West of the upper Kali Gandaki river, at around 4,000 metres, lies the remote area of Dolpo. Surrounded by mountains over 6,000 meters, this landscape can only be successfully inhabited by tough, hardy people. The people of Dolpo do not have a tribal name, like Sherpas, or a district name, like Lopa. There are 25 or 30 villages spread over an area of about 1,300 square kilometres. The Dolpo people are very hospitable and kind, and grow most of the crops they need, as well as keeping yaks, sheep and goats for meat, wool and milk products, as well as to be sold or traded. Their houses are built of rough stone and all huddled together, as though trying to gain warmth and comfort from each other. This often makes the villages look like forts. Their traditional ‘fancy’ dress for women includes a striking headdress made of two rectangular brass plates with edges that turn up over the top and back of the head. These headdresses are adorned with coral and turquoise and often represent the wealth of the family. They marry by choice or arrangement, and follow Buddhism and Bon. The 1998 movie ‘Caravan’ (also called ‘Himalaya’) was shot here and told the tale of the now defunct salt caravans. You can still find locals in villages such as Saldang who appeared in the film.

Gurungs usually live along the southern slopes of the Annapurnas, from Gorkha in the west to Lamjung in the eastern Gandaki zone. They first became famous in Nepal when they formed the bulk of the Shah armies of Gorkha, which conquered the Kathmandu valley in 1768 and united Nepal. This fighting tradition continues to this day, with many young Gurung men in the Gurkha regiments of the British and Indian armies, as well as the Nepal Army and police. Gurungs who are not in the armed forces survive on agriculture and livestock breeding. As many of the older men of a village receive service pensions they tend to only hold small amounts of land, and it is always a treat to see an old ex-Gurkha decked out in his neatly pressed uniform in a village in the middle of nowhere!

In April, Gurungs take their sheep or goats to high pastures where they remain until about September. They then take their flock to lower altitudes to sell for the important Dasain festival, when every family will have at least one animal for dinner. Gurungs will also cross the border to Tibet or India to trade.

The Gurung people are hardworking and fun loving, and the women especially are flirtatious, even with foreigners. Their round faces, bright eyes and broad cheeky smiles are hard to resist. Gurungs traditionally speak a Tibeto-Burman language, though many now speak Nepali. Gurungs rather uniquely have a system called rodi where young boys and girls have sleepovers in a house under supervision, as a method of courting. The couple, once married, do not live together, but remain with their respective parents until a child is born. The girl then finally leaves her parents and lives with the boy and his family.

Khas people are found in the remote valleys of the western hills of Nepal, mainly in Mugu District. Known as Khasas, they have traditionally been illiterate, backward people who originally followed Tibetan Buddhism, until Indian Brahmans fled the Islamic invasion of India (9th to the 14th centuries), arrived here and converted them to Hinduism. Since then they have had very limited access to education or opportunities. Most modern Khas people will not refer to themselves as Khas (they consider it to be humiliating), instead calling themselves Chhetri, or Thakuris, after the caste that converted them.

The Khasas, were a warlike tribe built three capitals over time, Taklakot in Tibet, and Sinja and Dullu, in Nepal. From the 11th century, their powerful kingdom grew covering much of west Nepal, Ladakh, Kashmir and western Tibet, known as the Malla Empire (not related to the Malla Kingdoms of Kathmandu Valley). As the Empire fell apart from the 14th century many of the ruling families migrated throughout Nepal and so many common Nepali surnames (Thapa, Basnet, Bista and Bhandari), as well as the national language, have their roots in the ancient and once proud Khas kingdom.

Most of the men can speak Nepali, however, women who generally do not leave the village can only speak the Khas language. Their houses are built of stone and mud with flat roofs of mud or thatch depending on their altitude. They are dark and poorly ventilated and not usually kept very clean. Ground floors are usually for livestock and a notched wooden ladder provides access to the first floor and wooden veranda. Most marriages are arranged when the child is still young. The Khas continue to worship their shamanic mountain deities, and rarely adhere to traditional Hindu rituals.

Lhomi live in the upper Arun valley in eastern Nepal in Sankhuwa-Sabha district, one of the roughest and most remote regions along the northern border of Nepal. Their ‘main’ villages are Hatiya, Hangaun (Hongon) and Gomba (which has one of only 2 gompas for the region), which cling to the steep slopes above the Arun Khola gorge. They are often isolated from each other, and do not have easy communication with Tibet, so they trade south, as far as the Terai. The woman pictured here had never seen trekkers before and she bought us a present of fruit and vegetables.

