Farmers in the tea-growing areas of Ilam are increasingly interested in tea tourism. Over 90 houses in northern Sankhejung have already been transformed to accommodate tourists visiting the tea plantations.
A month after the initiative started, the area has already received tourists from Canada and the Netherlands. Similar initiatives were already underway in eastern Ilam.

Uday Chapagain, proprietor of the organic Gorkha Tea Estate, which is promoting tea tourism, said, “Tourists have been showing interest in visiting tea gardens in the area for the last year.”

The Association of Green Hill Tea Producers took the initiative to convert the farms into tourist sites. It is also encouraging the use of machines that process “handmade” tea. The idea is to both promote tourism and widen the market for Nepali tea.]

One tourist from the Netherlands has already placed an order for four quintals of tea because, he said he preferred the taste of tea processed in this way.

Farmers have been producing organic tea for the last four years, after they were certified. Ilam tea is exported to Germany and other European nations.