More tourists from third countries visit round Annapurna trekking route

Mustang / February 7: The number of tourists from the third countries is more in the round Annapurna Trekking Route compared to the neighbouring SAARC countries, the Annapurna Area Conservation Project (ACAP) said.

The ACAP said that only 10,225 tourists from the SAARC countries visited the trekking route in the year 2015 while the tourists from the third countries were more than 69,000.

Tourism Officer at ACAP, Reshmi Acharya, said that a total of 20,233 tourists from the SAARC region arrived in the trekking route in 2014 while the number from the third countries was 109,000 in the same year.

‘Indian visitors top the number in the SAARC region. They arrive in the route to visit Muktinath and Kagbeni religious shrines in Mustang district” Acharya added.

According to the ACAP, most of the tourists visiting the trekking route in 2015 were from Germany, Australia, Israel and the USA.

A tourist visiting the round Annapurna trekking route from the SAARC region should pay Rs 2,000 while the amount is Rs 4,000 to those from the third countries. RSS