Kathmandu, September 24:

The Pashupati Area Development Trust in association with Manab Dharma Sewa Samiti is going to organise Pashupati Festival from October 17 to 19 to promote religious tourism in the country.

The Pashupatinath Temple, which is a World Heritage Site, is a major religious destination for Hindus across the globe. The temple is expected to attract large number of Hindus, specially from the neighbouring countries, during the festival, stated a press release issued by the trust here today.

The festival will comprise of various religious, cultural and musical functions and Jatras on the premises of Pashupatinath Temple for three days. According to the release, the festival will inform the visitors about the impact of climate change and expose Nepali culture and rituals.

The organisers also expect to collect funds for planned infrastructure development in religious sites to promote religious tourism.

“There are around 800 million Hindus in India alone. If we can draw a mere one per cent of them to Pashupatinath Temple every year, it would be a great achievement for the tourism sector,” stated the release.

The release claims that the festival will prove a major step forward in developing the site a international tourist destination.