"Summit Day" on the Annapurna Circuit, Nepal
Last week in Nepal, avalanches hit Annapurna Circuit of the Himalayas. So far, more than 40 have been confirmed dead, with hundreds more still unaccounted for.
In a statement that will no doubt rouse many budget travelers, Mohan Krishna Sapkota, spokesman of Nepal's Tourism Ministry, claimed those to blame for the death count were “cheaper tourists” who chose not to hire individual guides.
“If they were with the guide then they would have had a much better idea about the weather,” Sapkota reportedly said.
The official's accusations are also somewhat disingenuous because Nepal's own official tourism website doesn't suggest visitors hire a guide for the Annapurna route. The country does require permits for hikers and it collects US$20 for those permits, yet it does not require the retainer of a guide to trek. Many other remote and potentially dangerous tourist destinations, including the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu and the Galapagos Islands, do require a guide for access, but even though entry is regulated, Nepal makes no such requirement. In fact, the links on the Nepalese website for the permit rules and prices also bring up error pages.
The trekking industry is furious at the remarks."The government is happy collecting money from trekkers but doing nothing for them. It must now spend the cash for making arrangements for weather forecasts and a quick response for rescue when hikers are in distress," said Keshav Panday, an official of the Trekking Agencies' Association of Nepal, in the .