DHULIKHEL

Dhulikhel is situated at an altitude of 5,500 ft above sea level, 30 Kms east of Kathmandu on the Kodari Highway. It is 90 minutes drive from Kathmandu. The city offers a complete panoramic view of the snow-capped ranges from Karyolung in the east to Himalchuli in the west. The view however is not as good as that from Nagarkot, one can see for 130 miles. It is a magnificent place to spend the night and awaken to the sun rising across the wide Himalayan range.
Once an important link in the ancient trade route to Tibet, Dhulikhel has a glorious past that can be witnessed in the lovely building and intricate woodcarving found among the shop-lined streets and in the temples. The city offers numerous interesting day hikes. These provide the tourists an opportunity to see the Nepali countryside away from the roads and also giving a taste of trekking. The easiest is the hike to Namobuddha and back.
The major places of worship here are the Narayan and Harisiddhi temples, which are adorned with profuse wood carvings. The Gokhureswar Mahadev temple, a 30-minute walk to the eastern part of town, is a peaceful and scenic spot. The Bhagwati temple is situated at a height in the western part of Dhulikhel and dominates the skyline. From here, you can get a beautiful vista of the town and surrounding areas.
There are many vantage points in Dhulikhel, which offer a panorama of the Himalaya that will leave spellbound. More than 20 Himalayan peaks can be seen in all their glory. Sunset views are equally spectacular. More than 20 Himalayan peaks, including Annapurna (8,091 m), Ganesh (7,429 m), Langtang (7,234 m), Phurbi-Chyachu (6,637 m), Gauri Shanker (7,134 m) and Lhotse (8,516 m) can be seen in all their glory. You should get up early in the morning to watch the first rays of the sun hit the summits and their colours change.


Dhulikhel is a typical Newari town with nearby Tamang villages. It is situated 30 km. east of Kathmandu on the side of Arniko Highway on the way towards Tibet. Dhulikhel is popular for its natural beauty and ancient traditions. The Himalayan ranges from the twin crest of Mt. Langtang in the west to the Mt. Everest in the east can be clearly viewed in a clear day. Dhulikhel is ideal for snow-capped peaks, sunrise, sunset and it is different from any other place. One can say Dhulikhel is where the peaks speak. KNOW MORE ABOUT DHULIKHEL »
Things to see
Whether it’s a mountain sunrise you’re after, or 400 km of horizon from the Annapurnas in the west to Numbur in the east, the Himalayan skyline dominates Dhulikhel. And unlike that Thamel-on-the-Hill, Nagarkot, Dhulikhel has culture with its old Newari heritage. At 1,500 m it is also milder in winter than Nagarkot.
Dhulikhel was once known by the Buddhist name of Shrikhandapur and still has a few Buddhist stupas in memory of the old days. Namo Buddha is an interesting and pleasant three-hour hike from the town, and has a nice mix of Buddhist flavour and old Hindu temples. Dhulikhel also has several ancient temples dedicated to Sweta Bhairava, Hari Siddhi, Shiva, and Narayana, each with an interesting story related to how they came into being.
There are plenty of other short hikes to undertake from Dhulikhel, but one of the best is the pleasant half-hour uphill from Dhulikhel to the telecommunication tower. Walk through a lush forest echoing with the chattering of racquet tailed drongos and turtle doves to come to a temple dedicated to Kali. If you can manage to wake up early and get up there, it is a sunrise you will remember for years.
And there are more than a dozen hotels to stay for the night if you want to do this, from the upmarket Himalayan Shangrila, which stands at the highest point here and offers the best views to the 28-year-old Nawaranga Restaurant and Guest House, which with its gallery of local art is a backpacker’s dream come true.
Walking
For those who enjoy walking, there are many long and short trails through lush green forest, bushes of rhododendron, the national flower of Nepal and other diverse types of plants. One can go for a short walk or one can take a long walk if one wants to go to other places from Dhulikhel. Along the way, one can find large varieties of birds and butterflies and visit the villages of the Tamangs, a traditionally Buddhist ethnic group.

