Galkot. The income of shepherds has increased due to the increase in tourists in Dhorpatan, a tourist destination in Baglung. Some tourists who have reached Dhorpatan have reached Bukipatan via the trekking route.

The income of shepherds who have been helping tourists reach Bukipatan to eat and stay has been increasing. Local products are consumed for tea and breakfast around the trekking route and in Bukipatan. As tourists who have reached Bukipatan stay and eat in the cowshed, buffalo milk, ghee and sheep meat have started being consumed in the cowshed.

The shepherds say that their income has increased as the milk, curd and mahi produced by the shepherds are also consumed in Bukipatan. They have started earning by feeding tourists kheer, tea, mahi and curd made from milk along with buffalo milk.

Dev Bahadur Bik, 72, a buffalo herder from Bukipatan who has been raising buffaloes and producing ghee and selling it, said that after Bukipat, which is a grazing area, became a tourist destination, money started coming in from the cowshed.

‘Earlier, ghee was sold by bringing it to the cowshed, and mahi was thrown away. Now, tourists are flocking to Bukipatan during the rainy season. When tourists come to Bukipatan, mahi is also sold,’ he said. ‘As the number of tourists increases, they also come to stay in this cowshed. Buffalo milk kheer is cooked and served to tourists. After selling milk and mahi in the cowshed, there is no need to carry it to Dhorpatan.’

Guman Singh Kumai said that those who climb Bukipatan have made a good income by selling tea from the cowshed on the flat stones in the middle of the road. He says that he has been selling tea to Bukipatan visitors for 100 rupees per glass. Kumai says that there is no hassle in making ghee and curd after the milk tea is consumed.

Up to 100 glasses of tea are consumed in a single day in his cowshed. Kumai, who keeps three buffaloes and 60 goats, has a temporary mobile cowshed in Cheptedhunga. He says that since the cowshed is near the trekking route, milk and tea are consumed in large quantities.

‘The trekkers consider the milk of the buffaloes grazing in Buki as very tasty. Since they have started making tea from milk, there is no need to make ghee this season,’ said Kumai. ‘The cowshed has brought money in due to tourists. Even the milk that used to go to waste is now sold at a high price. The trekkers who have walked for hours consider it delicious and eat mohi, curd, and tea.’ With an increase of eight thousand tourists in Dhorpatan in one year, Bukipatan has become a bustling place this time.

The number of tourists has been increasing every year due to the promotion of Dhorpatan, tourist infrastructure, tourists trekking in Buki and Jaljala, while tourists going on horse safaris, staying in homes and staying in goths have helped in generating income.

While foreign tourists used to come to Dhorpatan only to hunt, recently domestic tourists have been coming there to observe the hunting reserve area, Dhorpatan Valley, Nisheldhor and Dhorbarah temples, Buki Patan and Jaljala.

Tourists have started reaching Buki Patan, which is 2,900 meters above sea level, and 4,000 meters above sea level. (RSS)