The Yeti Traveler Week of October 5th, 2009

Dear Traveler,

Everything new and exciting in Nepal is featured in this month's news letter! Don’t miss Mike Spinelli’s testimonials on his Nepal trip.

Explore new destinations: The Cheese Circuit, Forbidden Kingdom of Mustang, Land of Dolpo and other exciting places.

Plan your exclusive Golf Incentive with us:
A golf holiday in Nepal is an enticing incentive to motivate your sales team, and the perfect promotional tool to stimulate product launches and to reach new potential customers. Express your gratitude to your Loyal Customers, Top Performers, Devoted Employees, Steadfast Clients and Key Retirees; the people you depend on most in your business endeavors.

What’s new in Nepal: Skydive over Mt. Everest, better Air connectivity with India, Nepal's first five star boutique hotel launched and more!!

Updates @ Yeti:
Yeti’s very own fuel pump installed and we once again receive the highest Foreign Exchange earner award.

Read what Mike Spinelli, past President ASTA, says about Nepal and Yeti.

The new management in the past 6 months has achieved a substantial bit. Strengthening the operational backbone, ensuring quality service and coming up with innovative new products has been top priorities. More below.

Happy reading and see you in Nepal!!

Team Yeti

Experience New Destinations with Yeti

The Cheese Circuit: If you want to escape the traffic of commercialized trekking trails and get off the beaten path, then get on the recently developed trekking trail, “The Numbur Cheese Circuit”. Located in Ramechap, some 190 kms east of the Nepal’s capital, Kathmandu, it is a 14 – 16 day circuit trail connecting two beautiful river valleys, the Khimti and Likhu in the lap of Everest and Rolwaling region. This trek boasts of breathtaking views of the Himalayan peaks and is also home to few of Nepal’s unique glaciers.

The Indigenous People Trail: The first of its kind in Nepal, this trek offers glimpses and real-time exposure to one of the most culturally diverse areas of Nepal, combined with the beautiful natural landscapes. The Indigenous People trail passes through the beautifully folded Mahabarata range and rolling terraced farmlands, and offers you the rare opportunity of home stay accommodation while experiencing the rich culture and heritage of nearly 6 different Nepali ethnic groups. This top – down gentle trek suits all types of trekkers, especially ones wishing to avoid extreme high altitudes. The week long trail will take you from a starting elevation of 3146m at Sailung to 533m at Lubughat by the Sunkoshi River.

The Forbidden Kingdom of Mustang: Once you visit Mustang you will always come back for more. Not quite for the faint of heart, this trek will take you deep into the Tibetan plateau where you can visit Lo – Manthang the capital of Mustang. Mustang has an average height of 4000m and is located to the north of the mountain giants of Dhaulagiri and Annapurna, being north of the main Himalayan range and is geographically part of the highlands of Tibet. It is a high valley, arid and dry, characterized by eroded canyons, colorful stratified rock formations and has a barren, desert like appearance. This 10 – 12 day trail will take you on an ancient trading route towards the Tibetan plateau and through the Kali Gandaki valley, the deepest gorge in the world.

Dolpo – Land of B’on: Dolpo is a remote region of Nepal and home to the Shey Phoksundo National Park. The east and south of Dolpo is bordered by the Dhaulagiri and Churen Himal ranges and to the west by Jumla district. Trekking in Lower Dolpo offers you the remarkable and worthwhile experience of a lifetime. The attractions on this trek are the magnificent snowy peaks, ancient and isolated villages, rich wildlife, sparkling waterfalls and Buddhist monasteries not to mention the spectacular Shey Phoksundo Lake. This trek can take anything between 18 – 22 days and will leave you with warm memories of Nepal and a recharged mind, body and soul.


Yoga Treks: Yoga is said to have been born in the Himalayas and since decades Nepal and the mystical Himalayas have been attracting countless people seeking inner peace, tranquility and natural beauty. The majestic high mountains with their mystical presence leave lasting impressions on the people visiting them. It is thus not surprising that the great presence and power of the Himalayas gave birth to the science of yoga. Not only the integration of the practice of Yoga to trekking is beneficial on a physical level, it also complements the spiritual and emotional aspects of the body. Yoga implies turning ones focus inward, always aiming to balance opposite forces, while trekking produces energy and helps enjoy the outdoors.

Golf Holiday in Nepal
Are you designing an incentive program to motivate a sluggish sales quarter? Looking for the reward that exceeds all the expectations of your top sales people? Your search ends here!!

