Pritha Soni, a Calcuttan on a girls-only trip to Kathmandu, was sitting in a restaurant with her friend on Monday after their visit to Pashupatinath Temple had to be called off when they were told a curfew had been declared.

Park Circus resident Pritha and her companion, Sanyukta Dalvi from Mumbai, had to walk for 10 minutes through a deserted stretch of road to their hotel — Holiday Inn Resort in the city’s Budhanilkantha area.

The two friends’ four-day trip to Kathmandu from September 7 to 11 had only just begun to unravel as the anti-government protests soon spiralled out of control.

When Pritha, who runs a travel agency, and Sanyukta reached the hotel, they were told that a minister owned it, and there were apprehensions that it could be torched like some of the other businesses owned by the country’s rich and powerful. They were told they would be shifted to another hotel.

“We had planned to go to Pashupatinath Temple on Monday for the 5pm aarti. But around 3.30pm, we heard that protesters had attacked Nepal’s Parliament,” Pritha told The Telegraph from Kathmandu on Wednesday.

“Our trip to the temple cancelled, we were moving around in the area. We went into a restaurant. After some time, the restaurant staff told us a curfew had been imposed and asked us to leave,” Pritha said.

They came out and saw the streets deserted.

“All shops were closed and there was not a single person on the street except us. No vehicles were on the road,” Pritha recounted. “We were scared. Usually, there would be app cabs and taxis, but there were none. It was a 10-minute walk to the hotel, and we walked as fast as we could,” she said.

The two women had thought they would be safe in the hotel, like most tourists do. However, they found out that it could be unsafe as well.

A Nepali Army soldier walks down the stairs of the Parliament house which was set on fire by the protesters.

“On Tuesday morning, we got a call at our room from the hotel authorities. They said we had to evacuate as the property could be vandalised because a minister owned it. We knew by then that Hilton Kathmandu had been set on fire,” Pritha said.

The hotel provided a car and escorted them to the nearby Lemon Tree Premier, also in the Budhanilkantha area.

Between 3pm and 6pm on Tuesday, they heard continuous gunshots. “From our balcony, we could see smoke everywhere. One of the properties that was set on fire was a former Prime Minister’s house,” Pritha said.

According to reports, Rajyalaxmi Chitrakar, the wife of Nepal’s former Prime Minister Jhalanath Khanal, suffered serious burns on Tuesday after protesters trapped her at their home and set it ablaze. The incident took place in the Dallu area of Kathmandu.

In the evening, the two friends heard that Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli had resigned and there were celebrations on the streets.

“The sounds of gunshots changed to that of fireworks,” she said. “We could not sleep through the night as there were sounds of fireworks, and we were still scared. The airport was shut indefinitely,” Pritha said.

On Wednesday, they did not step out of the hotel. From their balcony, they could see smoke near and afar.

“Everything was quiet, but the hotel did not allow us to go out. Our family members and friends were of great support. Many of them shared their contacts in Kathmandu for help,” Pritha said.

On Wednesday afternoon, they received a messagefrom Air India that their flight on Thursday would be operating.

Pritha’s father back home in Calcutta said the family was worried and they were calling her every hour. “Initially, we thought the government would protect the tourists. But if the government collapses, who will protect whom? The protesters were not discriminating between locals and tourists,” said Pritha’s father Manav Soni.

Tour operators said the violence had pushed Nepal off the tourist map for the foreseeable future.

“Safety is the most crucial factor these days. Many tourists are stranded in Nepal, and everyone is scared,” said Anil Punjabi, national committee member of the Travel Agents Federation of India representing the east.