The Mountain Institute (TMI) received a one-year grant from the Tourism Cares for Tomorrow to partially support specific activities of the “Sacred Sites in the Khumbu Region of Nepal” Project in and around Mount Everest (Sagarmatha in local language) which started in September 2007. This final report covers the accomplishment of project activities, covering the period from March 2007-March 2008 and documents the major achievements and challenges of the project.
The Tourism Cares for Tomorrow has awarded sum of US$ 10,000 to TMI to supplement TMI’s established Sacred Sites Trail Project in the Sagarmatha National Park and Buffer Zone in the Solukhumbu, Nepal. Sagarmatha National Park (SNP) is one of the world’s premier mountain tourism (mostly trekking) regions, containing four peaks over 8,000 m and spectacular scenery. From 3,600 visitors in 1979, numbers increased to 21,520 by 2001. This increase has not been without some serious ecological and cultural impairment, which are being rectified. Trekking tourism economic benefits accrued mainly on the major established routes.
In 2003, TMI launched a Sacred Sites Trail Project in Sagarmatha National Park and Buffer Zone with a view to improve the livelihoods of local people by expanding community managed tourism to new areas of the park while enlisting sacred and cultural values in efforts to conserve the environment and to restore and enhance the cultural traditions of lesser known sacred sites in the Khumbu region. The project’s circular trail passes through 12 monasteries and nunneries. An enormous effort has been put forth so far to build a strong foundation for cultural and natural sacred sites conservation initiatives and links it with biodiversity conservation. But there is still a lot to be done and learned.