Nepal home to the mighty Himalaya including the highest of them all Mt. Everest has become a sought-after destination for incentive organizers, holiday makers, adventure enthusiast and romantics. Nepal boasts of around 6 golf courses including the Gokarna Forest Golf Resort, South Asia's finest, and one of the world's most spectacular Golf Course. Nepal offer’s golf enthusiast’s high standards, challenging courses, ever smiling personnel and some of the most stunning backdrops one can ever imagine. Nepal is emerging as the golf destination in the South Asian region. The stunning views and challenges of the Gokarna Forest & Golf Resort await you.

A golf holiday in Nepal is an enticing incentive to motivate your sales team, and the perfect promotional tool to stimulate product launches and to reach new potential customers. Let us tailor make an exciting package for you. Mail us on david@yetitravels.com.np.
New in Nepal
Tourist arrivals are on the increase!!:
The figures released by Immigration Office, Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) reveal that visitor arrivals in the month of August 2009, compared to the same month last year, have increased by 5% to 27,676.

August 2009 has shown a robust growth of 87% in tourist arrivals from China. Good to know besides Air China's Chengdu-Lhasa-Kathmandu and China Southern's Guangzhou-Kathmandu flights, China Eastern on Sept. 20 started the Kunming-Kathmandu flights, while Hong Kong's Dragon Air increased flights with Kathmandu from three to five a week as of Oct. 1. Am sure we will be seeing a lot more of our Chinese neighbors in town.

Similarly, the arrivals from Japan, Singapore, South Korea and Thailand have also increased by 27%, 44%, 21% and 9% respectively. The Asian markets to decline in this month were Malaysia (13%) and Chinese Taipei (21%). In aggregate the Asian segment has registered a positive growth of 26%.

In the SAARC region, arrivals from Bangladesh and Pakistan have witnessed positive growth of 23% and 22% respectively. However the arrivals from India have decreased by 10% compared to the same month last year. Sri Lanka also witnessed a negative growth of 1% this month.

An overall positive growth of 11% has been observed from the European markets with arrivals from France up by 9%, Germany by 34%, The Netherlands by 20%, Spain by 9% and Denmark by 50%. The only market to decline in this month was the UK by 24%.

Tourist arrivals from New Zealand and Canada have also registered robust growth of 22% and 88% respectively. The arrivals from United States of America remained stable whereas the Australian market declined by 4 % compared to the same month last year.

This is the third consecutive month Nepal has witnessed positive growth in the international tourist arrivals. Recovery in the arrivals to Nepal in the beginning of second half of 2009 is in line with the marginal improvement observed in some of the economies. Moreover, it also reflects the rebounding confidence of the international tour operators and the resilient nature of tourism economy.

Let’s hope for better times to come!!

Property Update: On a special gathering of the Travel & Hospitality dignitaries, Shangri La Kathmandu unveiled its newly upgraded guest rooms on September 10, 2009. Hotel Shangri~La has now upgraded all its 100 rooms to deluxe and club category. The new rooms have all new range of furniture, exclusively imported from KIAN Malaysia, water saving sanitary and fittings of the American Standard, Spanish tiles and interiors / decors supported by eco friendly and user friendly amenities. With the completion of up gradation Shangri~La Kathmandu is launching itself as the first five star boutique hotel of Nepal. Established in 1979, Shangri~La Kathmandu is most preferred destination for business and leisure travelers. Shangri~La Group owns a deluxe resort chain in Shangri~La Village in Pokhara.

Air Agreement with India: Nepal has welcomed the 21-point memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Nepal and India regarding revised Air Service Agreement (ASA) and technical accord. The MoU provides Nepal 30000 air seats capacity operating 10,000 seats per week to/from Mumbai and Bangalore each and not exceeding 15,000 seats per week to/from Delhi. There has also been a agreement to explore the possibility of opening Gorakhpur, Deharadun and Bagdogra as new destinations from Nepal and Lumbini, Bhairahawa, Janakpur, Nepalgunj and Dhangadi will also be opened new air destinations from India. HAN also commended the agreement for opening new points such as Goa, Amritsar, Thiruvanthapuram, Vishakhapatanam and Cochin.

Skydive over Everest: Three skydivers made the highest parachute landing at the foot of Mt. Everest. Leo Dickinson, Ralph Mitchell and Air Commodore Ramesh Chandra Tripathi — jumped from over 6,000 metres in the shadow of the Mt Everest from a helicopter to land at a frozen lake at the Everest base camp, Gorakshep, according to S Sapkota, chief of Nepal’s mountaineering department. Gorakshep, where the skydivers landed, is situated at the height of 5,167 meters. The three skydivers broke the previous record made last year in the same area of the Everest region when skydivers jumped to a drop zone situated at 3,764 meters. This is the first year that the Nepal tourism has opened the Everest zone to skydiving.



