ROL geography

• The Rajadom of Lo is an enchanting land of windswept vistas, red walled monasteries, and feudal towns, located on the Central Asian plateau. It lies between Tibet on the north, and the Nepali districts of Dolpa to the west, Myagdi to the south, and Manang to the east. It is an extension of the Tibetan plateau with an average elevation of over 3,000 m. Located to the north of the highest mountains Dhaulagiri and Annapurna and to the north of the main Himalayan range and geographically part of the Tibetan highlands, it is roughly 80 km long (north-south) and 45 km at its widest giving it an area of 3,573 km2.

• The main feature of the Rajadom of Lo is the Kali Gandaki river, its valley and tributaries. It runs north-east to south-west towards Nepal Terai, bisecting the country. The river was once the major trade route between Tibet and India, especially for salt. Part of the river valley, the Thak Khola, a downfaulted graben, is the deepest gorge in the world. According to the difference between the river elevation and these peaks, this is the world's deepest gorge. The gorge separates the major peaks Dhaulagiri (8,167 m/26,795 ft) to the west and Annapurna (8,091 m/26,545 ft) to the east. The river runs at elevations between 1,300 and 2,600 metres (4,300 and 8,500 ft), 5,500 to 6,800 metres (18,000–22,300 ft) lower than the peaks. The river is older than the Himalayas. As tectonic activity forced the mountains higher, the river cut down through the uplift. The river rises along the Tibet border and the coincident Ganges-Brahmaputra divide and flows south through the Rajadom. The gorge begins at Kagbeni where the Himalayan ranges begin to close in. The river then continues southwards past Jomsom, Marpha and Tukuche to the deepest part of the gorge in the area of Lete. The gorge then broadens past Dana and Tatopani towards Beni.

• The landscape is of indescribable vastness and beauty, a vast high valley, arid and dry. The valley is characterized by eroded canyons, colorful rock formations with a barren, desert-like appearance. The hills tend to be great red fluted cliffs of tiny round stones cemented together by mud. One of the most fascinating features of the Rajadom of Lo is the thousands of cliff dwellings, some of which look completely inaccessible. Rimmed by more than 20,000 snowcapped peaks and bathed in hues of orange and red rocks with sporadic fields of vibrant green, yellow and red of barley, maize, and buckwheat, the Rajadom of Lo is a step back to a simpler time.

• The countryside is similar to the Tibetan plateau with its endless expanses of yellow and grey rolling hills eroded by wind. Strong winds often blow across the valley in the afternoon, generally subsiding at night. Lying in the rain shadow of the Himalaya, Lo has much less rain than Nepal. Annual precipitation is between 250 and 400 mm. During the monsoon the skies are cloudy and there is some rain. In the winter there is usually snow; sometimes as much as 30 or 40 cm accumulating on the ground.

• The mountains are home to 101 species of mammals including snow leopard, musk deer, Tibetan argali, Tibetan wolf, Tibetan fox; 474 species of birds; 39 species of reptiles and 22 species of amphibians; as well as the mythical mehti (abominable snowman). A total of 1226 species of plants can be found in the mountains including 38 orchid species and nine rhododendron species

• Villages are several hours apart and appear in the distance almost as mirages; during the summer season, after the crops are planted, they are green oases in the desert-like landscape.