The religious and touristic district of Mustang witnessed the arrival of 202,351 tourists over a four-month period.
According to the District Police Office, Mustang, from mid-July to mid-November of the current fiscal year (FY), 160,929 domestic and 41,430 foreign tourists entered Mustang via the Beni-Jomsom road.
Police Inspector Santosh Basyal, Information Officer at the District Police Office, Mustang, stated that in the current FY, 19,781 tourists arrived in mid-July to mid-August, 23,205 in mid-August to mid-September, 75,599 in mid-September to mid-October, and 83,766 in mid-October to mid-November.
Previously, data from the District Police Office, Mustang, shows that in the last fiscal year (FY 2081/82), a total of 705,779 domestic and foreign tourists entered Mustang via the national pride Beni-Jomsom road. Last year, 555,326 domestic and 150,453 foreign tourists arrived in Mustang.
Police statistics indicate that the number of tourists arriving in Mustang during the first four months of the current FY is 28.76% of the total tourist number from the previous year. However, tourism in Mustang was partially affected in the first four months of the current FY due to the "Gen Z Movement" and unfavorable weather conditions.
The arrival of both domestic and foreign tourists in Mustang has been increasing recently as the national pride Beni-Jomsom-Korala road becomes more accessible. The completion of two-thirds of the road paving along the Korala route, from Beni in Myagdi up to Muktinath, has also contributed to the rise in tourist arrivals. Among the tourists who visit for Muktinath pilgrimage, one-third travel further to Upper Mustang and the Korala border point.
Umesh Paudel, Chief of the ACAP (Annapurna Conservation Area Project) Lomanthang Office, informed that the attraction of domestic and foreign tourists has grown to observe the much-discussed Nepal-China Korala border point, the Lo Manthang Palace, the Jharkot Cave, and centuries-old monasteries, mane, chhortens, and man-made caves in Upper Mustang, along with its geographical and biological diversity.
He added that since the Ministry of Tourism opened the climbing of the high-altitude peaks in Upper Mustang starting this current FY, the number of foreign tourists has begun to increase. Similarly, the rise in domestic tourists is also attributed to the practice of performing shraadh, tarpan, and pindadaan (rituals for deceased ancestors) at Kagbeni Dham by domestic pilgrims who come to visit Muktinath.
.