Lhomi marriages are always by choice. They grow enough maize, millet, barley wheat and potatoes for their own needs, and the villagers keep cattle and dzum (yak crossbreeds) for ploughing, and sheep for wool and meat. They have only recently learned how to milk their cows. The dzum are often sold to Olangchun Gola people. Their houses are erected on piles, with bamboo walls and thatched with wild straw. Although quite poor economically, they are friendly, hospitable and cheerful. They are not ardent Buddhists, as they will kill animals for meat and follow Shamanism. 

Limbuwan (the Limbu homeland) extends east from the Arun Khola to the Indian border at Sikkim, and includes Taplejung and Ilam. Most of their villages are between 750 and 1,200 metres in altitude. Like the Rai, their houses are in the middle of their fields and are generally single storey stone buildings with thatched roofs. Richer folk will use slate for their roof, and the house will be larger than average with a wooden balcony running around the first floor. They cultivate maize, rice, wheat and millet, which they use for food and for rakshi and tongba (locally made alcohol). Limbus have arranged marriages, but more commonly by capture/abduction or elopement. Abduction marriages are where a girl is ‘taken’ from a public place and kept in the boy’s home for three days. If the girl agrees, the wedding will be arranged; otherwise she is free to return to her parents.  This is certainly a less expensive alternative to big arranged marriages! Their marriage customs and religions are similar to Rai, who can be described as ethnic cousins.

One of the most important trade routes from Nepal to Tibet passes along the upper Tamur Valley, with its centre at Olangchun Gola (known locally as Holung. A local legend tells of a wolf that showed a passing trader the trail to Tibet, thus the village name Olang (wolf), chung (trader) and Gola (place or village). The people here are closely related to the Thudam and Topke Gola communities. Exports to Tibet include cloth, cotton thread, grain, gur (brown sugar) matches, cigarettes and other items from India. These are exchanged for Tibetan salt, wool and carpets. Holung people travel extensively for trade, as far as Lhasa, Delhi and even Mumbai, and they are therefore relatively well informed about the outside world compared to many of the mountain neighbours. Their houses are built of stone to the floor level and then completed with wood. The ground floor is for storage and the living quarters are above. The village houses are built in a row along a paved street. They practise Buddhism and have a beautiful but old gompa in the village, which desperately needs some repairs.

Rai settlements are along the Dudh Kosi and Arun Khola rivers, usually between 1,000 and 2,000 metres in altitude. They live in single storey stone houses with thatched or slate roofs. Their villages are generally spread out, like Sherpas, with each house in the family field. Some Rai houses will be built up on wooden piles, with a notched ladder to get you up to the first floor. Animals live under the veranda, and the walls and roof will be made from bamboo. They use wet and dry fields to grow rice, maize, wheat, millet and vegetables and fruit such as beans, potatoes, bananas and guava.

Men and women smoke cigarettes of locally grown tobacco. Rais have arranged marriages, but more commonly by capture/abduction or elopement. Their religion is quite complex having been influenced by Tibetan Buddhism, Hinduism, and incorporates many local mountain deities. They frequently build stone chautara (resting platforms) and wooden benches shaded by a pipal tree, which provide shade and rest for travellers (yes, even trekkers!) as a memorial for their dead. Along with the Limbu, they often join the Gurkhas.

Tamangs mainly live in the hills that circle Kathmandu, where you may see them on the streets, carrying large basket-loads by namlo (head straps), and always with their khukuri knife tucked into their cloth belt. No self respecting Tamang fellow would leave the house without his knife. Tamang means horse-trader in Tibetan, and they believe that they originated from Tibet and moved to Nepal countless centuries ago, where they continue to practise Buddhism.  Theirs is the major Tibeto-Burman speaking community in Nepal.

They generally prefer to live in congested paved villages with stone houses and wooden shingle or slate roofs. Most houses have 2 floors, the ground floor is where grain is stored and livestock shelters overnight, and the family live upstairs. The first floor has three wooden windows surrounded by intricate carvings and sometimes overhangs the ground floor, forming a veranda where the inhabitants will take tea, chat and work during the day. They grow their own crops of wheat, maize millet etc and keep a few animals such as chickens, goats and buffalos.

Tamangs are skilled craftsmen and tuneful singers. So their festivals are often lively affairs, which continue into the early hours for days on end! They are strong, easygoing and hardworking – many are employed as porters for trekking groups as well as local delivery work. They are the most highly sought after domestic staff because of their honesty, kindness and work ethic.