MUSTANG: The number of domestic tourists visiting Lomanthang, known as a virgin destination, is increasing of late.

One can reach Lomanthang in two days from Mustang headquarters Jomsom.

"To reach Lomanthang is like to gain a heavenly experience" said Chakra Gurung, a tourism entrepreneur of Pokhara.

Local tourists are going in huge numbers to Lomanthang especially during the festival holidays of Dashain and Tihar.

Until few years ago, it was only foreign tourists but now Lomanthang has become an attraction for the locals too, said Tshering Sanmo Gurung, who runs a hotel in Lomantang.

There are currently 10 hotels with modern amenities and with a capacity to host 150 people in a day. Home-stay is also available in case the hotels are full.

Though official data collection of Nepali tourists is not done by the Annapurna Conservation Area Project, around 200 domestic tourists are said to be arriving in Lomanthang every day. The area attracts around 4,000 foreign tourists annually, according to ACAP.

"The flow of domestic tourists is on the rise", Chief of ACAP Lomanthang Tulasi Prasad Dahal said, "Off season is about to begin and cold is increasing but the arrival of domestic tourists has not stopped."