Kathmandu, February 8

Thousands of people participated in a six-kilometre walkathon organised by Nagarjun Municipality in a bid to promote tourism in the area. The walkathon passed through a number of cultural and natural tourist destinations located in Nagarjun.

The walkathon programme was a part of Visit Nepal 2020. It started from Swoyambhu Chowk and passed through Halchowk-Ichangu Narayan temple-Adheshwor temple and finally concluded at White Gumba.

Nagarjun Municipality stated that there were many tourist destinations in the municipality but failed to draw expected number of tourists due to lack of promotion. Mayor Mohan Bahadur Basnet of the municipality said, “We felt that lack of promotion was one of the main causes for it, hence we organised the walkathon programme today.” He said more than 5,000 people, including the people from indigenous communities, participated in the walkathon. Likewise, a number of local, provincial and federal leaders and ministers from the municipality also took part in the walkathon.

Prem Lal Shrestha, chairman of Ward 7, said one of the key objectives of the walkathon was to push the authorities concerned to take initiative to include historic Ichangu Narayan temple in the list of UNESCO’s World Heritage Sites. “Ichangu Narayan temple and the settlement around it is around 2,500 years old. We believe that the area should be included in the list of World Heritage Sites for its promotion and protection,” Ward Chair Shrestha added.

He further said there were more than a dozen of cultural sites, a number of attractive hill stations ideal for hiking, a cycling route and view towers to enjoy scenic view of Kathmandu and the adjoining districts in Nagarjun Municipality.

“The municipality has a number of home stay facilities where tourists can enjoy the idyllic village life and traditional cuisine. Although small in size, our municipality has everything for the tourists,” shared Shrestha.