Biratnagar, Nepal  - Millions of people were left disappointed in Nepal Wednesday as heavy cloud cover blocked a total solar eclipse for viewers in most parts of the Himalayan nation.

Billed as the eclipse of a lifetime, people across eastern Nepal, which was in the path of the total eclipse, woke up early only to find heavy clouds and torrential rain.

"It is disappointing because we had prepared so much for the rare event," said Paras Timilsina of Biratnagar. "It had not rained here so many days, and it had to happen today."

Despite the cloud cover, Biratnagar was plunged into darkness for about three and a half minutes at the time of the eclipse.

"It felt strange when the morning became night," said Urmila Acharya, a housewife who had defied traditional beliefs that it is bad luck to leave the house during an eclipse.

"It became so dark that we had to turn on the lights, and it was kind of scary," Acharya said.

As the eclipse took hold, thousands of people from Hindu lower castes came out on the streets asking for donations and were given money, rice or clothing in the hope the gesture would rid the donors of the bad luck the eclipse brought with it.

Thousands took dips in holy rivers to cleanse themselves from the perceived bad effects of the eclipse as part of the Hindu ritual.

In Kathmandu, people gathered at designated areas set up for viewing the eclipse, which was partial in the capital with about 96.5 per cent of the sun covered.

But they too were disappointed as heavy monsoonal clouds blocked any chance of seeing the sun.

"I got up early, but the clouds have made it impossible to see anything," Ujjal Prajapati said. "It was very disappointing, and we will not have another eclipse like this in Nepal for more than a hundred years." (dpa)