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A 75-km route of the road linking Mustang of Gandaki and Dolpa of Karnali Province has been opened.

The road is considered important for the internal trade, tourism development and convenience of the locals in the mountainous districts of the two provinces.

Chair of Varagung Muktikshetra Rural Municipality, Rinjin Namgyal Gurung said the work of opening the road connecting Varagung Muktikshetra of Mustang and Charka Tangsong Rural Municipality of Dolpa under the Manang-Mustang-Dolpa-Jumla road project of the federal government has reached the final stage.

A 40-km road from Jomsom to Eklebhatti, Pakling, Falek, Sangta and an additional 35 km from Sangta to Dolpa border via Yakkharka has been opened, he said.

It is necessary to upgrade 20 kilometers of roads and construct motorable bridges in four places for regular and smooth operation of traffic on this road.

Saying that the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure Development and Transport Management has allocated Rs 8.5 million in the current fiscal year for the construction of bailey bridge at Sukusamba on the border of Dolpa, Chai Gurung said that a proposal has been made for the government to construct three more bailey bridges or motorable bridges and upgrade the roads in risky areas for regular transport operation.

The government had initiated the construction of a road connecting Manang-Mustang of Gandaki Province and Dolpa-Mugu of Karnali Province from the fiscal year 2075÷76 BS.

According to the Road Division Office, Baglung, 56.5-km of road has been opened from Pakling with an investment of Rs 220 million. A road had already been constructed from Dolpa to the border of Mustang.

It will be so far the shortest route to connect Dolpa with the federal capital, Kathmandu.

Ward member Tshering Pasang Gurung, also a resident of Sangta, said tourists have started coming to visit Sangta and Yakkharka after the construction of the road.

The 'Dhegaun' of Loghekar Damodarkunda Rural Municipality-5 of Mustang, which was full of human settlement two decades ago, is now turning empty.

Climate change is believably one of the reasons behind the eviction of villagers. With drying up of water sources in the village due to the effects of climate change, people were forced to leave the settlement.

The mass displacement did not only desert the village but also cause gradual disappearance of local traditions, culture and history.

Old houses are collapsing and the settlement looks ruined and rugged. Hundreds of hectares of cultivable land have turned barren due to the outflow of the locals in search of water.

Loghekar Damodarkunda rural municipality-5 ward chair Pasang Gurung said there was no one living in the village due to internal migration with the deepening water crisis.

"After the drying up of irrigation and drinking water sources, there was no condition to live", he said. People are forced to abandon their settlements with humans and animals being deprived of access to drinking water.

The ward chair bemoaned although he had spent his life at Dhe village since childhood, he was now forced to leave due to the water crisis.

Farming and livestock are the main sources of livelihood for the people. Ward Chair Gurung said that the water source has dried up after low volume of snowfall in the winter. "Snow was the main source of water, but due to climate change, there was a decreasing volume of snow", he said. According to him, the locals now go to the cowshed only to graze sheep and goats in the rainy season.

Agricultural land has not been cultivated when there was no adequate rainfall and drying up of irrigation water sources.

Dhey village was located in ward 9 of the then Surkhang Village Development Committee. At present, Dhe and Thamjung fall in the same ward. There is a large population of Gurung and Lowa people here.

The then VDCs and district development committees had initiated the process of relocating the settlements when water shortage was looming large.

Ward Chair Gurung said that infrastructure has been constructed in the new settlement with the help of the government and donor agencies. They are cultivating apples in the new settlement.

"We have been affected the most by the rise in temperature and climate change", he said.

The Dhe village is about 4,000 meters above sea level. The Thamjung-based new settlement on the banks of the river is at an altitude of 3,700 meters.

At present, there are 26 households in the village. Along with the settlement, the school has been shifted to Thamjung. Since 2064 BS, the migration to Thamjung had started.

Thamjung, which is close to Charang and Surkhang, has drinking water, electricity and other facilities. 

A new species of bird has been found in Mustang.

