BHADRA SHARMA
KATHMANDU, For Puskar Kandel, a young man from a remote Benighat village near the Trishuli River in Dhading, the local river beach was an open university to learn life-saving skills in water.
It offered the opportunity to practice kayaking, canyoning and rafting, even before he was physically fit for the adventure sports.
Practicing water adventures was the norm. Senior rafting guides from his village used to take and encourage him to practice on Trishuli beach, one of the best river guide training centers in Nepal. The friendly behavior and positivity offered by senior guides attracted Kandel to adventurous activities. He spent most of his leisure time on the river banks.
“I even didn’t continue higher education after completing my intermediate degree,” said Kandel. “Instead, I joined the nearby Royal Beach Camp, widely known as RBC, in the capacity of an intern, where I learned all skills required for leading river expeditions.”
Trained for three years as an intern at the beach camp, he followed several river routes located all over Nepal. Then, he led expeditions taking foreigners as clients on the rivers. The rigorous practice in wild water advanced his skills in kayaking, canyoning and rafting. That quickly established him as one of the reliable river guides, making him famous in the rafting fraternity.
But frustration brewed after working six years at the camp. He could not hold himself in his home country, continuing the job that he loved the most. Rather, he migrated to Japan using foreign connections he established in the course of guiding foreigners along Nepal’s rafting routes.
“In Japan, work is good and the salary is better. The job is reliable," Kandel, who works for Rafting Wing in Tokyo, justified why he migrated. “I didn’t see a better future because our country seems not yet fully promoted as a rafting destination.”
Nepal, home to eight of the 14 highest mountains in the world, is popular for mountaineering. Thousands of rivers originating from the high Himalayas could be the best rafting destination for adventurous tourism. But the potential of the rivers, according to rafting organizers, remains largely untapped. Even the rivers permitted for rafting, kayaking and canyoning are not fully utilized.
Nepal is a political and economic mess. After a decade-long Maoist insurgency, it suffered from a protracted political deadlock. It was hit hard by a devastating earthquake in 2015 and subsequently faced an economic blockade by India. Then the coronavirus crisis emptied tourist destinations. Tourism was bouncing back in the small mountainous country. But the recent Gen Z protest has halted the flow of tourists. The same old faces have remained in power for more than two decades, despite frequent government changes.
Owing to those circumstances, tourists flow to Nepal is increasing. Increased cases of disasters, unrests and political instability have left more workers jobless.
“Experienced rafting guides don’t want to stay in Nepal. Since rafting is not promoted, making Nepal the major rafting destination guiding job is not reliable as the flow of rafting-loving tourists isn’t regular. Our rivers are not fully utilized as rafting destinations,” said Kamal Bahadur Thakuri, president of the national rafting agency. “Rivers permitted for rafting are also affected because of haphazard hydro dam construction.”
Out of more than 6,000 rivers, only 16 are currently permitted for rafting. Rafting operators estimated that about 10 of the total rivers are suitable for rafting. As of now, commercial rafting began on major rivers -- Trishuli, Bidhi Gadnarki, Marsyangdi, Seti, Kalil Gandaki, Bheri, Karnali and Seti Karnali. The Mahakali, Balefi, Bhotekoshi, Sunkoshi, Arun, Tamor and Dudhkoshi rivers have been affected because of unplanned hydropower construction, climate change and pollution.
Because of concrete dams, rafting routes are shortened or affected. Thakuri saidhis agency is forced to reduce a three-day Trishuli river extradition to two after construction for the Trishuli Hydropower began. Concrete dams are constructed to build hydropower projects in almost all rivers. The trend is expected to increase as Nepal is focused on generating more and more electricity to make a new source of income by exporting it to India.
The migration of rafting guides follows the trend of thousands of sherpas who are leaving for a better future for their children. Rafting-loving guides, however, are leaving the country before developing Nepal as a rafting destination.
Rafting guides are forced to migrate to Japan, Norway, Iceland, Switzerland, Australia, New Zealand and India. In recent years, guides have also been migrating to the Gulf. This year, Saudi Arabia wants to hire hundreds of licensed rafting guides from Nepal.
“One can easily earn Rs230,000 ($1,597) in a month,” said Sukra Lama, a guide who has been working in Japan for the last 13 years.
In Nepal, a guide earns a maximum of Rs3,000 ($20) a day.
Guides could return to Nepal to work in the spring, the weather window when rafting remains closed in other countries. But they do not, since there is no guarantee of getting a job even if they return. That is why they stay away from home doing menial work during the off-season.
It is difficult to get hardcore data on how many rafting guides left Nepal. Rafting operators predict that more than 60% of licensed guides work abroad. About 800 Nepali guides are working in Japan, according to their estimate. Many work in ski resorts during the off-season. A few have settled there.
Kandel is also planning to settle in Japan.
“I want to improve my economic status first. So, I’m thinking of running my own rafting business in Japan at least for a few years. No plan to return to Nepal immediately,” said Kandel, who has married a Japanese while working there, “In Nepal, rafting hasn’t been established as adventure tourism.”
- Difficulties
Som Bahadur Magar, an aspiring rafting guide, practiced rafting for six years before having a trial to obtain a certificate. He guided rafting in the upper and lower parts of Seti River, Karnali and Trishuli. As part of the practice, he had India and Bosnia in the course to participate in a boat race and is now looking for a formal certificate to work aboard. “Certificate will open new avenues in my career,” he hoped.
Rafting organizers said the migration of certified river guides is a worrying situation. It takes years to obtain a license. One needs to spend years practicing before getting certified as an official rafting guide.
As of late, the Nepal Academy of Tourism and Hotel Management (NATHM), the government body responsible for authenticating rafting guides, has certified 1,300 guides. Of them, most work out of Nepal, be it seasonal or permanent.
“Everyone is desperate to get away from here,” said Bishnu Gurung, an instructor. He said it has left a huge void in having trained guides for rafting adventures.
Owing to increased migration of rafting guides, finding trained river guides has become a herculean task. Yet producing guides demands physical and psychological preparedness takes years.
Gurung works for Big Smile, another rafting company in Japan. “Almost all certified rafting guides want to go abroad. To stop them, we need to promote rafting so that their job can be ensured within the country,” he said.
He goes to Japan and other countries for rafting jobs and organizes rafting adventures in Nepal during the off-season in Japan.
- Revival plan
Rafting entrepreneurs said producing professional guides remains a challenge. Local youths have not understood that a guide can be a respected profession, whereas the state has no policy to promote rafting as a sustainable tourism business.
The Academy runs guide tests once a year. But licensed holding guides migrate. “We have to produce more guides and engage them within the country,” admits Ratan Saud, a training coordinator at the Academy.
Since the Academy’s efforts are not enough to meet the demand for guides, some rafting operators are planning to organize private training.
“We have now reached the conclusion of producing river guides on our own,” said Ram Silwal, a senior rafting guide who runs RBC. “And there should be a separate campaign to keep at least some rivers that should be left natural, unaffected by so-called development.”