Nepal to host three-week art, culture festival from Sept 5

Kathmandu, Aug 25 (PTI) Nepal will host a three-week art and culture festival from September 5, coinciding with the Indrajatra celebrations in the Kathmandu Valley, the Himalayan nation's tourism board announced on Monday.

Organised jointly by the Nepal Tourism Board and the Nepal Art Council, the festival will be held across four municipalities of the valley: Kathmandu, Lalitpur, Bhaktapur and Kirtipur.

President Ramchandra Paudel will inaugurate the festival with the theme “The magnificent art, culture, cuisine and cultural festival of Nepal”.

A variety of programmes including street dance, food festivals, music shows and art exhibitions will be organised to attract domestic as well as international tourists, according to the tourism board.

The festival will offer tourists an opportunity to taste cultural products, experience art and artefacts, music, dance, and the living culture of the valley, it said.

According to Deepak Raj Joshi, CEO of Nepal Tourism Board, the cultural heritage, art, traditional music and cultural dances of the Kathmandu Valley will feature at the festival.

It will coincide with one of the main festivals of Kathmandu valley -- the Indrajatra Festival -- which features street dances, mask dances, cultural presentations, traditional music, chariot pulling, and traditional feasts.

“The aim of the festival is to popularise Nepal as a preferred cultural destination in the world to promote tourism,” said CEO Joshi.

“We should preserve and protect our culture, tradition and traditional art and architecture. We hope such types of festivals will increase the number of tourist inflows to Nepal by positioning Nepal as one of the prime tourist destinations in the world.” According to the President of Hotel Association Nepal Binayak Shah, the festival will help promote experimental tourism in Nepal. PTI SBP GRS GRS GRS