Nearly 100,000 Indian tourists visit Mustang

By Harikrishna Sharma,Mustang, Mar. 26: Nearly 100,000 Indian tourists visit Mustang each year. The number has significantly risen due to the religious significance of the Muktinath Temple, a revered site for Hindu devotees. 

According to the Annapurna Conservation Area Project (ACAP) office in Jomsom, 96,050 Indian tourists visited Mustang in the fiscal year 2080/081 (2023/24). Out of the total 121,352 foreign visitors that year, Indian pilgrims made up the largest share, said Sherjung Gurung, Senior Conservation Education Assistant at ACAP Jomsom.

“Around 100,000 Indian tourists enter Mustang, and most of them visit the Muktinath Temple before returning home,” Gurung said. In the current fiscal year 2081/082 (2024/25), from July to February alone, 38,293 Indian tourists have visited Mustang, ACAP Jomsom informed.

The influx of Indian religious tourists is particularly high during March, April, May and June. Driven by their belief that visiting Muktinath Temple at least once in their lifetime is essential, Indian tourists travel to Mustang via the Beni-Jomsom-Korala road or by air after obtaining a vehicle pass from the Nepalese government.

Indian tourists travelling by road often visit the famous Galeshwar Dham Temple in Beni Municipality-9, Myagdi district, before continuing to Mustang.

Compared to tourists from third countries, Indian visitors generally spend less time in Mustang. Around 80 per cent of Indian tourists arrive in their own vehicles and they typically stay two to three nights in Myagdi and Mustang, according to tourism entrepreneurs.

Since Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Muktinath Temple in 2018, the number of Indian religious tourists has increased significantly, said Krishna Prasad Subedi, a priest at the temple. 

Indian visitors leave Muktinath Temple feeling happy, with many expressing that their wishes have been fulfilled, Subedi said. The majority of these visitors come from southern and northern India.