Khaptad National Park

Khaptad is unlike the other Nepali parks: instead of gorges and peaks it protects a rolling plateau at around 3,000 metres of open meadows, patas, separated by belts of oak, rhododendron and fir, gentle country that looks more like an upland moor than the Himalaya. Khaptad Baba, a Hindu ascetic and physician, lived here in meditation for around fifty years until his death in 1996, and his ashram remains a place of pilgrimage; certain areas of the plateau are treated as sacred, where killing, meat and alcohol are prohibited. Medicinal plants grow across the meadows and the park has a strong flora. Access is a walk of a day from the road head, and visitor numbers are very low.

History

The park was established in 1984 on the advice of the ascetic Khaptad Baba, covering 225 square kilometres, and a buffer zone of 216 square kilometres was declared around it in 2006 (Wikipedia, Khaptad National Park).

Highlights

• Open meadows - the patas rolling across the plateau.
• Khaptad Baba's ashram - the hermitage and pilgrimage site.
• Oak and rhododendron belts - the forest between the open ground.
• Medicinal plants - the flora the plateau is known for.

When to go

March to May and October to November. Winter brings snow and closes the plateau. Monsoon makes the walk up difficult and the meadows boggy, though the flowers are at their best then. Ganga Dashahara in May brings pilgrims.

Practical notes

Reaching the plateau means a full day's walk up from the road with no vehicle access. Facilities are a park guesthouse and camping; supplies must be carried. Meat and alcohol are prohibited in the sacred zone. The far west is a long journey from Kathmandu.

Nearby

Silgadhi lies south; Bajura and Badimalika are east.

Key facts