A Natural studio:
What is Nepal known for? Trekking, Mountaineering, Temples, Culture, Festivals, Mt. Everest…..and last but not the least Filming.

Yes, it’s no secret Filming in Nepal has been always been around. World acclaimed movies like Imax Everest, The Little Buddha and Oscar nominated movie Caravan and were all filmed in Nepal. Striking landscapes, incredible flora and fauna, mystical culture and the unmatched hospitality of the Nepalese has been key in drawing a good number of film crews from around the world. Every year Nepal plays host to film crews for making documentaries, TV programs, commercials and feature films.

No surprise that Nepal is often called a natural studio!!!

Arke Fly links Nepal with Europe
A Dutch airline is operating its scheduled weekly flight between Kathmandu and Amsterdam from October 6, 2009. With the launching of this new flight, Nepal’s air links with Europe are being reestablished. Flights of Arke Fly are scheduled to land at Tribhuvan International Airport at 2.30 p.m., according to Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation (MoTCA). The airline is using its Boeing 737 aircraft. There has been no direct flight between Nepal and Europe since Nepal Airlines Corporation and Austrian Airlines pulled out their services. Officials at the Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation said that Arke Fly is starting Nepal flight according to the Air Service Agreement (ASA) between Nepal and the European Union (EU). According to the ministry, Bhutan's Druk Air is in the process of increasing its Thimpu-Kathmandu flights to five from three.
Updates @ Yeti Travels
Yeti’s very own fuel pump installed: A fuel shortage in Nepal is not a new thing. Caused by landslides on the highway or by the common “bandhs” that have become part of daily life in Nepal, it’s a reality we have to live with.
However, the new Management at Yeti with the able leadership of its MD, Vivek Basnyat has ensured its fleet operations are never affected by these fuel shortages by installing their very own fuel tank and pump. Having a capacity of 2600 gallons (12000 litres) it guarantees the Yeti vehicles are on the road ferrying valued guests. The fuel tank always maintain a balance of 6000 litres good enough to have the Yeti vehicles on the road for more than 2 months when the rest of the pumps are dry. Once again it’s all about being committed to excellence, every time, all the time.

Recognition by the Govt of Nepal:
Yeti Travels, Nepal’s premier DMC has once again received the award for earning the highest foreign exchange in its sector during the last fiscal year 2008 / 2009. Incidentally, Yeti Travels has been receiving this prestigious award since 1989. The award was presented to Mr. Manohar SJB Rana, CEO of Yeti Travels by the Minister of Tourism and Civil Aviation Sharat Singh Bhandari. Along-with this prestigious award, the Tourism Heritage Award (Paryatan Dharorar 2066) was presented to Mr. Manohar SJB Rana – CEO of Yeti Travels. Mr. Rana a veteran tourism entrepreneur has contributed immensely for the development of the tourism sector.
Exclusive with Mike Spinelli, past President, ASTA
No trip to South Asia is complete without a hop over to Nepal the land of the Himalaya. Nepal is a small country that divides Tibet and India. It is here that you see the confluence of Asian and Caucasian people. The Nepalese are neither Asian nor Caucasian, but a beautiful blend of both. My trip to Nepal was on a speaking engagement as President of ASTA at the time. My host was the owner of Yeti Travels a very large tour company of Nepal. They are the oldest in their field and I found them most dependable. They can be found at www.yetitravels.com. Yeti handled us while in Nepal, with little advance notice, and did a fine job.

While in Nepal, one can spend time visiting many Tibetans who live in Nepal. Guests see, first hand, all of the intricacies of the Hindu and Buddhist religions as well as enjoy a Mountain flight on Buddha airlines which takes you to the crest of Mount Everest with views of China and the surrounding area! With good binoculars they may catch a glimpse of climbers of Mount Everest.

One of the hotels I found most interesting was the Dwarika's Hotel owned by Ambica Shrestha. This hotel has doorways going back to the 13th and 14th century.

Nepal is better known by her capital, Kathmandu, which is the city point for those who travel to Nepal for their guides, the Sherpas, to travel up Mount Everest. Nepal produced the toughest solders known to the world and were called Gurkhas, soldiers from Nepal who still serve in the British and Indian armies. They are tough, disciplined fighters noted for their skill with a curved knife called a Khukri. The weapon they used was formidable and worth seeing. Nepal has become one of my best loved small countries with no moments to spare. You are busy every time. So much to see!!

Add this to your must visit destination.

Mike Spinelli
http://www.mikespinelli.com