Ornithologists Sanjay Tha Shrestha and Shankar Tiwari found the new species of bird in Upper Mustang, according to the Nepal Ornithologists Association.

The Spotted Flycatcher bird was found for the first time in Nepal, said Dr Tulasi Subedi, Chair of Nepal Bird Records Committee through a statement today.

The scientific name of the bird is Muscicapa Striata and is locally called Taludharse Arjunak.

The picture of the bird taken by Shrestha and Tiwari at an altitude of 3,650 meters above sea level was sent to the Nepal Bird Records Committee for confirmation.

Based on the available evidence, detailed study and suggestions from national and international ornithologists, Taludharse Arjunak has been confirmed as a species and added to the records of birds found in Nepal, said Subedi.

This takes the number of bird species found in Nepal to 896. This bird is also found in Mongolia, in northern China and in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Over 400, 000 tourists visited Mustang by road from April 14, 2023 to April 12, 2024, according to data with the Ghasa police station located on the transit point to Myagdi-Mustang.

The statistics show that 414, 280 domestic and foreign tourists visited Mustang during that period.

The number of domestic visitors entering Mustang via road is 335, 466, including 220, 724 men and 114, 742 women, said Deputy Superintendent Bhojraj Pandey, the Chief of the District Police Office Mustang.

Similarly, DSP Pandey said 78, 814 foreigners visited Mustang during that period. Among them, 72 thousand 756 are from the SAARC countries while 6058 are from countries other than the SAARC member states.

According to him, 38, 821 males and 33, 935 women from SAARC countries visited Mustang during the period. Similarly, 3,648 male and 2,410 female visitors from countries other than the SAARC member countries visited Mustang in the same period.

The data shows that 11, 484 tourists arrived in Mustang via air. Among them, 1,679 are domestic tourists (1,134 males and 545 female), 8,055 including 3,767 male and 4,288 females are from the SAARC countries and 1,750 visitors (886 male and 864 female) are from countries other than the SAARC member countries.

Known as the district beyond the Himalayas, Mustang is a prime tourism destination known for its iconic desert-like landscape. The bare mountains, Himalayan climate, culture and lifestyle, lakes, monasteries, Muktinath temple, caves are the attractions of Mustang.

Inflow of tourists to the religious and tourist places of Mustang including Muktinath, Jomsom, Kagbeni, Lomanthang, Marpha, Thini, Dhumba Lake has gradually started increasing since last year, according to local tourism entrepreneurs.

Mustang district has witnessed an impressive number of tourists last month. Almost 80,000 tourists visited the mountainous district during the month of Kartik.

The number of domestic tourists is very high, thanks to the festive season.

According to the record of the District Police Office, a total of 5,504 international and 73,879 domestic tourists visited Mustang in Kartik.

The Annapurna Conservation Area Project (ACAP) offices at Jomsom and Lhomanthang keep the record of the international tourists visiting the district while the Ghasa Police Post and Lete Police Post maintain the record of the domestic tourists.

Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) of Mustang Bhojraj Pandey said that the district witnessed queues of tourists in the festivals of Dashain, Tihar and Chhath adding that almost 14,000 vehicles entered the district by carrying tourists in Mustang in a month.

Besides Beni-Jomsom route, the travelers arrived here from Pokhara-Jomsom air route too.

Hotelier Surendra Gauchan of Hotel Ranipauwa at Muktinath said tourist arrival remained exciting in Kartik month. "Tourists did not come as expected during the last year's festive season due to rain but this time the tourists preferred Mustang for their short trip due to better road network and clear weather," Gauchan argued.

Autumn is considered an appropriate time for Mustang visit.

With this impressive number of tourists in the district, the hoteliers and stakeholders here have expressed their satisfaction at the tourism bounce-back in Mustang.

Muktinath, Jomsom, Kagbeni, Lhomanthang, Marpha, Thini and Dhumba Lake are the key tourist and religious attractions for visitors in Mustang.