Attractions of Bandipur’s ‘Mini Great Wall’

• Krishna Neupane

So, the construction of the Mini Great Wall, which has been underway for years, has become a tourist’s choice. Tourists come to see the Mini Great Wall under construction. The Rotary Club has sent 14 to 18-year-old youths from Gandaki to visit the Mini Great Wall.

Youth leadership development training is being conducted in Bandipur for three days organized by the club. Hari Sing Gurung, former president of the Rotary Club of Damauli and a tourism expert, said that the visit was made to inform the youth about the tourism in Bandipur.

The rural Municipality Chairman Purna Singh Thapa said that Mini Great Wall is the choice of tourists. Everyone who comes to visit Bandipur is interested in this place. “We have started construction of Mini Great Wall with the objective of adding new infrastructure in Bandipur.

The government has also provided budget assistance for the construction of Mini Great Wall,” he said. He said that it would be easier to move ahead with the work after the budget allocation from the Ministry of Culture, Tourism, and Civil Aviation. According to him, the construction of 1,100 meters of footpath has been completed last year and 35 meters of footpath has been completed in the current fiscal year as well.

Out of the Rs. 7 million spent last year, Rs. 3 million is being spent in the current fiscal year. “We are preparing to finalize the work of the Mini Great Wall from the starting point from the budget of the Ministry of Tourism,” he said.

There are plans to build additional infrastructure along the Mini Great Wall with a total distance of two and a half kilometers. The estimated cost for the construction of infrastructure as per the master plan is Rs. 190 million, said Chairman Thapa.

There are plans to build Thanimai temple, garden, selfie garden, paragliding place, nine-meter high Bandipur inscription, horse shed, Pushpalal Memorial Park, Mukundeshwari Park, and other structures.

It is believed that the footpath wall, built to reflect the world-famous Great Wall, will help in the development of tourism here. The construction of the footpath started from the Thanimai temple in Bandipur Gaonpalika-2 will end at Mukundeshwari Danda (hill).

Mukundeshwari Danda (hill) is a place ruled by the then King Mukunda Sen. This footpath wall has also been named as ‘Mukundeshwari Wall’. The footpath wall will be three meters wide. More than one lakh tourists visit Bandipur annually. The number of tourists is expected to increase with the completion of the footpath wall.