They are the 29-year-old driver of the bus carrying a Madhya Pradesh licence plate, Suresh Kushahawa, Shyamlal Sahni, 48, Shanti Gautam, 77, and Ram Naresh Daiya, 83.

The bus had left from Madhya Pradesh 29 days earlier.

With the current monsoon month regarded as the best time to worship the Hindu god Shiva, the group went to the Pashupatinath temple in Kathmandu by road.

They were heading for the Indian town of Gorakhpur Friday to cross the India-Nepal border and return to Madhya Pradesh when the accident occurred.

Travelling by road in Nepal is becoming increasingly dangerous due to the mounting number of accidents.

A number of foreign governments in their travel advisories caution especially against travelling by road during night.

The bodies have been taken to the government hospital in Bharatpur for post mortem, Ghimire said.