Dhorpatan

Dhorpatan is a village in Baglung District of Nepal, nestled in a large east-west valley south of the Dhaulagiri Himalaya. It is the headquarters of Dhorpatan Hunting Reserve. There is a small community of indigenous Kham Magar as well as Tibetan refugees.

The enclosing valley is drained to the west by the Uttar Ganga, tributary to the Bheri River which in turn joins the Karnali. The east-west orientation of Dhorpatan Valley offers a notably -- by Himalayan standards -- easy route between the Karnali basin of western Nepal and the Gandaki basin in the center, over a relatively low pass on the watershed about a day's walk east of the town. This was an historic route for Khas migration eastward in the late Middle Ages. Ensuing political evolution led to the unification of the Kingdom of Nepal from loose confederations in the Karnali and Gandaki regions and from other confederations further east.

A seasonal STOL airstrip serves the region. Dhorpatan can be reached from Baglung via Burtibang or from Beni via Myagdi Khola. Dolpa is a few days trek to the north around the western Dhaulagiri range. During the summer months large herds of livestock are brought north from Rapti Zone by Kham Magar to graze in surrounding pastureland. Animal husbandry, handicrafts and some tourism are the key economic activities of the people in the region.

Coordinates: 28°29′N 83°04′E / 28.483°N 83.067°E / 28.483; 83.067