Muktinath temple to open from January 5

MUSTANG: The Muktinath temple in Mustang district is opening nearly after 10 months since it was closed over the risk of coronavirus pandemic. The temple is reopening from January 5, Tuesday.

The locals and the tourism entrepreneurs of this trans-Himalayan district have been enthused with this decision.
An extensive all-sides assembly made a decision to open the shrine dedicated to the Hindu god Bishnu on January 5.

Muktinath is a famous pilgrimage site for both Hindus and Buddhists.

Officials of the District Administration Office Mustang and the Muktinath Religious Area Development Committee, and representatives of local Jharkot, Khinga and Ranipauwa villages participated in the meeting which agreed to open the temple to the devotees from next Tuesday, former chief and proprietor of Hotel Grand Sambala, Suraj Gurung, said.

“We have decided to reopen the temple which was closed nearly for 10 months through the all-sides meeting. We hope tourism activities which were ground to a halt for long time owing to the pandemic would increase with the opening of the temple,” he said.

A large number of pilgrims from within the country and India visit Muktinath every year. Muktinath is one among the four major pilgrimage sites in Nepal.

The Muktinath temple priest Krishna Prasad Subedi said the number of pilgrims has been increasing every year, except last year, at Muktinath.