Rolpa District

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Rolpā Jillā
रोल्पा जिल्ला
Rolpa (red)
Rolpa (red)
Country    Nepal
Region Mid-Western (grey)
Zone Rapti (darker grey)
Headquarters Libang
 • Total 1,879 km2 (725 sq mi)
Population (2011[1])
 • Total 221,177
 • Density 120/km2 (300/sq mi)
Time zone NPT (UTC+5:45)
Main language(s) Nepali, Khamkura, Newari, English

Coordinates: 28°22′N 082°33′E﻿ / ﻿28.367°N 82.550°E﻿ / 28.367; 82.550﻿ (Rolpa District, Nepal)

Rolpa(Nepali: रोल्पा जिल्लाAbout this sound Listen , is a "hill" district some 280 km west of Kathmandu in Rapti Zone of Nepal's Mid-Western Region. Rolpa covers an area of 1,879 km² with population (2011) of 221,177. Libang is the district's administrative center.

Districts of Rapti Zone; Rolpa in center with orange color

By Nepalese standards, Rolpa is an underdeveloped area plagued by low life expectancy (52 years) and poverty (averaging about $100 per capita). It was a major flashpoint in the 1996-2006 Civil War.

Adjoining districts are Dang to the south, Pyuthan to the east, Salyan to the west and Rukum to the north. Before the unification of Nepal by Prithvi Narayan Shah in 1769 Rolpa was a buffer between the Chaubisi confederation of small kingdoms to the east and the Baise confederation to the west.

Most of Rolpa is rugged highlands populated by the indigenous Kham Magar nationality. Irrigated ricefields along the Madi Khola are of limited extent because it has a narrow inner gorge. In any case the Kham Magar live about a thousand meters upslope where little rice can be grown. Upland harvests of maize, millet and barley are invariably insufficient and so Rolpa has chronic food deficits. As long as marijuana and charas (hashish) were legal in Nepal they were grown and processed in Rolpa and sent to Kathmandu to be sold in government monopoly stores. In 1976 the government gave in to international pressure and stopped buying these products, causing the district to lose an important source of cash income. Kham also make ends meet by selling their labor. They work as agricultural laborers in other districts, as porters, as soldiers and as general laborers, but their input is devalued by Rolpa's underdeveloped education infrastructure. There is no post-secondary education in the district, and students who speak more Magar bhasha than Nepali are disadvantaged in primary and secondary education because Nepali is the medium of instruction and the national examination system selects against students who are not proficient in it. Without educational credentials Kham lack access to the more desirable jobs.

The various grievances of Rolpa's population made the district ripe for revolt. It became a "Maoist Stronghold" of the Communist Party of Nepal.[2] In May 2002 a major battle between Maoist guerillas and the army was fought at Lisne Lekh near the Rolpa-Pyuthan border.

Geography and Climate[edit]

Rolpa is drained southward by the Madi Khola from a complex of 3,000 to 4,000 meter ridges about 50 kilometers south of the Dhaulagiri Himalaya. This mountainous barrier historically isolated Rolpa by encouraging travelers between India and Tibet to detour to follow easier routes to the east or west, while east-west travelers found easier routes to the north through Dhorpatan Valley, or to the south through Dang Valley or along the Mahabharat Range.

Climate Zone[3] Elevation Range  % of Area
Upper Tropical 300 to 1,000 meters
1,000 to 3,300 ft.
Subtropical 1,000 to 2,000 meters
3,300 to 6,600 ft.
Temperate 2,000 to 3,000 meters
6,400 to 9,800 ft.
Subalpine 3,000 to 4,000 meters
9,800 to 13,100 ft.

Population by Census 1971-2011[4][5][edit]

Historic/Cultural/Archeological Sites[edit]

  • Bhama Odar[6]
  • Gari Lake, Jaulipokhari
  • Bibang Daha, Gam
  • Chaturbhuj Panchayan
  • Baraha Khetra Badachaur
  • Devi and Khadga Temple, Durga Bhawani, Durga Temple
  • Gajulkot
  • Jaljala, Jankot Jhankristhan
  • Kalika Devi, Khungrikot, Kot Maula
  • Pateswari Temple
  • Shivalaya mandir

Village Development Committees (VDCs)[edit]

VDCs in Rolpa


  • Besides the United Nations/Nepal map of districts and VDCs shown above, their Map Centre[7] has a downloadable PDF version adding municipalities, roads and water detail:
"Rolpa District" (Map). Retrieved Feb 6, 2014.
Topographic sheets at 1:25,000 scale covering 7.5 minutes latitude and longitude map the Terai and Middle Mountains. Less populated high mountain regions are on 15 minute sheets at 1:50,000. JPG scans can be downloaded here:[11] These sheets cover Rolpa District:
  1. 2882 06D "Simruth" (1999)
  2. 2882 07C "Sakh" (1999)
  3. 2882 07D "Mahatgau" (1999)
  4. 2882 08 "Takagao" (2001)
  5. 2882 10A "Tharmare" (1999)
  6. 2882 10B "Sukhaodar" (1999)
  7. 2882 10C "Luham" (1998)
  8. 2882 10D "Nerpa" (1999)
  9. 2882 11A "Chyandada" (1999)
  10. 2882 11B "Jelban" (1999)
  11. 2882 11C "Kotgau" (1999)
  12. 2882 11D "Liban" (1999)
  13. 2882 12A "Uwa" (1999)
  14. 2882 12B "Bhalkot" (1998)
  15. 2882 12C "Gam" (1999)
  16. 2882 12D "Shauliban" (1999)
  17. 2882 14B "Dubrin" (1999)
  18. 2882 15A "Holeri" (1999)
  19. 2882 15B "Khungrichaur" (1999)
  20. 2882 15C "Bach Pokhara" (1998)
  21. 2882 16A "Sirpa" (1998)


  2. ^
  5. ^ #National Population and Housing Census 2011, Volume 3. Kathmandu, Nepal: Government of Nepal, Central Bureau of Statistics. January 2014. Retrieved January 23, 2014. 
  6. ^ Budha Magar, Jaya Prakash, ed. (1997). Inventory of heritage sites in Nepal. Singapore: IUCN Nepal. Retrieved 11 November 2012. 
  9. ^ "Land Administration & Management, Mapping, Surveying and Aerial Photography, Major Reference Projects". FinnMap. Retrieved February 4, 2014. 
  10. ^ "Japan International Cooperation Agency". Retrieved February 4, 2014. 