December 8: Galkot Palace is located in-between Harichaur Bazaar in Baglung district and the mountains to the north. The historical palace has become a centre of attraction for tourists of late.   
A large number of people are throng the palace every day to enjoy the scenic beauty and for merry-making.     
However, the palace which was artistically built using stones, mud, bricks and wooden materials in 1979 BS is now deteriorating. People are crowding up here, especially for taking snapshots, creating videos and enjoying its surrounding.    
Due to the easy access to roads, tourists from different parts of the country are turning up to the historical palace at Harichaur.    
There is the Gaighat falls at Tarakhola nearby. Most of the tourists who arrive at the falls do not miss to visit the palace.    
Locals say that the inflow of domestic tourists to the palace has increased with easy access to road that leads up to the historical site.    
Akash Pariyar, a resident of Bharatpur, Chitwan, who came to explore Dhorpatan also visited the Galkot Palace. He commented the palace that is located in a peaceful atmosphere attracted anyone. "We are fortunate to get an opportunity to see and enjoy the century-old heritage. Our country has a wealth of such antique places which has higher potentials to draw attention of domestic and foreign tourists. The beauty of the palace has captivated me a lot".    
Pariyar said he had come with a plan to reach Dhoraptan, Kalika Temple, Panchakot and Galkot Palace. He noted that domestic and foreign tourists can be further attracted to the areas if the existing tourism hotspots are managed well with better services.    
"I had explored the antique palace through Youtube video. I was eager to visit the place. But, I could not do that as I was overseas country at the moment".    
Pariyar who has been residing in Japan said, "I had reached the popular religious and tourism spots of Baglung this time".    
Dipesh Giri, a resident of Musikot, Gulmi, said it was his fifth visit to the Galkot Palace. "Earlier, there was no good road connectivity to reach the place. Now the road access to the palace has improved. Inflow of tourists to the unexplored tourism site has also increased", he shared.    
According to the locals, daily 200 plus domestic tourists visit the palace. The number of visitors is high during public holidays.    
Spokesperson of Galkot municipality, Him Bahadur Bhandari said the Galkot Palace has attracted both domestic and foreign tourists. As the palace carries a historical legacy, it needs to be conserved, he said. "The palace is still under personal ownership. We had discussed to carry out maintenance of the physical infrastructure of the palace despite the personal ownership of the palace. The historical palace is deteriorating. Now it is being repaired," he added.    
The palace is stretched over five ropanis of land. Bharat Bam Malla was the then king who built the palace. It was the place through which Galkot used to be governed. The administrative, judicial and economic powers of the Galkot State was centralized with the palace until 2017 BS (1962 AD). The first-elected government had decided to eradicate principalities and monarchs. It was the then King Bharat Bam Malla who put forth the proposal to the cabinet. He was elected Member of Parliament in 2015 BS.    
Manjesh Bam Malla, grandson of the then Malla King, has now put his efforts for the conservation of the palace.

 "We have started repairing the palace adopting original antique style. It is being reconstructed in a way to develop the ground floor as a museum and upper floors for personal use. Other structures around the palace are also to be managed this year," Malla shared. -- RSS