Though rhododendrons are yet to bloom in the Tinjure-Milke-Jaljale (TMJ) region, which is known as the ‘rhododendron capital’ of the country, the area has seen an increase in tourist footfalls in the past month.

The TMJ area is spread over three districts of Province 1—Tehrathum, Sankhuwasabha and Taplejung.

Most of the hotels on the Basantapur-Gupha Pokhari route have been fully booked by tourists.

“The area has seen on average 5,000 visitors daily for the past 30 days,” said Prakash Shrestha, a member of the Tourism Development and Promotion Committee of Terhathum.

“Most of the visitors are from Nepal’s eastern Tarai and India,” said Phujung Sherpa, who operates Yak Hotel at Gupha Bazaar. “More Nepalis have been visiting for the past month.”

The hotel entrepreneurs and officials believe that the tourism infrastructure built in recent years contributed to promoting the area.

Sushila Poudel, who operates the Himalayan Hotel at Basantapur, said she recently invested Rs25 million to upgrade her hotel.

Individuals from various districts have bought plots of land in the area to build hotels and resorts. Denga Lama of Taplejung has recently opened Himali Hotel which can accommodate 50 visitors.

Hari Khanal, who operates Makalu Hotel at Gupha Bazaar, has added more rooms to his hotel after an increase in the number of visitors.

“The area is one of the best for trekking,” a foreign tourist from Spain who declined to share their name and had visited the region multiple times, told the Post.

Locals of Gupha Bazaar have opened an information centre to facilitate the visitors.

After reaching Basantapur, visitors can also spend the night outdoors in tents. They can travel through Chauki Bazaar and Gupha to Gorja in Taplejung.

From Gorja, foreign visitors often trek to the Kanchenjunga Base Camp through Phurumbu and Chhiruwa on warm days.

On their way back, visitors can take a flight from Taplejung’s Suketar Airport. Rafting is also available in Dobhan.