The 7.8 magnitude earthquake that hit Nepal on 25th April, 2015, killed more than 75000 people injuring more than twice as many. The massive earthquake ripped through the capital Kathmandu and spread in all directions, north toward the Himalayas and Tibet, south to the Indo-Gangetic plains, east toward the Brahmaputra delta of Bangladesh and west toward the city of Lahore in Pakistan. This undoubtedly was the most disastrous tremor to strike Nepal after the 1934 Nepal-Bihar earthquake. The whole world is still in the initial stages of reacting to this tragic event, as millions left are still homeless and relief efforts are slow to take off due to infrastructural collapse.
On a human scale, this certainly is a tragic incident. However, parallel to that, this earthquake has also brought tourism setbacks to the nation’s economy due to tour operators continued cancellation of bookings to the trembled nation. The quake, which hit in the middle of the tourist high season, smashed nearly half of the UNESCO World Heritage sites in Kathmandu and generated avalanches on Everest which killed 19 mountaineers. In 2013, it received nearly 800,000 tourists, whose spending added at least 2% to the country’s GDP.
Through pictures, we take a look at the cultural landmarks, before and after the earthquake.
Dharahara Tower
Bhaktapur Durbar Square
Kasthamandap Temple
Patan Durbar Square
Ahmed Raza is a frequent traveler; loves cricket and politics. He is a graduate in Journalism and works as Assistant Travel Editor for Kluchit.com
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