Visiting Nepal

Dhankuta

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Dhankuta, is a hill town with about 20,000 inh.Dhankuta District in the eastern part of Nepal. Until about 1963 Dhankuta Bazaar (the town) was the administrative headquarters for the whole of north-eastern Nepal.

The town also had the regional jail and army post. This hill town is being developed as a regional center of eastern Nepal. Income to purchase items (cloth, kerosene, batteries, medicines, etc.) that could not be produced locally came from a combination of sales of hill produce (tangerines, potatoes, etc.) and funds repatriated back into the hills by Ghurka soldiers serving first in the British and then more-often in the Indian armiies.

The first four (2 male; 2 female) American Peace Corps Volunteers arrived in Dhankuta Bazaar in Fall, 1962 to work as teachers in the two high schools. In October, 1963 three male PCV's arrived to help establish the new Panchayat development program.

From 1963 Nepal was divided into 75 Panchayat Districts, and the traditional Dhankuta administrative region was divided up into about six of the panchayat districts. The power of the Bada Hakim was transferred to the central government's appointed Panchayat Development Officer and each district's elected Panchayat President.

During the pre-panchayat period Dhankuta Bazaar prided itself as being in the cultural vanguard, a relatively progressive community with its own "intellectual" elite. Dhankuta Bazaar, already in the 1930's, had the only high school in Nepal to be located outside of the Kathmandu Valley. Then and now there is a sharp contrast between Dhankuta Bazaar and the surrounding rural villages. The town is a commercial center and has a population that is primarily Newar. Dhankuta Bazaar, on the North-South Koshi Highway, is now the administrative headquarters for the Eastern Development Region, and is home to a number of offices for NGOs and aid agencies serving in the area. The large bazaar of Hile further up the road, is an important trading centre and major road head, serving the remote hinterlands of the Arun valley and Bhojpur. Villagers walk for many days from surrounding districts to trade in Hile and Dhankuta bazaars, although road building in the district may reduce the importance of these centres. The vegetation zones in the district range from sub-tropical Sal forest along the Tamur and Arun rivers, and cooler temperate forests on some of the high ridges that mark the watershed between the two catchments. Important cash crops include citrus fruits, cauliflower, cabbage, ginger, and in recent years, tea. A well-preserved forest (Rani Bhan - Queen's Forest) spreads along a ridge line on the northwest side of the village, with well-developed mature stands of rhododendron and sal (pine) trees.

Access: Dankuta is linked by excellent highway from Dharan. Regular bus services are available.
Accommodation: Dhankuta is facilitated with a number of hotels and lodges for average