Palpa's Rani Mahal, A Proposal to make it a 'honeymoon destination' by running a hotel

 

Kathmandu. 

Nepal Tourism Board has proposed to make Ranimahal of Palpa a heritage hotel. In connection with the protection and promotion of important tourist products across the country, the Board has proposed to make the historic Durbar Rani Mahal of Palpa a Heritage Hotel.

However, protests have started from the beginning saying that the hotel should not be allowed to run in the palace as it is a historical heritage. The Hotel Association of Nepal (HAN) itself is not in favor of the proposal.

Rani Mahal in Tansen Municipality of Palpa is a historical palace located on the banks of Kaligand. It was built in 1954 BS. This palace was built by General Khadga Shamsher in the memory of his queen Tej Kumari.

That is why Rani Mahal is considered a symbol of love. Rani Mahal has an attractive four-storey building. The palace has 24 rooms, 2 ponds, temple garden and patti, horse-drawn structures.

 

The Tourism Board is in the process of turning the historic structure into a hotel.

‘We seek diversification in tourism,’ said the board’s chief executive officer, CEO Dr. Dhananjay Regmi said, "For that, we have to engage in different types of products, one of which is Rani Mahal." The board has a concept that can make Rani Mahal a 'honeymoon destination'. "Ranimahal is a destination associated with love," he says. "Why don't we connect it with a new couple?"

The board has a concept to attract expensive tourists if Ranimahal is developed as a heritage hotel and promoted in India. The board has already submitted its concept proposal from local government to businessmen.

The question of commercialization of historical heritage

The work of converting the old palace into a hotel has been started since 2007. Former Finance Minister Madhukar Shamsher Rana's father Maheshwar Shamsher opened the Nepal Hotel Durbar in 2007. Then there are examples of hotels being opened in many palaces, including the Shankar Hotel. Yak & Yati Hotel is now in operation at the Red Palace of Chandra Samsher.

 

However, all those palaces were personal property of the Rana period. Rani Mahal is a historic public property.

Binayak Shah, first vice-president of the Hotel Association of Nepal (HAN) says that tourists can be attracted by building structures for commercial purposes in the vicinity by saving such structures. "There are hotels in the palace, but in private property," he said. "This is public property. The Rani Mahal, built on the concept of the Taj Mahal in India, cannot be a hotel in itself."

Stating that Ranimahal is the history of western Nepal, he suggested that big hotels and tourist structures could be built in the vicinity to create an environment for tourists to reach Ranimahal.

 

‘How many tourists will burn if Taj Mahal is turned into a hotel? But India doesn't do that, he says, "not to build a hotel within the heritage, but to create an environment where hotels can be run around the heritage."

What's in the offer?

Rani Mahal is getting dilapidated due to lack of ownership body. On the one hand, the structure has not been able to protect the river from erosion. On the other hand, even the structures of the palace have become dilapidated. In this situation, the board has proposed to repair the exterior and interior of Ranimahal without any major damage.

In that process, the rooms inside the palace can be designed in original style rooms, said CEO Regmi. "The structure can be turned into a hotel," he said. The board has a concept that the rooms of those hotels can be sold at a higher rate than the normal hotels.

The responsibility will be given to the local government and tourism entrepreneurs themselves. From this, both income and ownership will be at the local level. He informed that the concept has been brought to spend a certain part of the income received from the hotel for the protection and promotion of the palace.

 

At present, the palace is dilapidated due to lack of budget at the local level and lack of protection by the center.

Planning of water activities and beach tourism

"This is public property. The Rani Mahal, built on the concept of the Taj Mahal in India, cannot be a hotel in itself."

According to the concept of the board, there will be a heritage hotel in Rani Mahal and water-based tourism activities will be conducted in the Kaligandaki river in and around it.

 

There will be activities from rafting to swimming. Wide river banks will be developed and managed. By attracting tourists to Rani Mahal, the board has the concept of connecting other attractive destinations of Palpa with tourist products.

According to the board, tourists going to Rani Mahal on a honeymoon tour will be able to walk around the nearby Bhairav ​​Temple, Tansen Bazaar.

 

As Indian tourists have to go through Lumbini to reach here, there is a possibility of constructing a package by connecting Lumbini and Rani Mahal, the board said.

300 million investment proposal

The board has also proposed an investment of Rs 300 million in the first phase to build heritage hotels, water activities and riverbank structures. The board has a concept that such investment can be made in a period of 3 years and the region can be developed as an attractive tourist destination.

CEO Regmi says that if the palace is not protected and developed and promoted, its historicity will be lost and such structures can be saved for a long time by showing them to as many tourists as possible.

If the government allows such a proposal of the board, then the tourism business is ready for investment. Regmi explains.

"The proposal is positive from local government to business people," he said. "It is a model for the preservation and development of historic structures.". He informed that the work of making a detailed project report on the construction of tourist structure and conducting water activities in front of Rani Mahal is in progress.