A milestone bridge for Baglung tourism  

• Dammar Budhamgar

Until two years ago, the number of domestic and foreign tourists coming to Baglung was not that much. When the long suspension bridge connecting Baglung and the mountain was built, the number of tourists coming here increased rapidly.

Although most of the tourists came to the famous Baglung Kalika, they did not come to Baglung Bazar. Now the market is also crowded with domestic tourists.

After the construction of the bridge, tourists going to Muktinath in Mustang and Galeshwar in Myagdi have also started coming to Baglung. Tourists coming from different parts of the country, including the four districts of Dhaulagiri, have filled the Baglung market.

The long bridge is mostly crowded with young people. The number of people taking pictures and making TikTok on the bridge seems very thick. After the increase in the arrival of tourists, the hotel business of Baglung has also started to flourish. Arjun Chokhal, President of the Hoteliers’ Association of Gandaki Province, said that compared to previous years, the number of tourists in Baglung has increased this year.

President Chokhal says that due to the long bridge, tourists have increased and the hotel business is also flourishing. “Due to the long bridge, we have seen that more tourists have come to Baglung recently than in the past, the hotel business is also flourishing, new hotels have also been added”, President Chokhal said, “The hotel business, which was affected by Corona for two years, has started to revive now, the hotel business has also started to rise.

They are getting excited.” Chairman Chokhal says that earlier, only 25 percent of tourists visiting Baglung Kalika went to Baglung market, but now it has increased to around 45 percent. The number of tourists who go to Panchkot through Baglung Bazaar and Saligram Museum inside the tunnel is also the same. Because of that, the hoteliers of the Baglung market have become excited.

Chairman of Tourism Development Committee Baglung and Deputy Chief of Baglung Municipality Raju Khadka said that the suspension bridge has greatly helped in promoting tourism in Baglung.

Claimed to be the longest single-span bridge in the world, this bridge is 567 meters long. This bridge, which has been in operation since 2077, connects Baglung Municipality-1 Bangechour and Kushma Municipality-1 Pang in Parbat. The bridge was completed at a cost of around 9.25 million rupees.