ATTRACTION

The central aspects of tourism are attractions. Attractions, by definition, have the ability to draw people to them. Although attractions for the visitor concern the satisfaction perceived from the experiences, the task for the planner is to create an environment made up in part of “attractions” that will provide an opportunity for the visitor to enjoy a visit.
Attractions are the on-locations places in regions that not only provide the things for tourists to see and do but also offer the magnetism for travel.

As the market changes over time, so do attractions even though they often have physical roots. Regions contemplating new development or expansion of tourism need to place high priority on the planning, establishment, and quality operation of attractions.

Although tourists are motivated to visit a destination to satisfy various needs and wants, they are also motivated to visit a destination because of certain characteristics. The characteristics that attract tourists are:

• Natural Resources (attractions)

• Climate

• Culture

• History

• Ethnicity

• Accessibility

Types of Attractions


One way of classifying tourist attractions is on the basis of two very important types of tourism:

Touring Circuit, and
Longer-stay (focused)

Touring Circuit Attractions

Touring Circuit attractions must satisfy touring markets – those traveling for business or pleasure on tours that include many separate locations. They need not be of qualities that bear repetation by the same users.

Longer –stay Attractions

Longer stay attractions are at or clustered about destination areas. These attractions are used by the same users repeatedly over entire vacation or business trip periods.

HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT FOR TOURISM

Having properly qualified persons to work in all aspects of tourism is essential for successful tourism development. Even with the best of tourist facilities, qualified personnel are required to provide the quality level of services that tourists expect and are paying for. Local authorities should assess needs in their areas for the qualified personnel available when and where required as part of the tourism planning and development process. Developing the human resources for tourism requires a
systematic approach:
• Surveying and evaluating the present utilisation of personnel in tourism
and identifying any existing problems and needs, for example, upgrading
the skills of some personnel.
• Projecting the future personnel needed based on the number of personnel
required in each category and skill level of employment.
• Evaluating the total human resources that will be available in the future.
This involves examination of the number of persons in the area who will
be seeking employment in the future, and the educational qualifications of
these persons.
• Determining education and training needs of the personnel required and
formulating the education and training programmes needed to provide
the qualified personnel.

All types of tourism personnel must be considered in manpower development:
• Hotel and catering operations and management personnel including
front office and reception, housekeeping, food and beverage service,
food production (cookery) and maintenance.
• Tour and travel operations and management personnel including ticketing,
tour programming and tour guiding. Vehicle drivers will also be
needed.
• Government tourism management officials including planning and
development, marketing, application of industry standards, statistical
research, information services and other functions.
• Artisans, entertainers, sports directors and other specialist personnel.
Training is needed for basic skills, advanced skills, supervisory and management
levels in all categories. Also special tourism sensitivity training is
often required of customs and immigration officials, taxi drivers and retail
clerks.

Training approaches include organisation of short courses for existing
tourism personnel (these may be in-country or in other countries), regular
training programmes in hotel, catering and tourism training institutes or general
vocational institutes, university tourism programmes, study tours and
on-the-job attachments. Often, large international hotels will provide their
own in-house training but this will not be sufficient to provide all the training
needs in hotel and catering, especially for the smaller enterprises.

Commonly, a hotel, catering and tourism training institute will be established in the tourism area if there is sufficient local need. Such institutes require considerable
capital investment and technical resources to be developed properly,
and often need outside assistance for initial development and operation.
Also, an existing vocational school can develop a tourism department.
Determining training needs should always consider upgrading training of
existing personnel which is often required.

Each local area will need to assess its tourism education and training
needs and determine how to satisfy these. If there are suitable national or
regional training institutions, the local authorities may want to encourage
some local persons to attend these. If the local area is expected to develop
a substantial tourism sector, it may be justified to develop a local tourism
training institute or a tourism department in an existing vocational school or
polytechnic. The tourism office should co-ordinate closely with the private
sector tourism enterprises to develop the most suitable education and training
programme. The tourism office will also need to explore opportunities
for its own staff to receive the training they need in tourism management,
often through regional, national or international programmes. The World
Tourism Organization can assist the tourism office in identifying suitable
education and training institutions and programmes internationally, including
short-term programmes on tourism management.