Damauli. Laxmi Karki of Pokhara said, “We had seen the scenery of Manungkot on social media, but today it was even more enchanting when we saw it with direct eyes”. ’

She came to Manungkot from Byas Municipality-5 at 2:00 am on Monday after renting a car from Pokhara and said that the beauty of Manungkot is even more beautiful than what she saw on TikTok and Facebook. She said, “We had heard a lot about Manungkot and after consulting with our friends, four of us came together. ’

Luniva Shrestha, who came from Kathmandu, said that the beauty of Manungkot is enchanting. She said, “Although I wanted to come, I could not come earlier due to various reasons. ’

Sudip Ghaffar, a local of Damauli, said that they have to contact hotel entrepreneurs in advance as there is a lot of tourist influx in Manungkot at this time. With the onset of winter, the number of tourists has increased in Manungkot this time. More than a thousand tourists visit Manungkot every day. On Monday morning, around two thousand tourists had sight-seeing from Manungkot.

Shailesh Sunam, proprietor of Umbrella Restaurant in Manungkot, said that this is the tourist season in Manungkot. Sunrise, fog and sunset attract tourists visiting this place during the winter season, he added.

“This is the time when there is a huge influx of tourists, it will be easier to secure your place of stay beforehand,” he said. We are providing night lodging, lunch and breakfast at Rs 1,200 per person. He said his restaurant has a capacity to accommodate 70 people per day.

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 are in operation. The Byas municipality has erected a view 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 visitors can get a view of Dhaulagiri, Machhapuchchhre, Annapurna, Manaslu and Lamjung Mountain 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 Parashar Rishi had created fog so that people would not know when he expressed his desire to have intercourse with Satyavati.

With the increase in the number of tourists in Manungkot, the people who left the village and returned to the city have started doing business by going back to 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 been blacktopped. The road up to Manungkot was blacktopped with financial investment from the Ministry of Urban Development. The 4,300-meter road from Aloche to Manungkot has been blacktopped. According to the Byas Municipality Office, 180 meters RCC slope has been constructed in difficult places for blacktopping.