“Heartly welcome in Maoist base area to all the tourists. Long live Marxism, Leninism, Maoism and Prachandapath.”
This was a sign painted on the wall of a guesthouse in the foothills of Nepal — a greeting from people classified by the U.S. State Department as terrorists.
Eight years ago, Nepal fell into crisis. Rebels calling themselves Maoists waged a campaign to overturn the government. Bloody violence erupted. In the midst of it all, the royal family was massacred by the crown prince.
Around the world, people who had come to love the small, landlocked mountain realm reacted with shock and sadness. Nepal was seen by many as a unique place, a mountain paradise whose citizens, especially those in the remote alpine areas, seemed to have discovered the secret of happiness despite poverty and hard living.
It was a terrible disappointment to see violence strike Nepal and a psychic slap in the face: Things were not so peaceful there after all.
Despite claims by the Maoist rebels and others that foreigners weren’t being targeted, tourists and trekkers stayed away in droves. Visitor totals, which peaked at nearly 500,000 in 1999, fell to about 200,000 in 2002.
Trouble skips unpredictably around the globe. Places once thought to be safe are suddenly questionable following terrible events: Bali in October 2002 when a bomb killed 202 people, including 164 foreign tourists; China a few months later with the outbreak of SARS, a sometimes-fatal respiratory disease; Thailand, Indonesia, India and other countries after the 2004 tsunami; and most recently, violence in Kenya following a disputed election.
It’s the push and pull of our times. We are drawn to the world’s beauty spots and repelled by fears of leaving home.
But situations do improve. Even during Nepal’s crisis, adventure travelers rarely experienced any problems related to the trouble. In November 2006, the government and the rebels signed a peace agreement, and 2007 saw a nearly 30 percent increase in tourist arrivals over the year before. And last month the former rebels’ party won a plurality of seats in parliament. Is it time to put Nepal back on the safe list?
The U.S. State Department says no. A travel warning remains in effect. Travel warnings, according to the department website, “are issued to describe long-term, protracted conditions that make a country dangerous or unstable.” Although not recommending that travelers avoid Nepal, the warning describes “continued violence … sporadic incidents of terrorism … robberies by armed gangs” and more bleak news.
Which is enough reason for National Geographic Expeditions to stay away.
“Our policy is straightforward,” says Jim Bullard, who runs touring programs for National Geographic. “If there’s a TW (travel warning), we won’t go. If one is issued while we’re there, we get our people out. We don’t second- guess the State Department.”
He says it’s partly for legal reasons.
“If something were to happen — even something unrelated to the events that prompted the warning — lawyers could say, ‘Didn’t you know there was a travel warning on that country?’ It’s better to simply tell our people that Nepal is out right now because there’s a travel warning,” Bullard says.
Another view
Snow Lion Expeditions, which specializes in Himalayan adventure travel, has a different take.
“Nepal has had travel warnings consistently since June of 2000, when this was heating up. We never gave up on it,” says Snow Lion president Ron Barness. “Through the whole Maoist thing, we did our best to stay aware and avoid trouble, but we never canceled a trip and we never thought we were doing anything reckless.”
Information from people on the scene helped him feel confident.
It’s a different sort of decision for independent travelers who must rely on their own judgment, but information is available beyond what the State Department puts out. An Internet search of news media yields a stream of reportage covering events on the ground.
Also valuable is chatter on the blogosphere. The Nepal Travel Advisory Blog, written by a tour company founder in Kathmandu, is a top example. A post-election posting on April 12 says: “Are you safe? Yes, you are! Will there be hindrances to travel? Probably, strikes or ‘bandhs’ (as they are called in Nepal) can happen anytime, which can delay travel, and cause a ‘hassle,’ ” writes blogger Raj Gyawali.
“Pad your trips and come.”
Trekkers who I’ve talked with recently would agree. Steven Fuller, a Wyoming photographer, spent two weeks in the mountains north of Kathmandu as an independent traveler.
“I never met anyone I could tell was a Maoist,” he reports. He saw posters and slogans plastered on walls, but he experienced only welcoming smiles, the trademark hospitality of rural Nepal. That much has not changed.
National Geographic’s Bullard has heard similar reports and believes them.
“I’d go in a minute, myself. But I wouldn’t take that responsibility for a group,” he says.
The Details
U.S. State Department, ; Nepal Travel Advisory Blog, ; National Geographic Expeditions, national or 888-966-8687; Snow Lion Expeditions, or 800-525-8735
