Dolpo Region

David Snelgrove travelled extensively through the remote regions of Western Nepal in 1956 for seven months and wrote a book titled “Himalayan Pilgrimage”, recounting his travel experiences. A lot of people didn’t even know the existence of Dolpo region and it’s peculiar natural and socio-cultural landscape until his work. Also, Dolpo is highlighted more recently by Peter Matthiessen in “The Snow Leopard” and in “Stones of Silence” by George Schaller. Also, Nepal’s first English subtitled movie on Dolpo, “The Caravan”, was also a huge success and was nominated for the Oscar Award in the category of best foreign language film in 1999.

Legend says that, Dolpo is a ‘Beyul’, a scared hidden valley sanctuary for those with pure mind and created by Guru Rimpoche, where people abide by Dharmic laws and the religious nature of people are reflected in almost all public spheres of life. Rokpa and Drokpa farmers inhabit the northern region bordering Tibet, who are insulated from rest of the Nepal for almost whole year because of heavy snow. The western part is home to Nepal’s largest and the only trans-Himalayan National park, “Shey-Phoksundo National Park”. Also, the beautiful and magnificent “Shey-Phuksundo” lake is a turquoise jewel that adorns this area and soothes the eyes and soul of travelers.