Karma Tsering of Nar village converted his two-decade-old sheep's shed into a hotel two years ago. He explained the reason behind it, “People from outside the village would rarely come here before, but now there's an influx of tourists.” He has built a 10-bed hotel, and has arranged to accommodate the tourists beyond its capacity in tents.
Situated at an altitude of about 3,800 meters, Meta is the mid-section of Nar-Phoo trail as well as the base camp of Kanguru Mountain. Kanguru climbers go uphill toward east from here, while one needs to climb three hours to the west to reach Nar.
This VDC lies 16 miles to the northeast of Manang's headquarters-Chame, while Pisang Peak Mountain is to its south. One can reach Humde via the Kangla Pass, which is a one-day walk from here. It has altogether 71 houses, all clustered together and facing south, which according to Tasi Wangdi is based on religious belief. The total population is 412 among which 160 are literate.
Similarly, another such village is Phoo, which lies at an altitude of 4,018 meters and 22 miles north of Chame. Though inhabited since ancient times, this village came into contact with the state only four decades ago and is said to be the newest VDC of the country. Phoo lies to the north of Meta and takes one day to reach from there via Jhunum and Kyang. Jhunum and Kyang were inhabited by the Khampas of Tibet in the past, and one can still see remnants of their settlement there.
The total population of Phoo is 192. Mountaineers who come to climb Mt Himlung go through this village, from where they can reach the base camp after a three-hour walk. Phoo has two hotels for tourists, as well as a building made by ACMAP for camping groups.
Smoking and wildlife hunting have been banned in Phoo, in the initiative of Argon Thincho Tashi Chhiling (Tasi Lakau) Monastery's Lama Guru Karma Sonam Rinpoche's initiative 45 years ago. Back then, the villagers' sources of income had been wildlife hunting, livestock and herb collection.
He says, “When I advised the villagers not to kill animals, they didn't agree. There were 20 long and five short guns in the village. So I took all the guns for Rs 500 each, broke them and threw all into the Phoo River. Since then has hunting been prohibited in the village.”
After his initiative, the number of wild animals in Phoo has increased. The rare nawar (stag) is also found here, and many tourists come here just to see it. The Annapurna Conservation Area Project (ACAP) has felicitated him twice with gold medal, in 1994 and 2003, for transforming his village into a no-hunting zone.
The Nar-Phoo was opened for tourists since 2002, and that has also made the villagers more cultured. They have built toilets in every house and also made their surroundings clean. Immediately after opening it for tourists, ACAP had given its inhabitants training on tourist hospitality.
Nar and Phoo rely on livestock and herbs for sustenance. Tourism entrepreneur Rhitar Lakpa Lama agrees that the village has changed after being opened for tourists. However, he added, “We won't change our culture.” He informed that they have stuck to the old method of building houses to preserve their culture.
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