Most of the villages in Himalayan district Mustang have worn a deserted look with all locals moving to lower land to escape cold.

The arrival of tourists has dwindled sharply. Around 70 percent hotels in Jomsom, the district headquarters of Mustang, has been closed for the winter.

Most of the houses in Upper Mustang have been padlocked.

“We are staying in the village to look after our houses, most of the locals have already left the village,” said Tenzin Gurung of Chonhup Village, adding, “Life has been adversely affected due to continuous snowfall for the past few days.”

“We can’t go outside the house. We spend most of our time hovering around the fire,” She further said.

Schools have been closed from December 1.

The District Education Office has been running extra classes for the students in Pokhara, Beni and Kathmandu who have left the villages due to bone-chilling cold.

The Office said that the extra classes were operated to cover up the classes of students which have been hampered by the cold.

The schools will be closed till mid-February. Almost all the government offices in Jomsom have become empty.  Of the 45 government offices, there are only eight chiefs.

“The temperature has increased all of a sudden, there is no work load,” said Acting Chief District Officer Ram Sundar Sharma. “Works will not be halted at any circumstances as there are some staffers in office to provide service,” he added.

Though the arrival of domestic tourists is nil, people from third countries are still arriving in the district to enjoy snowfall, a hotel entrepreneur said.

Jomsom Airport has been operating regular flights to provide service to international tourists.

The office at Jomsom Airport said that two to three flights are being operated on a daily basis.