Damauli (Tanahun), 31 Chaitra(13 April): On the eve of the New Year, the tourist town of Bandipur has seen a surge in domestic tourists. The influx of domestic tourists celebrating the New Year has increased in Bandipur, known as the ‘Queen of the Hills’.
Tourism entrepreneurs are excited after the increase in the number of domestic tourists during the ‘Bandipur Visit Year-2025’. Chairman of the Bandipur Tourism Development Committee Kisan Pradhan said that the business has also increased after the increase in the arrival of tourists to celebrate the New Year.
Earlier, about one thousand domestic and foreign tourists used to come daily, but in the last two days, the number of visitors has increased to two thousand daily. “The hotels here have the capacity to accommodate two thousand people. However, all the hotels here have been full for the last two days,” he said.
Stating that the arrival of tourists targeting the New Year has doubled, Chairman Pradhan informed that the hotels here have now arranged a 15 percent discount. He said, “The local food festival organized here in the New Year has also increased the arrival of tourists. The number of tourists has increased here since Saturday.” He said that while there are more tourists returning from other times, the number of those coming to stay has increased during the New Year.
According to Chairman Pradhan, more than 2,000 tourists have arrived in Bandipur targeting the New Year. 80 percent of those who have come here have stayed. This year, out of the 210,000 tourists who have come here, 60 are foreign and 150,000 are domestic tourists, according to the Bandipur Visit Year Secretariat.
Dilkumari Thapa of Bandipur Community Homestay said that the arrival of domestic guests has increased with the arrival of the New Year. She said, “Since homestays allow family-style accommodation, domestic guests also prefer to stay in homestays.” There are 77 hotels, both small and large, affiliated with the Hotel Association. The local cuisine festival has started here since Saturday. The festival is being formally inaugurated today by Gandaki Province Chief Minister Surendra Raj Pandey. The festival will run until April 20.
The cultural festival is being organized to provide entertainment to domestic and foreign tourists visiting the region, said Visit Nepal Year Coordinator Vaish Bahadur Gurung. He said, “By declaring the Visit Nepal Year, we are engaged in promoting tourism in this region. We will promote this region by organizing various programs here throughout 2025.”
The festival will include cultural dances of Magar, Newar, Gurung, Brahmin and other ethnic groups as well as street food festivals, informed Bandipur Visit Nepal Year Promotion Coordinator Raju Baniya. According to him, tourists from Japan, China, Italy, Spain, Netherlands, France, America, Germany, Denmark, Pakistan, Australia, Britain, Ireland, South Korea, Belgium, Thailand, Taiwan, Switzerland, Malaysia, Holland, Portugal, Czech Republic, Iran, India, Greece and Argentina have visited Bandipur.
Bandipur currently receives one hundred thousand tourists annually, and the visit year has been launched with the aim of doubling that number, said Surendra Thapa, chairman of the rural municipality. According to him, the rural municipality has listed Khadgadevi Temple, Thanimai Temple, Mahalaxmi Temple, Siddhagufa Mani Mukundasen Walk (Mini Great Wall), Tindhara, waterfalls and water fountains, Tundikhel, Mani Mukunda Sen Palace, and Padam Library as major tourist destinations.
Chairman Thapa mentioned that houses built in the Bhaktapur style, Tundikhel, Thanimai, Tindhara, Raniban, Ramkot, Sunkhari, Khaddevi Temple, Vindhyavasini Temple, Mahalaxmi Temple, and the Information Center are among the places that are preferred by tourists coming here.
