Located some 280 kilometres west of Kathmandu are the remote and parched, yet surprisingly enchanting, districts of Rolpa and Rukum. In March, I travelled to these districts by road for work. My team would be screening movies in open air to villagers, some of whom had never seen TVs or watched films before. 

It took a 26-hour drive to reach the first village, Thawang, in Rolpa. Other villages on the itinerary such as Takasera, Maikot and Rukumkot were still farther away in Rukum district and would have to be reached through a scary off-road drive.

When I first entered Thawang, it took me by surprise. Hundreds of houses stood close, almost symmetrically, painting a picture of perfect harmony and not the upheaval the word Rolpa has come to connote. 

Up next was Takasera, which had to be reached by a slippery, snowy road. Takasera, too, is a charming village with people who make you feel warm and at home even during the harsh winter. Upon arrival, we were treated to very local food and raksi and even the modest accommodation invited restful and content sleep.

There is no motorable road after Takasera, so we walked to Maikot and hired mules to carry our heavy equipment. Full of wide landscapes and forests of rhododendron, the 10-hour trek to Maikot—a hilltop village—was one of the most beautiful ones I had made till date.

Our final destination was Rukumkot, where we had our final screening. What struck me as a pleasant surprise was how the people and their attitude towards life was unaffected by the general impoverishment and the austere and unforgiving weather. 

The whole of Rolpa and Rukum have a charisma that has not been tapped as of yet. These districts needless to say have potential to be great tourist destinations, asking those with itchy feet to take the road less travelled by. 

Text and Photos: Sahil Guraya

Morning assembly in a local school in Takasera.

Fullhouse screening of a film in open air in Takasera despite the cold weather.

Transporting Potatoes, the Nepali style.

Katwal—The village messenger in  Takasera.

Road to Takasera, Rukum.

Locals walk through a crop-field in Maikot.

A pleasant evening in Rukumkot. 

Corn is extensively farmed in Rukum. 

10-hour trek on the way back from Maikot. 

Two sisters from Thawang.

Maikot Village, a one of its kind village rests atop a hill at 2300m.