According to the the Department of Immigration, a total of 34,396 foreigners entered Nepal via Tatopani till October end, while 28,202 departed to China from Nepali territory. [break]This is the first time so many foreigners used Tatopani as a transit point to travel to Nepal and China.
During the same period last year, the number of tourists who had used Tatopani border area to travel to Nepal and China stood at 54,600.
One of the reasons behind the rise in the number of tourists in the area is authority given to the immigration office to process visa applications.
Jagannath Sharma, immigration officer, told Republica: “Majority of foreigners coming to Nepal from China include Chinese citizens.” The number of Chinese coming to Nepal has grown by almost 15 percent this year, he said.
On the other hand, majority of tourists leaving for China via Nepal includes Indians. Most of these people make a pilgrimage tour to Manasarovar in Tibet, which can be reached after three days of walk from Tatopani.
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