Charikot : Success Lama won the title at the Sokla Rock Climbing Festival 2082 by climbing a 30-meter cliff in 1 minute and 15 seconds. Roshan Rasaili came in second place in 1 minute and 30 seconds, while Pujan Shrestha and Shantwana Bharat Karki came in third and fourth respectively. The festival was organized on April 20 and 21 in Sokla Valley, Bhimeshwor Municipality-2, Dolakha district.
The Soklashwari Tourism Development Society has been organizing the Rock Climbing Festival to promote Sokla Valley as an adventure tourism destination. 103 people from Nepal Scouts, Nepal Army, Nepal Police, and Armed Police Force participated in this year’s festival. The height of the cliff between Sokla and Chakpa is 420 meters.
The Rock Climbing Festival was held with the financial support of the Nepal Tourism Board and Bhimeshwor Municipality. Three single-pitch rock routes of 25 meters each have been prepared for rock climbing. One of these routes has been upgraded to a height of 100 meters, informed Sanjeev Gurung, President of the Mountain Guide Association of Nepal.
To develop Sokla Valley as an ‘adventure climbing hub’, there are plans to operate rafting on the Tamakoshi River from Singati in the northern region, paragliding and zipline from Gumdada, informed Arjun Pakhrin, President of Soklashwari Bikas Samaj. The society had earlier organized the Hikari Song Gift Program for Japanese citizens and rock climbing hiking with the support of the French Embassy.
Located eight kilometers from the district headquarters, Sokla village is also important from a religious and cultural point of view. Along with agro-tourism, Sokla village is also famous for eco-tourism, adventure tourism, bird ecology, a destination for viewing the Gaurishankar range, and religious studies and research.
Bagmati Province’s Sabhashad Bharat Bahadur KC inaugurated the festival. He said that the provincial government would support Sokla Valley to become an adventure tourism destination. He said that they would join hands in the campaign to improve the quality of rural roads, develop infrastructure and make it a tourist destination in this area.
The rock climbing inauguration ceremony included performances by local Jhaki, Tamba, Jhkri, Maruni and Panchai Baja.
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