Fifty-three trekking trails were developed in Baglung in the last fiscal year to draw foreigners and local tourists, considering rural tourism's contribution to rural community development.

A trekking route has been built to Teuwa, where a statue of Gautam Buddha has been constructed in the Open Sculpture Museum of Galkot Municipality.

An hour-long hiking trail to Teuwa from Harichaur has been the latest draw for youth.

Similarly, another trekking route has been developed to connect Kot Ghar, which once served as the fortress of the hilly kingdom ruled by the Mallas. The renovated historical palace offers a reason to visit Galkot.

Kot Ghar, once considered the seat of powerful Malla kings of Galkot, a pretty kingdom in the confederation of 24 states known as Chaubise Rajya, has been restored and preserved to draw tourists.

The Kot Ghar means a house where weapons are placed or stored.

Mahadev Sapkota, a tourism entrepreneur, said that the construction of trekking trails in Baur, Kothekhola rural municipality-7 to Gumba has been attracting locals to the two-day hiking trail.

In the last fiscal year, local governments constructed 53 trails in the district, spending Rs1 million to Rs2 million in each project.

“We have been observing an influx of youth for trekking after the development of trekking trains,” said Prem Lamichhane, chairman of ward 9 of Kothekhola Rural Municipality.

Bishnu Nath Sharma, information officer of the Tourism and Industry Office of the Galkot Municipality, said that the trekking routes with homestays have been attracting domestic tourists in the area.

The Tourism and Industry Office of the Gandaki province in Baglung funded Rs66 million to construct the trails.

Locals said that many infrastructure projects are unfinished, but the construction of trekking routes has become successful and meets the objective of community development.

“For hiking of a day or two, the trail has become easy and attractive,” said Saurab Khatri, a youth of ward 9 of Baglung Municipality. “There is a need to promote these destinations to bring tourists.”

Khatri prefers to hike rather than use the vehicle. “The trail has grabbed the attention of many youths like us.”

In the last fiscal year, 73 tourism infrastructure projects were completed through the Tourism and Industry Office. With the expenditure under Rs500,000 to Rs2 million, most of the projects were trail construction.

There are concerns that small projects are delayed and unfinished.

Paar Singh Thapa, chief of the Tourism and Industry Office, said the tourism infrastructure project achieves 95 percent of physical progress.

The trail has been constructed to connect the religious sites.

Besides trekking trails and homestays, meditation centres have been constructed in two Buddhist sites.

Thapa said the projects will increase economic activities by alluring tourists and conserving religious places.

The office has also invested in developing Durleni, in Baglung, as a tourism destination.

The Baglung municipality has allocated Rs25 million to develop the area as a tourism destination.

Similarly, the tourism office has invested Rs1.5 million to construct a martyr's memorial park at Argal in ward 2 of Tarakhola Rural Municipality.

“Investing in similar work can be repetitive. In such a situation, the office needs to be responsible,” said Amar Thapa, chief of the District Coordination Committee. “We have directed the authorities to prevent the duplication and implement such projects that yield results.

The office has made investments to identify many places. A master plan has been formulated to develop tourism sites.

Bharat Sharma, mayor of Galkot Municipality, said they had demanded a budget of Rs20 million to develop major sites as per the master plan.

However, in some areas, the budget has been frozen as the project did not move ahead. The budget allocated under Ghumte Tourism Development in the last fiscal year was frozen.

Rs1.5 million has been invested to maintain Udaya Righa Buddha Bihar, located in Righa Ward No.11 in Galkot, along with the trail.

Rs1 million has been allocated for the construction of a tourism trail from Gaighat waterfall of the Tara River to Baraha Lake.

Similarly, Rs1 million has been invested to construct tourism infrastructure in Soledada at Tamankhola rural municipality, Rs1 million for the construction of Jaimini Dham Meditation Center, and Rs2 million for tourism infrastructure in Kuduledham.

Thapa said that tourism arrivals will rise as infrastructure has been built and renovated in the coming days.

Thapa said a temporary assistant engineer from the Tourism and Industry Office is doing all the technical work on the projects.

The local government has been trying to preserve the historical artefacts to showcase to visitors.

The ancient palace of Galkot was in dire straits because of the lack of conservation.

The Shreemeher Battalion barracks of the Nepal Army and Galkot Municipality have jointly renovated the almost-collapsed Kot Ghar.