Nearly 8,500 victims were killed when a huge tremor rocked the region in April (15), and the crisis worsened days later when a massive aftershock hit.

Sarandon flew to Nepal over the weekend (23-24May15) for a five-day visit with the Live To Love charity, and on Sunday (24May15), the actress met residents of a village which had been badly hit by the disaster.

The Thelma & Louise star also spoke at the launch of Live To Love's new project to build 201 earthquake-resistant homes in the area and she urged tourists to come back to keep the country's economy afloat.

Sarandon said, "It is important to emphasise that by the fall, when monsoon (season) ends, people should make their reservations now if they want to help and they want to come and visit because it is very, very important to keep all these jobs alive. I think that would be the next wave - to think of Nepal not as an ongoing disaster, but as a country that has found its way back and has many monuments that haven't fallen and many beautiful areas that can be still safe to trek."