Nagarjun Forest Reserve, Kathmandu

My partner, Elaine, and I have spent the holiday in Kathmandu, Nepal, and we are loving every minute of it! We took a day hike in the Nagarjun Forest Reserve just outside Kathmandu. Although it has been difficult to get much information on Nagarjun, it appears that its status as a reserve forest excludes all uses except recreation; at its summit, known as Jamacho Peak (approx. 2100 meters), is a Buddhist temple popular among pilgrims and the hiking trail is used by tourists and locals alike. The peak yields nice views of Kathmandu Valley as well as several of the famous mountains surrounding the Valley.

We really enjoyed the hike, and the forest was stunning. The trail begins at around 1500 meters and is a 5K hike to Jamacho Peak. There didn't seem to be drastic floral changes as altitude increased, although the trail opened-up into a grassy section (around 1800 meters) with wild berry shrubs (berberis asiatica) here and there. Although we noticed Chir Pine (pinus roxburghii) from the trail head in very small numbers, this beautiful species became ubiquitous at about 1760 meters. It was wonderful to see the many rhododendrons (rhododendron arboreum) of the forest, especially some of the very large specimens we found. The forest was decorated with many varieties of moss, and moss diversity seemed to increase as we neared the summit. One striking change was the increase of bamboo (dendrocalamus strictus) as we climbed, with only short plants at lower altitudes that increased to a maximum of around 10' at 2050 meters where the canopy was considerably more open.

At around 1800 meters, we noticed considerably more coppicing, indicating that trees in this forest were indeed cut at some point. Interestingly, we noticed that the coppicing appeared newer as we advanced up the trail, and at 1950 meters we actually encountered a group of 6 local women producing fuelwood and fodder on the hiking trail. Our guide said that, at times, local peoples were allowed to collect dry wood in the forest. However, while this group was collecting some dry wood, they had obviously cut wet wood as well and were in the process of bundling as we encountered them. Lopped and topped trees on and off the trail corroborated that cutting for wood had occurred recently and in the past. We observed them bundling, but were only able to identify rhododendron among the species they collected, although there were others we could not identify. We attempted to converse with the group of collectors about their activity, but they were reluctant to engage with us, and our guide was reluctant to help us speak to them. Similarly, our guide seemed to white wash their collecting activities until we showed we were aware of illicit felling from our work in India, at which point he was more open about the potential illegality of the collectors' activities, along with other illicit forest uses that may occur in the forest.

As I indicate above, it has been difficult to obtain much solid information about the reserve forest, so I am not wholly certain as to the rules that would apply regarding the use of a Reserve Forest, although it is my impression that no use whatsoever is legally allowed. The forest was guarded at the entrance by armed members of the military and we paid an entrance fee. So, it may be that the fuelwood collectors were able to make a deal with the guards to enter the forest for collecting, or perhaps they snuck in through a back entrance. The forest showed lots of evidence of use for fuelwood, and perhaps timber, so it seems that local people have some degree of regular access and are dependent, to some extent, on the forest despite its Reserve status.