Nepal’s Ministry of Tourism is planning to develop Mechi zone in eastern Nepal as a tea tourism hub. The Ministry has put forward a campaign to promote tea tourism through Mechi Mountainous Tourism Development Committee, keeping Ilam district as the centre of the campaign. Tea tourism which involves tours to tea growing estates and experiencing the process of local tea leaf production is becoming quite popular among western tourists in search of exotic experiences. Other districts included in the campaign are Taplejung, Panchthar and Jhapa.
