Myagdi, Ashoj 6 (Sep 22): Tourists from all over the world have been attracted by Mustang’s unique topography, natural, geographical, cultural and biological diversity of historical and religious importance. The weather that opens with autumn is considered suitable for visiting Mustang.
An artwork that looks like it was drawn by a painter on the desolate brown and red mountains. The caves inside the mountains give a glimpse of the ancient human civilization. No matter where you turn, you can see whitening mountains and blue sky in the background. Greenery seen around the settlement along with the original houses with mud roofs. Kaligandaki and its tributaries flowing through the mountains. Lovely blue lake.
A herd of ostriches and ostriches can be found enjoying the pasture. Sheds of sheep, horses and yaks in the pasture. An apple orchard that ripens later and comes to live. Historical palaces and monasteries of religious importance and Tibetan living and lifestyle. Muktinath, Kagbeni and Damodarkund are common pilgrimage sites for Hindus and Buddhists. Chhewang Rinjin Gurung, a tourism businessman from Lomanthang, said that as the rainy season ends, the number of tourists in Mustang has increased. “This season, when the rains are over and winter is about to start, is a good time to visit Mustang in terms of climate and environment”, he said, “More tourists come here in October-October than other times.”
Sanjay Adhikari, a guide from Pokhara who reached the Loghekar monastery of Loghekar Damodarkund Rural Municipality with five German tourists, said that the guests were happy with the herd of Naur found during the trek. The ease of road transport, national and international promotional activities, the influence of social networks, the operation of convenient hotels, the inclusion of Mustang as a must-visit destination by the world-famous hiking media, and the visits of influential people from the foreign community have made Mustang the choice of tourists.
Tourist Arrivals Increase
Pramod Raj Regmi, head of Annapurna Conservation Area Project (ACAP), Jomsom, informed that 121 thousand 352 tourists visited Mustang in the last financial year. According to him, there are 98,253 tourists from Sarkarashtra and 23,099 tourists from third countries. According to ACAP, 71 thousand seven hundred seven tourists visited Mustang in 2079/80 and 38 thousand 896 tourists in 2078/79. In July and August of the current year, 7,599 tourists have visited Mustang. In July and August last year, the number of tourists visiting Mustang was 5,175.
Regmi said that the number of tourists coming to Mustang via Manang via Thorangla Jhanjyang, the adventure destination of the Annapurna cycle path, is also increasing. Trekking through Manang to Mustang after crossing the Thorangla Jhanjyang at a height of 5,416 meters above sea level is considered adventurous. In the year 2079/80, five thousand six hundred and forty-eight tourists came to Mustang through this trek, and last year the number increased to 13 thousand five hundred seven. Tourists enter Mustang through Beni-Jomsom road and Pokhara-Jomsom air route. Regmi mentioned that the tourists traveling to Mustang, apart from road and air routes, also use the Beni-Jomsom, Thorangla, Dhaulagiri cycle and Dolpa footpaths.
Foreigners have to pay a fee of five hundred dollars for 10 days to visit the semi-forbidden region of Upper Mustang from Kagbeni to Korla Naka. Regmi, head of ECAP, informed that tourists from SAARC countries will be charged Rs 1,000 per person and tourists from third countries will be charged Rs 3,000 per person to visit the ECAP area, which includes Lamjung, Kaski, Manang, Mustang and Myagdi districts of Gandaki province.
According to the district police office, 4 lakh 27 thousand tourists came here last year using the Beni-Jomsom road. Ghasa police station keeps the details of vehicles and tourists entering Mustang by land route. According to the post, 318 thousand 814 domestic tourists came to visit Mustang by road. In the year 2079/80, the number of domestic tourists visiting Mustang was three hundred thousand three thousand eight hundred.
Adding Infrastructure
Head of Tourism and Industry Office Mustang, Prem Prasad Paudel, said that the arrival of tourists is increasing due to the identification and promotion of new destinations by the local level, state and federal governments and the Annapurna Conservation Area project, and by the private sector expanding the capacity of hotels and lodges. According to him, around 400 hotels and restaurants are operating in Mustang, where there are 16 hotels with tourist level facilities. Poudel said that emphasis has been placed on infrastructure construction by identifying new footpaths as alternatives to the footpaths that have been displaced due to roads.
Tasinarbu Gurung, chairman of Lomanthang Rural Municipality, said that maintaining a semi-forbidden zone in Upper Mustang and forcing tourists to pay expensive fees has become a challenge in the development of tourism in Mustang. “Since the semi-restricted area is maintained and expensive fees have to be paid after completing the complicated process, businessmen are forced to flee even if tourists want to come to Upper Mustang”, he said. Tourism businessmen have a problem when only tourists come to Harahari.
