Travel & Tourism

Michael Hider, a German national, has recently trekked to the Makalu Base Camp along with his wife Jutla Haider and her friend Katrin Zaglauer. They were excited to be under the canopy of Nepal's mighty mountains. 

''I love the mountains of Nepal," Michael said in Langmale and Makalu Base Camp. However, Michael, who has been to Nepal multiple times, has concerns about poorly equipped infrastructure. ''I found trail-like roads in some places. I think trekking trails must be natural and very safe.'' 

His wife Jutla has another concern about the poorly constructed road. ''The road from Khandbari to Num was horrible. It is better to have no road than to have such roads," Jutla said. 

Her friend Zaglauer shares a similar opinion. She spoke fluent English and said she loved the MBC trek, the local Sherpa village, and the culture but not the infrastructure. ''I think it will be better in the future,'' she expressed her expectation. 

Anna-Mari-Trlin, a recent trekker from Italy, has a similar sentiment. ''I was very scared of the landslide areas,'' Anna said. ''I do not love this type of trail.'' Her boyfriend Matteo Bedendo agreed. Matteo said there needs to be better infrastructure along beautiful trekking trails like the Makalu Base Camp trek. 

Not only foreigners but Nepali trekkers also have concerns about poor infrastructure. ''We were about to end our journey from Dobato. But we had to take a U-turn after being unable to cross a rivulet due to heavy rainfall,'' said Madan Khabas, a trekker from Taplejung. 

Khabas said his team had to wait a couple of days to cross the swollen rivulet. ''Had there been a proper trail, it would not have been an issue.''

Similarly, Ujjwal Basnet, a trekker from Sankhuwasabha district, said it was heartrending to see the damaged trail, haphazard landsides, and poorly built trail. ''I was terrified to see a huge landslide area along the bank of Barun River,'' said Basnet, ''The rope in Shiva Dhara was unreliable.'' -RSS