In the surrounding forests, many hundreds of their comrades could be seen

RD Caughron Mountaineer

Three parties of mountaineers are said to have been robbed during their expedition to Mount Makalu in the east of the country, the fifth highest mountain in the world.

The mountaineers say the rebels haggled with them over what items and how much money they would steal - and then gave them receipts for the goods they had taken.

Last month the rebels urged foreign tourists to go to Nepal and visit them in their strongholds.

No violence

The mountaineers have posted their accounts of their confrontations with the Maoists on the EverestNews.com website.

RD Caughron describes how five armed men approached three mountaineers on the morning of 5 April.

They demanded 5,000 Nepalese rupees ($64) plus equipment such as cameras and binoculars.

Rebel attacks have discouraged tourists

"Then, after some discussion, [the rebels] settled for 10,000 ($128) rupees per member," Mr Caughron writes.

The rebels then gave the mountaineers their receipts.

The rebels were not alone, he says.

"In the surrounding forests, many hundreds of their comrades could be seen."

He says the Maoists then robbed a Swiss group. He also says he learned that a Spanish group had been robbed the night before.

The Maoists "appear to be thriving in the area".

He emphasised that the rebels were not violent towards them and that all the mountaineers were safe and well.

Correspondents say the Maoists have never targeted tourists since their armed struggle to overthrow Nepal's constitutional monarchy began in 1996.

Tourism slump

"Tourists are... most welcome in the country," senior Maoist Baburam Bhattarai said in a message faxed to news organisations in April.

Last year saw a huge slump in Nepal's important tourist industry as the Maoist conflict and the massacre of much of the royal family scared off many potential visitors.

In November King Gyanendra declared a state of emergency after the rebels broke off peace talks and began a series of attacks.

Since then there have been a number of bloody clashes between the rebels and the security forces that have added to the problems of Nepal's image to outsiders.

Next month the Nepalese Government is staging a major tourist exhibition in Kathmandu to attract foreign visitors.