Mustang sees tourists’ hustle and bustle

Tourists going to and from Mustang via the Myagdi road have increased the pressure on the Beni-Jomsom road. Muktinath Temple, Kagbeni, Korla Naka, Lomanthang, Jomsom, Dhumwa Lake, Thini, Leyte and other places are crowded with tourists.

Ashok Subedi, head of the Jomsom office of the Annapurna Conservation Area Project (ACAP), informed that the number of domestic tourists has increased and foreign tourists are also coming to visit Mustang.

“The traffic has increased due to the domestic tourists who have come to visit Mustang by road and air,” he said. Within the month of March 2023, 1,844 foreign tourists entered the Mustang within 11 days, according to ACAP Jomsom branch.

Since the beginning of the English year 2023, over 3,669 foreign tourists have entered Mustang. 131 tourists came in January and 1699 tourists in February. In 2022, around 65,940 people from 48 countries visited Mustang, of which 46,724 tourists were from SAARC and 19,206 from third countries. Most of the tourists from SAARC countries are from India.

According to the district traffic police office, 50 buses and 150 jeeps (tourist vehicles) enter Mustang daily through Myagdi.  A hotelier, Yakan Thakali, said that the arrival of tourists in Mustang has increased with the favorable weather, road transport and the convenience of hotels. There are more domestic tourists than foreigners.

Groups of mothers, forest groups, clubs, cooperatives and educational institutions have also come to visit Mustang. With easy access to transportation, travel costs are reduced and travel time is reduced.

Baburam Acharya, District President of the Hotel and Restaurant Business Association said that the businessmen of Myagdi also got relief after the increase in the number of tourists going to and from Mustang.

Hotels in Beni, Galeshwar, Bhurung Tatopani, Pokhrebgar, Dana areas are crowded with guests.