Forgotten Facet

Lazimpat's contributions to the tourism sector are overshadowed and its potentials overlooked

By SANJAYA DHAKAL

Jhonche earned itself the name of "freak street" at the height of "hippie culture" that ushered in tens of thousands of excitement-seeking culture tourists to Nepal in late 60s and early 70s. Thamel is the present hub of adventure tourists. Lazimpat, despite having a glorious past and marvelous potentials, is often sidelined when it comes to discussing the development of tourism in Nepal.

"Lazimpat has a very significant contribution to the tourism sector," said Gyanendra P. Adhikari "Hanson" — a former tourism entrepreneur and writer of "Reminiscences of Nepal", a book on Nepal's early tourism scenario. "It is the place where Tom Mendies opened Snow View Hotel in 1954. It was the very first hotel opened in Kathmandu that truly catered to tourists."

Hotel Ambassador : A landmark of Lazimpat

Mendies, an Anglo-Indian by origin, contributed a lot to the development of tourism in the country. "As a tourism pioneer, he made ceaseless efforts to make tourism a sustainable industry in Nepal, but is today lost and forgotten in the very industry," said Adhikari, who was brought up by Mendies and became involved in various tourist activities since childhood.

The reason why Mendies chose Lazimpat to open his hotel could be that it was a VIP area at that time. The British Embassy, Indian Embassy and other expatriate residences were located there. Besides, it was in the middle of the city and was on a walking distance from major tourist attractions. Adhikari recollects the hard effort put up by Mendies to bring in tourists at that time in his book. "In fact, it was he who promoted Nepal by making baggage stickers, brochures and postcards."

The opening of Snow View Hotel kick-started the tourism revolution that was to take place in Lazimpat. It was followed by opening of hotels like Shankar, Ambassador, Manaslu, Kathmandu, and Lion.

"Lazimpat, indeed, has a prestigious history in the country's tourism," said Yogendra Shakya, Executive Chairman of Ace Hotels and Resorts and the owner of Ambassador Hotel, which is located in Lazimpat. "We opened Hotel Ambassador in Lazimpat because it was a VIP area with lots of embassy staffers, guests and expatriates living in the vicinity."

Apart from its glorious past, Lazimpat has an equally rosy present and marvelous future. "At present, Lazimpat has as many rooms for tourists as there are in, say, Thamel," said Shakya.

Adhikari : Tracing tourism

According to him, there are around 700 rooms, ranging from budget to five-star-type, available in Lazimpat area. "Besides, while Jhonche represented culture tourism and Thamel represented adventure tourism, Lazimpat is not bound by any category. It caters to slightly up-market tourists but also has lots of options for budget tourists," said Shakya.

Lately, five-star hotels like Radisson have opened in Lazimpat area. Similarly, there are other hotels like Shangri-la, Tibet and many restaurants like Him Thai, Lajana, Japanese Hana garden and so on.

From Snow View to the Radisson, Lazimpat has been home to different prestigious hotels and witness to many vicissitudes in the tourism industry. As Shakya believes, the place holds tremendous potential to attract much more tourists if developed in a proper manner.