Nepal's religious sites, with their solid facts and figures, should be able to lure more visitors than India if pursued with proper planning, marketing and implementation
The tourism sector in Nepal is virtually brimming with joy and jubilation following the arrival of record numbers of tourists last April, which was otherwise following a downhill trend after the worldwide COVID pandemic. If compared to 2019 April, it has almost doubled to 110,000 tourists the same time this year, which is certainly a good sign for the country. It has appeared as a silver lining in the dark cloud in view of the country's deteriorating economy. It may be recalled that tourism contributed about 6.7 per cent to its Gross Domestic Product in 2022 with the arrival of more than a million tourists. About 65 per cent of the tourists came for vacation, 10 per cent for adventure like trekking and mountaineering, 13 per cent to visit religious sites and 12 per cent for other purposes.
Nepal should now focus on religious tourism apart from other tourism types. It is primarily because the history of Nepal begins with religious tourism following the arrival of Bipaswi Buddha in mythic times. He is said to have been followed first by Sikhi Buddha and then by Biswabhu Buddha. Manjushree later emerges on the scene, who is said to have cut the gorge at Chobhar, paving the way for the drying of the lake that submerged the valley of Kathmandu. During the Licchavi period, several Chinese travellers such as Fa Hein, Huen Tsang and Wang Huentse came to Nepal between the fourth and the seventh century. Huen Tsang also wrote a memoir which highlights the culture of the Licchavi period.
Religious tourism is very spectacular because it promotes spirituality, so necessary in view of multiple wars underway in the world. It is also environmentally-friendly because the pilgrims consume vegetarian food and thus contribute to lessening climate change. Many of the other tourists consume non-vegetarian food, which has more carbon print compared to its vegetarian counterpart.
Besides, Nepal has many religious sites which contain very good documentation when compared to similar Indian sites. Many people go to India to pay homage to Char Dham, which consists of Kedar Nath, Badri Nath, Yamunottari and Gangottari sites. This columnist had the privilege to visit these sites last fortnight.
If we take the case of the ace Shiva Temple, Kedar Nath, it is believed to have been visited by the Pandava brothers of Mahabharat fame in mythic times. It is said that Mahadev had taken the form of a buffalo as he did not want to give audience to the Pandava brothers who had killed several persons, including their own cousins, the Kauravas. But Yudhistir recognised Shiva in the guise of a buffalo and held it by its tail.
The head flew and landed in Bhaktapur, Nepal, which became famous as Doleswor Mahadev. This fact was brought to light by Shri Shri Shri 1008 Jagadguru Bhimashankarlinga Shivacharya Mahaswamiji amid a gala function organised in 2009 August. The remaining portion remained as Kedar Nath Mahadev's linga. This Kedar Nath Temple is said to have been constructed by Adi Shankaracharya in the ninth century, but there is no concrete evidence like an inscription in the temple of that time. In Nepal, there is a Shiva Linga erected in the year 466 by Nara Verma with the consent of King Mana Dev. The inscription is damaged, but it can be read from the facsimile copy available in the National Archives.
Similarly, Badrinath is visited by myriads of pilgrims from around the globe every year. Though Badrinath is believed to have been in existence since Vedic times, the present temple was constructed by Adi Shankaracharya in the ninth century. But there are no inscriptions as a testimony. But in Nepal, the Changu Narayan Temple was constructed in the fifth century, and its proof is the existing inscription of the year 464 installed during the reign of illustrious King Mana Dev.
Gangottari Temple appears to be a bird of a different feather as its construction date – 1807 – is mentioned at least in a writing if not the inscription attached to the peripheral wall. It may be because it was constructed by the Nepali Army General Amar Singh Thapa.
Likewise, Mother Goddesses such as Mansa or Chandi Devi in Haridwar also have a similar story. For example, Mansa Devi Temple is said to have been constructed in the 19th century by Maharaja Gopal Singh of Mani Majra though the image is said to be very old. Again, there is no concrete evidence like an inscription. But in Nepal, Panch Khal Bhagwati has an inscription pasted to the wall of the temple installed by the consort of Grihapati Vijayaswamini during the regime of King Mana Dev in the year 503.
Despite the presence of such well documented monuments, Nepal has not been able to attract religious tourists adequately to the country. It is because the government in Nepal has yet to give importance to marketing of these monuments. We can see how the state of Uttar Pradesh and subsequently India put their whole weight behind the Kumbha Mela, which was visited by a mammoth 660 million pilgrims this year. It had sanctioned a budget of around $ 750 million and generated revenue worth billions of rupees. But Nepal's government has yet to provide such treatment to Panauti which is said to be one of the Kumbhas. It is located on the confluence of rivers Roshi, Punyamati and the underground Lilawati akin to the Ganga, Yamuna and the invisible Saraswati.
Though Nepal earns significantly from mountaineering and trekking, religious tourism also can generate commensurate revenue given proper attention. If the religious sites of India with their early history shrouded by legends can attract such large numbers of tourists, those with hard facts and figures of Nepal should certainly be able to lure more visitors if pursued with proper planning, marketing and implementation.
