Tourists are flocking to the top tourist destinations in Ilam district to celebrate the New Year 2022.
Hotels and homestays in Kanyam and Antu are booked by the tourists for the New Year celebration. According to the hotels, the bookings are made by the domestic as well as Indian tourists.
Rudra Ghimire, who runs a homestay in Antu, informed that the tourists had booked rooms in advance as they could not find a room in these areas, which are always crowded with tourists, during celebration times.
According to him, most of the hotels and homestays in Antu have been booked for Friday and Saturday. “This time Indian tourists are flocking to celebrate the English New Year,” Ghimire said.
Tourists from neighboring India’s Sikkim, Bihar, Siliguri, Darjeeling and West Bengal have booked hotels in Antu and Kanyam – locations famous for green and beautiful tea gardens. In Antu, 64 community and private homestays and 38 hotels and cottages are in operation.
Tourists come to Antu to observe the first sunrise in the country.
Tourists also like to take a boat ride on the Antu Pond and go for a horse ride in the tea garden.
Tourists are enthralled by the glimpses of the first rays of red sun that gradually rises from the Bay of Bengal and splashes colour to Mount Kanchanjungha and Kumbhakarna before reaching Antu Hill.
Laxmi Adhikari, a domestic tourist, said that the beautifully decorated homestays, wooden houses and taste of local products attract tourists here.
The homestays and hotels offer their services to the tourists till mid-night with campfires which has added pleasures to their stay. Local foods have also been a must in the itinerary.
Sharad Bhandari, a tourist from Darjeeling, India, who is staying in Antu for a few days to celebrate the English New Year said that tourists feel like returning to Antu and Kanyam many times. He said, “Antu and Kanyam draw us towards them every new year.”
Similarly, Kanyam is also packed with tourists.
All hotels are booked by tourists by Wednesday. According to Tekraj Giri, a hotelier in Kanyam, tourists have booked room in advance fearing that they wouldn’t get one if they did not book it on time.
He said that tourists from Nepal and India were planning to celebrate New Year in Kanyam. “For the past 3-4 years, the English New Year has been celebrated as a festival here,” Giri said. According to him, the number of tourists flocking to Kanyam has significantly gone up in recent years.
In Kanyam, there are more tourists who enjoy the tea gardens. Tourists come here to take their pictures dressed in different ethnic costumes and to taste tea. Targeting the tourists, Suryodaya Municipality has also built a selfie park and a TikTok park in Kanyam.
Ran Bahadur Rai, Mayor of Suryodaya Municipality, said that the New Year celebrations have increased the closeness between the people of two countries.
He also said that Indian tourists like to come to Anatu and Kanyam.
Similarly, Panitar, Sandakpur and other areas of Ilam are also crowded with tourists celebrating the English New Year.
Hotel entrepreneur Rinji Sherpa informed that Sandakpur was crowded with Bengali tourists. More than 40 snow-covered mountains can be seen from Sandakpur, which is at 3636 meters altitude.
Source : TRN,
