Stories of Manang

Manang district lies in the western part of Nepal, which covers an area of 2246sq km( 1,395 square miles). It is one of the remotest districts of the country, rich in culture and nature, making it a major trekking destination in the Himalaya. The region falls on the famed Annapurna Circuit trek and is visited by more than 14,000 trekkers annually.Servals districts border it including Gorkha to the east, Lamjung to the southeast, Kaski to the south, Myagdi to the southwest, Mustang to the west, and the Tibet Autonomous region to the north in china. Manang district is part of the Annapurna conservation Area.Most of Manang district is high, arid, and isolated. it sits in the rain shadow on the northern side of the Himalaya and enjoys a much drier climate than other areas of Nepal on the southern slopes of the mountains.

• Geography

• Rivers and Lakes

• Major Settlements

• Mountains

• Flora and Fauna


Geography

Physically, the district is divided into three distinct regions namely:
Nyeshang Valley
Gyalsumdo Valley and
Nar Phu Valley.

Nyeshang Valley is the Tibetan name for the largest of the three region, the 'upper'Manang Valley. The name derives from an area of Tibet called Shang. It stretches from the villages of Pisang at the lower east end to Khangsar at the upper west end. Nyeshang is the Largest valley of Manang district. It is also the location of the original three villages of Manang, namely Ngawal and Ghyaru, Braga, and Manang village. The Nepali government kept the upper Manang valley above the village of Chame closed to outsides until 1977. This was partly because Tibetan Khampa guerrillas were using the valley as a base from which to fight the chinese. A violent and lengthy feud between the villages of upper Manang also made travel in the valley risky. The people from upper Manang are Nyeshang -ten and the language Nyeshangte.

Gyasumdo is the southeastern- most and lowest region in Manang abd is often called'lower Manang'. It stretches from the villages of Thonje to Brathang. Gyaasumdo means the 'meeting place of the three trails' referring to the tracks along the three Kholas(rivers), the Marshyangdi Khola, the dudh Khola, and the Nar Khola. gyasumdo is where people meet when travelling from Lamjung, Tibet, and upper Manang. Gyasumdo, meaning they 'sit'in Gyasumdo.

Nar is remote and rugged, and therefore, very difficult to reach. There are two routes into NAr. One begins in the canyon across from the villagge of Koto, and the other is over the Kang - La pass above the village of Ngawal. This region has only two main villages, the lower Nar village, and the upper Phu. Both are at extremely high elevations. sometimes the area is called Nar- Phu. People from Nar are Nar-Ten.