Destination of the Week - Briddim - Additional Tourism Attraction in Langtan Area

Today, local Tamangs of Briddim village in Rasuwa are more aware of sanitation, conservation and preservation of their cultural heritage. They are putting into practice what they have learnt, gaining it be a model tourism village. Located at the lap of Langtang landscape, the village boasts of rich Tibetan cultures, rituals, costumes and festivals. The locals seem optimistic in uplifting their economic status by attracting more tourists.


There is a total of 42 households in the village, where one can reach on foot in about 3 hours from Syabhrubeshi. Of the 42 houses, 19 have been developed as home-stay for tourists with different facilities since February last. The home-stays in Briddim have been initiated by the Canadian Aid and supported jointly by Tourism for Rural Poverty Alleviation Programme (TRPAP) of the Rasuwa District Development Committee and the Langtang National Park. These two bodies are providing the necessary financial and technical assistance. An amount of Rs 5,000. has been made available to each of the houses intending to be developed as a home-stay for tourists.


Initiated as a model programme, the home-stay has been, so far, very effective in the village. "Other households in the village are also preparing to develop home stay facilities," says local social mobiliser Tshiring Ghale. A separate Home-Stay Management Sub-committee has been formed for the reception and hospitality of tourists, supply of facilities and other managerial works. The amount service fee to tourists for their stay is same everywhere in the village. The committee also concentrates on such arrangements.


As soon as they hear about the arrival of tourists, all the villagers clad in Tibetan costumes prepared to welcome as during a festival. All are engaged in exchanging greetings, embracing and different types of dances. Khamb, Tabu and Yai are famous among other traditional dances.


Dressed in Kingap (locally made cap), Chhuwa (Tibetan robe ), Dhurma (trousers), Lakam (shoes), Kanjar (sweater) etc, the men approach playing drums and fluttering Chammars (tails of the yak). Women in traditional costumes, adorned with ornaments, get ready for the reception with flower garlands and bottles of locally brewed wine. After offering the garlands, Khada (slick scarf) to the tourists, they all move ahead to the Gumba (Buddhist monastery), which is situated in the centre of the village.


After the chairperson of the sub-committee formally welcomes the tourists gathered, the ladies offer Tibetan tea, Briddim white wine, apple wine, Tibetan bread and other local edibles to the tourists. "The Buddhist priest of the Gumba starts reciting verses from the holy scriptures, wishing peace to all. Some people get absorbed in showing/explaining the tourists about cultural objects and handicrafts.


In the homestay houses the tourists are given a room upstairs constructed in Tibetan styles, from where panorama of white peaks can be seen in the north. The sounds of birds and animals coming from the nearby jungle in dusk remove fatigue of the day. Although they lack the facilities of star hotels in Kathmandu or other urban areas, the home-stay is no less enjoyable with its peaceful, cool and refreshing surroundings. The food is hundred percent organic, i.e, free of any chemical mixtures. There are two comfortable beds in the room with a tea-table in between. It is equipped with materials like pairs of sandals, toilet soaps, towel, torch light, radio and the like. The pictures reflecting Tibetan cultures on the walls give a sense of originality.


There is no shortage of drinking water in the village; there is good management of taps and toilets in all the houses. Dokos (bamboo baskets) have been kept at places for the collection of rubbish. "They have been many changes with the implementation of Tourism programme. Locals have become aware about sanitation, hospitality and preservation of the cultural assets," says former VDC chairperson Nurphu Tamang.


?The tourists arriving here are served with the traditional food on the first day, giving a test of the area? says local Sange Lama. A fund has been founded with an additional amount of Rs. 100 raised from each tourist. This money is spent for the interest of the community and conservation . A total of Rs 24,000 has been collected so far, in the fund, according to Lama.


Following the promotion of tourist activities, the unemployed youths of Briddim have started to be engaged in portering, tourist guiding etc. Local products like vegetables, eggs, poultry, food-grains and liquor have started getting good prices, and the local handicraft products have got good markets.


With the purpose to better manage the home-stay tourism, the sub-committee is going to be registered in the Langtang National Park Mid-regional Committee. The TRPAP under its five year plan has provided training to 19 villagers so far about professional cooking, tourist guide, handicraft production, vegetable cultivation, English language etc, according to Village Tourism Associate Ram Chandra Sedhai.


After a trek of three hours from Briddim there is a small plateau like upland, called Gotheghyang It functions as a vantage point to view about a dozen peaks including Ganesh, Langtang, Sanejen and Kerung in the north. The hide-and-seek views of the fugitive wild-animals like rare red-panda, deer, stags and primates make a visitor forget the whole world for the time being. The views and melodious songs of different wild-birds including national lopophorus are no less bewitching. Targeting at the tourists arriving up to Briddim, a two-day Nature-walk package of the area has been developed.


The locals have also taken to the protection of jungle, with the initiation of TRPAP. They have started using iron poles instead of a wooden one for hoisting religious flag at their houses, which they used to do annually as per the rituals. They had a custom of changing the wooden pole every year.


According to a historical belief, people settled in this place after Denjo Kisang Tshembol, a Lama monk of Tibet some 10 generations ago, saw a vision of the god in dream saying Briddim would be the place with good omen for the people to dwell. As the legend goes, once people chased a Lango (ox) and a Bhrimu (Chauri cow) from Lhasa, and the Bhrimu vanished upon its arrival at the spot. Since then, the village was named as Brhim Thim (disappeared), which later on deviated to be Briddim.


With the purpose of giving better service to visitors works on setting up information centres at Dhunche and Syaphru have already been initiated. Likewise, the tasks of making a horse trail up to the VDC, paving stones on the path, constructing culverts on the streams, making stone spouts, standing rest houses on the way etc are underway. Tourists heading to Langtang can choose to go to Tatopani and Rasuwagadhi through Briddim. A four-day trekking package is possible from Kathmandu to Briddim and of six days up to Gotheghyang. Likewise, there is a probability of developing a 10-day Kathmandu-Briddim-Kyanjing-Langtang trekking package. Thus, in the village tourism is slowly changing the livehood of the people, but without losing their identity and culture .