Myagdi. Pun Hill has become an attraction for tourists lately for observing the sunrise, sunset, Gurja Himal, Dhaulagiri, Annapurna, Machhapuchhre Nilgiri and other mountain ranges.

The months of September, October, March, and April are the best time to visit the Ghodepani Pun Hill area of Annapurna Rural Municipality-6. According to the Tourist Police Post of Ghodepani, around 30,000 tourists visit the area annually. Sudip Purja Pun, a tea shop entrepreneur who has been awarded a contract to collect entry fee and operate a tea shop, said that the number of tourists visiting the festival this time was due to adverse weather and political situation.

In the previous years, the number of tourists visiting the festival was four hundred per day. Tourists staying at Ghodepani trek for 40 minutes in the morning reach Pun Hill to observe the sunrise and the mountain range. There are 23 well-equipped hotels in Ghodepani with the capacity to accommodate more than 1,000 people on a daily basis.

Similarly, Ghodepani-Pun Hill can be reached via Ghandruk of Kaski, Bhurung Tatopani of Myagdi and Moharedanda. The trekking route is in operation via Birethanti-Uleri-Ghodepani of Kaski, Nayapul-Ghandruk-Ghodepani of Kaski, Nagi-Mahare-Phulbari-Ghodepani and Tatopani-Ghar-Shikh of Myagdi.

One can reach Ghodepani by road via Pokhrebagar, the centre of Annapurna Rural Municipality, through Ghar, Shikh. Annapurna-6 ward chair Ram Bahadur Khadka said that the road linking Pokhrebagar to Ghodepani has been opened in collaboration with the federal and state governments and the road linking Ghodepani via New Bridge of Kaski has been opened. “We are investing some part of the revenue generated from the contract of Pun Hill in the development of tourism infrastructure in the same area”, he said, adding, “We are trying to attract both foreign tourists who like trekking and Nepalis who want to enjoy transportation.” ’

Meanwhile, Annapurna Rural Municipality has earned around Rs 4.6 million in the current fiscal year from Pun Hill, a tourist site in ward no. 6. A contract agreement was signed for Rs 45.90 million to collect entry fee from tourists visiting Pun Hill and to operate tea shop. Bhagawati Khadka, information officer of the rural municipality, said that Hotel Shikhar Pvt Ltd, which had bid the highest bid in the bidding competition, got 10 percent discount as per the rules. Last year, it earned Rs 40 lakh.

The rural municipality has been collecting Rs 150 as entry fee from each foreign tourist visiting Pun Hill which is located at an altitude of 3,210 meters from the sea level and Rs 50 from the domestic visitors.