A Georgia couple described how they narrowly escaped the deadly flooding in Nepal when they left their travel group to visit Mount Everest. 

Mita and Hemant Parikh, of Suwanee, Georgia, were traveling to Mount Kailash in Tibet, one of the most sacred sites in Hinduism, when they made a spontaneous change to their itinerary.

When the couple returned to their hotel, they discovered the building in ruins as several families and all of the guides from the excursion are still missing.

The couple were among 47 travelers from the United States, Australia and other countries who had embarked on the pilgrimage, accompanied by seven guides.

For the Parikhs, the decision to take a separate excursion to Lhasa and Everest Base Camp – destinations that were not originally part of their group’s route – would prove to be life-changing.

'That’s what we talk to each other every single day,' Mita told CBS Atlanta. 'Why did we decide this way?'

The couple had been planning their pilgrimage for 15 years.

'Everybody has a bucket list, but this bucket list, you don’t choose it,' Mita explained, a woman of deep faith, she cited the higher power of God as what drew her to the trip.

Hemant had suggested the detour, seduced by the idea of catching a glimpse of  Mount Everest, even though he knew he would never attempt to climb it.

'Mount Everest is the highest peak in the world, and I said, at least, I cannot climb, but I can go and see from a distance,' he said.

The couple normally might have debated the added expense or inconvenience of changing their plans - but somehow did not.

'Usually we argue, or tickets are expensive - no, let’s not go,' Mita recalled. 'But I don’t know why we both agreed.'

After seeing the world’s highest mountain, the couple planned to return to the rest of their group with the separate guide who had taken them to the viewing point.

Instead, they returned to a nightmare following the devastating flood.

The hotel where they had been staying had been completely washed away by the floodwaters, and the restless couple could no longer reach their fellow travelers.

What had begun as a spontaneous sightseeing excursion had separated them from the group just as flooding swept through the region.

Mita said the experience has left her haunted by those they left behind.

'As soon as I close my eyes, I see Kailash, and I see the people,' she added 'I don’t know what happened.'

Hemant, meanwhile, said he continues to struggle with the question of why they survived when so many others remain missing.

'I ask myself why?' he said. 'And I don’t have an answer.'

For Mita, the unanswered question has become inescapable.

'That’s what keeps me awake,' she said. 'Why? Why God chose us to live. So there has to be some purpose, right?'

The flooding has caused widespread destruction across Nepal, devastating homes, roads and other infrastructure.

At least 1,400 people have died, while more than 5,000 remain missing, according to officials. At least 85 of those reported missing are US citizens.