January 30, 2024 – By Kushal Basnet
Muktinath’s shrine of liberation may be reached on foot, on horseback, by car, aeroplane, helicopter, or – soon – cable car.
Muktinath is one of the world’s highest-situated temples at 3,710 meters (12,467 feet) above sea level. To get there, you can go trekking, take a road trip by car, or book flights from Kathmandu to Pokhara and then from Pokhara to Jomsom. The traveller can also take a helicopter, the quickest and most expensive way. But soon, you may also get there by cable car if things go all right with a bold plan in the pipeline.
Why do pilgrims flock to Muktinath? Hindus see Muktinath as a place where Vishnu got liberated from the curses of Vrinda and call the surrounding area ‘Mukti Kshetra’ (the place of liberation). Buddhists see it as where Guru Rinpoche meditated on his way to Tibet. Hindu and Buddhist traditions associate the shrine and the surroundings with ‘liberation’.
The language of Sanskrit is full of terms that cannot be translated easily. Mukti (also referred to as Moksha) is one of them. The word Mukti comes from the root word Muc, which is known to denote freedom. Multiple translation attempts have defined Mukti as the liberation from samsara– the cycle of death and rebirth. ‘Liberation’ would be a simplistic translation of the complex understanding. Nath is another untranslatable term, which can roughly be understood to mean ‘lord’. Combining the words Mukti and Nath, we get Muktinath, the lord of liberation.
People have travelled to Muktinath for ages. Soon, we may get there by cable car. Initiated by Muktinath Darshan Private Limited, the proposed cable car project will be 81 kilometres long from Nayapul to Muktinath. The journey will begin at 1,012 meters above sea level and gradually ascend to 3,652 meters. The ropeway will have 20 stations in between, and the estimated duration is more than four hours.
The new path to the place of liberation will be funded by foreign investment. It will be constructed with a total investment of 41.6 million USD. KE and R Engineering Limited, a Hyderabad-based Indian company that will also build the project infrastructure, will have an 80% share with a proportional investment. Public investors will hold seven per cent, while Muktinath Darshan Private Limited will keep an 11 % stake. The remaining two per cent will work as compensation to the locals affected by the project.
The company submitted an updated Detailed Project Report (DPR) to the Investment Board of Nepal (IBN) last week, opening a path for signing the Project Investment Agreement (PIA) with the board.
Given the value of Muktinath as a pilgrimage destination for Hindus and Buddhists and its attraction for global travellers, the new path seems promising but equally ambitious in an environment where foreign investors seem strangers. However, the founders promise to complete the project within four years.