Ever since the devastating April earthquake and coupled by the fuel shortage due to the trade blockade by India, Bandipur, one of the most popular tourist hubs in Western Nepal, now wears a deserted look during the peak tourist season.

Known for its preserved Newari architecture of 18th century and the panoramic views it offers, Bandipur bazaar used to see around 1,500 visitors each day during the peak season between October and December. This time around, it received a record low number of visitors, leaving hotels and restaurants almost empty.

“We now hardly receive a couple dozen visitors,” said Bais Gurung, chairperson of Bandipur Tourism Development Committee (BTDC). “Usually hoteliers used to struggle to accommodate overflowing guests during this time of the year.” According to Gurung, Bandipur is losing millions of rupees every day.

The bazaar, located at a height of 1,030 metres and 143 km west of Kathmandu, is an 8-km uphill walk from Dumre Bazzar that lies between Kathmandu and Pokhara highway. Bandipur has several recreations to offer—from trekking, hiking and paragliding to a home stay in Magar village. During regular times, hundreds of visitors used to throng Bandipur to see its intact Newari heritage and the spectacular views of lush hills and pristine mountains such as Dhaulagiri, Fishtail hill, Annapurna range and Mansalu on the northern belt.

According to BTDC, there are 57 restaurants and hotels in Bandipur. Bandipur also used to receive a significant number of domestic tourists during Dashain and Tihar.

“We have not received a single guest in past one month. We have been compelled to remove the Wifi facility to cut our costs,” said Rona Shrestha, who runs Thursday Hotel and Restaurant.

Fuel shortage is seen as one of the main reasons for the decline in number of visitors, as the blockade has disrupted public mobility across the country. The tourism sector has been hit the hardest by the ongoing Terai banda and fuel shortage.

“Our family occupation is to run hotels and provide service to visitors, we have no means to sustain ourselves now,” said a dejected Pathar Pradhan, owner of Bandipur Guest House.

The historic city was one of the major trade stops on the India-Tibet route until it was bypassed by the Prithvi Highway in the early 1970’s. People belonging to the Newari community from Bhaktapur are said to have continued their trading business in the area after Prithivi Narayan Shah conquered Kathmandu in 1768.

Once the Maoists joined the peace process in 2006, the place gained popularity as a major tourist hub. The brisk business doing hoteliers are in a quandary now. Sanad Kumar Shrestha, chairperson of Regional Hotel Association Unit, Bandipur, requested the government to end present problem as soon as possible. “We used to see visitors during their stop to Pokhara. But the prolonged fuel crisis has highly impacted hotel business across the nation,” he said. Once the district headquarters of Tanahun, Bandipur was placed in Damauli in 1968. “We came to know that once the district headquarters was shifted, the city looked like a ghost town. In recent days, we were able to make it a renowned tourist destination. But the area is once again turning into a silent city with no visitors,” lamented Shrestha.