating earthquake drew the international attention to Nepal. But then happened what often happens after disasters: the effects of the earthquake disappears from the main headlines, therefore the public interest slows down, the wave of helpfulness and solidarity dies down. And impressions strengthen that often have little to do or even are at variance with reality.

Not just up to date

Gorak Shep near Everest Base Camp

Many people seem to think that the whole of Nepal is down and will not stand up in the foreseeable future – and that we for this reason should give the country a wide berth. Travel warnings for Nepal issued by many Western governments for Nepal, which remained unchanged for an unreasonable period, played their part. By now, most warnings were repealed or reduced – but that does not necessarily mean that they are really up to date. So the German Foreign Office still advises against “not necessary traveling to the regions that were hardest hit by the earthquake” and mentions among others the “Solokhumbu (incl. Everest Base Camp and trekking routes in the Everest region)” and the Annapurna region. Notwithstanding that the independent earthquake experts from the US Agency Miyamoto International recently gave the green light for both areas.

Ralf Dujmovits

I asked Ralf Dujmovits, the only German mountain climber who scaled all 14 eight-thousanders, about his opinion. The Nepalese government has appointed the 53-year-old, along with other top climbers, a “Tourism Goodwill Ambassador of Nepal”:

Ralf, if anyone asks you whether he should travel to Nepal this fall or not, do you advise him to go there?

Yes, absolutely! But not without ristriction. Based on the recent engineering reports for the trekking regions, I would express my recommendation a bit more differentiated. For example, trekking in the Khumbu or in Mustang is well feasible, trips in the Rolwaling area or on the Manaslu Curcuit are only possible to a limited extend. Trekking in Langtang should be postponed.

Most Western governments, including the German, have repealed or reduced their travel warnings for Nepal but still advise against traveling to some popular trekking areas. What do you think about this?

These still very undifferentiated or wrong descriptions of the situation should be adapted to the real current conditions as soon as possible. There are now reports of independent experts, who assess the areas, against which the Foreign Office warns, quite positive. The current travel warnings do damage to the already very troubled country without cause.

For this fall, the Nepalese government expects a 50 percent drop in tourism. What does this mean for the country?

Tourism is the foreign exchange earner and employer number one in Nepal. In addition to the lack of money to rebuild the country, the expected development in fall will lead to a massive slump of other important sources of income. I hope that as many people as possible will spend their holidays in Nepal.

P.S. Even at the risk that I might bug you: Please support our campaign “School up” to rebuild the school in Thulosirubari that was destroyed by the earthquake! You find the details on the right side of the blog.

Ceremony at Bhaktapur

When can you call it normality again after a state of emergency? Obviously it depends on the way of perception. “Nepal is safe, don’t worry! This is our clear message for today”, said Bhesh Narayan Dahal, head of the governmental department that is responsible for the preservation of the world heritage sites of Nepal, at the beginning of the week. Temples in Kathmandu, Patan and Bhaktapur, which had been badly damaged by the earthquake on 25 April, were re-opened with a ceremony. But even the government seems to feel uneasy about it. There are plans to provide safety helmets for visitors. “We are urging the people to come to Nepal for holiday to help Nepal rebuild”, the new Tourism Minister Kripa Sur Sherpa said during the ceremony in Bhaktapur.

The disaster after the disaster

Trekking on the Annapurna Circuit

The country strongly relies on the income from tourism. If the tourism market slumps, it would be the disaster after the disaster. It does not need to happen. After all, there are trekking areas in Nepal that have been hardly affected by the earthquake. This applies, for example, to the Dolpo area in the far west of the country, most parts of the Annapurna Circuit, to Kangchenjunga trekking or Everest Base Camp trek that should be passable next fall too. Only the trekking routes in the particularly hard-hit regions Langtang and Gorkha should be out of the race.

Travel warnings barely updated

You won’t find a differentiated picture about the situation in the regions of Nepal on the websites of most Western governments. The foreign ministries of the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Austria and Germany advise against all but essential travel to Nepal. Partially the travel warnings have remained unchanged for weeks. The advice of the US government was last updated on 1 May, Austria’s on 7 May – Germany’s on 26 May, i.e. more than three weeks ago.

I asked the German Foreign Office, whether there was any plan to publish a more differentiated assessment of the situation and if so, when. I thought it was a really clear question. But the answer was anything but clear. “The travel and safety advices and possibly travel warnings (…) are based on all available and trustworthy information that the Foreign Ministry has”, it was stated in Berlin. Travelers should be put in a position “to decide for themselves whether to undertake a journey or not. The Foreign Office is checking the travel and safety advices regularly, also those for Nepal. Current events (…) are taken into account immediately.”

Dominik Mueller: “Clients are extremely unsettled”

On Everest Base Camp Trek

If it was really like that, it would mean that there has been no development in Nepal during the last three weeks. Instead, we are getting day by day a clearer picture which areas were particularly hard-hit by the earthquake and which escaped even remotely unscathed. Furthermore Nepalese people work at high pressure to restore streets and trekking paths. “There are many regions in Nepal regions that you can travel to without any restriction and where is virtually no damage”, Dominik Mueller, head of the German expedition and trekking operator Amical alpin, writes to me. “Clients are extremely unsettled by such blanket travel warnings. This helps neither Nepal nor the travel industry and the operators. Reliable operators will not send clients to dangerous areas, but from today’s perspective, many parts of Nepal are safe and can be visited almost without restrictions.” Amical could operate all treks and expeditions in Nepal that were offered before the earthquake, says Dominik, “if clients decide to travel to Nepal.”