Damauli. With the onset of winter, the number of domestic tourists has increased in Manungkot, the tourist destination of Tanahun. Tourists from Manungkot in Byas municipality-5 reach Manungkot for sightseeing almost every day.

More than three hundred domestic tourists visit Manungkot on a daily basis due to Tihar holidays. Som Bahadur Nepali, a local of Damauli, said that the fog that can be seen from Manungkot with sunrise will enchant the visitors.

Sudin Poudel of Bandipur Rural Municipality-2 said that people come to Damauli bazaar to see the foggy.

Chudamani Dahal, proprietor of Hilltop Hotel in Manungkot, said that the number of tourists has increased in Manungkot since the past one week. Tourists stay the day before and watch the sunrise and fog.

With the increase in the number of tourists coming to Manungkot, the number of hotels opening here has increased. There were no hotels in the past, but now a dozen hotels have opened in this place. The Byas municipality has erected a viewing pole for the viewing area and a railing has been erected on the side of the hill for security. A walkway has recently been constructed adjacent to the railing.

The view of Dhaulagiri, Machhapuchre, Annapurna, Manaslu and Lamjung Mountain can be seen from Manungkot. The fog covering Damauli market is also associated with mythology. There has been a religious legend that in ancient times, Maharishi Ved Vyas’s father Parashara Rishi had created fog so that people would not know about Satyavati when he expressed his desire to have sex with Satyavati.

With the increase in tourists in Manungkot, people who had left the village and returned to the city have started doing business after reaching Manungkot. The locals had left the village due to lack of drinking water. Water from processed jars and tankers in the market is providing an alternative to water in Manungkot.

The road leading to Manungkot has already been blacktopped. The road up to Manungkot was blacktopped with financial investment from the Ministry of Urban Development. Four thousand three hundred meters road from Alanche to Manungkot has been blacktopped. A 180-meter RCC slope has been constructed at a difficult place for blacktopping.