Pilgrim Crowds Surge at Muktinath Temple During Four Consecutive Public Holidays

News Summary

Due to four consecutive days of public holidays, the famous Muktinath Temple in Mustang has experienced an overwhelming influx of pilgrims. According to the District Police Office, more than 25,000 domestic and Indian tourists have entered Mustang over the past three days. With the increasing number of religious tourists, hotels from Lete to the Muktinath area in Mustang are fully booked. Mustang, 16 Jestha – The primary reason for the rising crowds at the shared Hindu and Buddhist pilgrimage site, Muktinath Temple, is the continuous four-day public holiday.

The Muktinath Development Committee reported that the surge in the number of pilgrims has posed management challenges. According to the committee’s manager, Dinesh Bhusal, from Thursday until Saturday morning, the influx of both domestic and Indian pilgrims has created difficulties in managing the crowd. Typically, except for major festivals like Dashain–Tihar and Chait Dashain, about five to seven thousand religious tourists visit here on average. However, due to the government-declared public holidays, 20,000 to 25,000 pilgrims have already visited the temple in the past three days. “Since Friday, large groups of religious tourists have been arriving at Muktinath. The temple premises have become overcrowded, making it difficult to manage, and thus the support of security personnel has been required,” explained Manager Bhusal.

He added, “Currently, the Nepal Police and Armed Police Force have been deployed to assist with crowd management. The simultaneous arrival of large numbers of religious tourists has also positively impacted tourism promotion.” Given the temple’s location on a narrow cliffside surface, managing the crowd remains challenging. The government’s recent decision to declare Sundays as public holidays has contributed to the increased tourist presence in Mustang. With four consecutive holiday days from Thursday onward, the number of pilgrims visiting Muktinath has surged further. Hotels from Lete to Muktinath are entirely occupied. The Muktinath Development Committee has arranged various measures—including queue management, provision of hot water, and medical treatment to prevent altitude sickness—to facilitate a smoother pilgrimage experience.

The District Police Office also confirmed that over 25,000 tourists have entered Mustang within the previous three days. According to police inspector Santosh Basnyal, 5,586 tourists entered via the Beni–Jomsom highway on Wednesday, followed by 7,827 on Thursday, and 9,086 on Saturday through the Ghasa entry point. Vehicles and tourists are recorded at the Ghasa police post. The authorities anticipate that the number of tourists will rise further, especially since the government has extended the public holiday to include Sunday. Outside major festivals such as Dashain, Tihar, and Chait Dashain, typically only five to seven thousand tourists visit the area, but the recent surge in pilgrim numbers has made management more challenging.