39,000 tourists visited Mustang in a year

About 39,000 tourists have visited Mustang in a year. In the fiscal year 2078-79, 38 thousand eight hundred and ninety six foreign tourists visited Mustang tourist spots, according to the Annapurna Conservation Area (ACAP) Office at Jomsom.

Ashok Subedi, head of ACAP Jomsom, said that among the tourists from forty-two countries, the largest number was 33,457 Indians. 2 thousand 743 foreign tourists came to Mustang after crossing Thorangla Pass at an altitude of 5 thousand 300 meters from Manang.

Likewise, 1,566 tourists have visited Upper Mustang. Foreigners have to pay a fee of five hundred dollars for seven days to go to the semi-forbidden territory of Upper Mustang from Kagbeni to Korla Naka.

A fee of Rs 1,000 per person has been set for SAARC countries and Rs 3,000 per person for visiting the ACAP area, which includes Lamjung, Kaski, Manang, Mustang and Myagdi districts of Gandaki province. According to ACAP, 949 million revenue was collected from the entry fee of tourists visiting Mustang last year.

Deserted mountains, Himalayan climate, culture and lifestyle, lakes, monasteries, Muktinath temple, caves are the attractions of Mustang. Due to the corona (virus) epidemic, the tourist activity in Mustang had been decreased for the past two years. According to ACAP statistics, 60,000 foreign tourists came to Mustang every year before the Corona pandemic.

Tourist arrivals in Mustang have started to return to their old rhythm. The tourism sector, which was stalled due to the Corona (virus) epidemic, has started to become operational. Along with the movement of tourists, the residents of the tourist area, tourism, hotel businessmen and laborers have got relief.

Inflow of tourists to the religious and tourist places of Mustang including Muktinath, Jomsom, Kagbeni, Lomanthang, Marfa, Thini, Dhumba Lake has started returning to the old rhythm. Tasi Gurung, a homestay operator in Lomanthang, said that Mustang, which had been deserted for the past two years due to the Corona (virus) epidemic, has seen an increase in the number of tourists since recent times.