Ghale Gaun

The marvelous village of the Ghales lies in the west of Nepal. Ghale gaon, known for its culture , natural beauty and hospitality is an old village resided only by the Ghale tribe. The village is one of the famous places under domestic tourism. It is situated in the cold mountains of Lumjunj. The weather is cold throughout the year. It observes heavy snow-fall during the winters and chilling winds in summers. Ghale gaon is endowed by one of Nepal’s pristine natural and cultural beauty. There are two ways by which you can reach Ghale gaon.
The first one is via motorized road from Kathmandu to Besisahar and then 5-6 hours of laborious walk from Besisahar up to Ghale gaon. The second one has the same route as the previous up to Besisahar ,but instead of going by foot you can also go by 2-3 hours of ride in a jeep that are available there. As soon as you reach your destination, the scenic extravaganza of Himalayas – Manslu, Fishtail, Annapurna and Kanchenjunga catches your eyes as it reflects the sunlight making it look even more beautiful. City dwellers might feel that they have reached somewhere unreal as abundant green trees envelops the area.
The old and traditional houses that are scattered throughout the village make the environment more welcoming. As you stand in front of the gate contemplating about the charisma of the village you are warmly welcomed by the oldest member of the village (usually women) in their traditional Ghale style – white rice tika and a spruce leaf. The reason Ghale gaon is known for its hospitality is because there are no hotels or lodges; instead there is a provision of living in the houses of the residents there.

There are around 45 houses, each owned by a family, where they have a provision of making you a temporary member of their family. You are given the same food, support and love that the other member of the family gets. In fact you will get your own bedroom under their roof! The family members are so friendly that when you speak the very first time with them, you’ll feel that you have known them for ages. As you keep on exploring the hamlet, you’ll find out there are no motorized oads within the village, but small narrow paths that connects all the houses of the village. The most fascinating infrastructure of Ghale gaon is their small yet important auditorium. As Ghale gaon is genuinely known for its unique culture and tradition the auditorium is used to exhibit their traditions and culture with the visitors. One of their festival is called “Krishna Charitra Nach” where they dance in the celebration of their first born baby boy. This shows their biased attitude towards males than females.
Oher festivals include Loshar, Dashain and Buddha Jayanti. Unlike the people of other parts of Nepal who celebrate Dashain by putting on red rice tika(Akshyata) and jamara , the ghale put on white tika and a spruce leaf. This shows how exclusive their tradition is. In spite of being a successful domestic tourism center, it has failed to retain the youths of the hamlet to leave the village for out of country or out of village settlements. Those whose remain in the hamlet are usually old men and women and few underage children.
If they were able to restrain the youths going outside, they might have undergone further development in tourism sector. It has been found that most of the youths have gone out in the name of education buy have not return. In my opinion, one can learn a lot by exploring the lifestyles, traditions and culture of the Ghale tribe. In spite of having few drawbacks, it has a very dominating effect on domestic tourism. If you don’t believe be just take a break from your office or school, collect some friends and be ready to call on the Ghales. Once you’re there, you fall in love with the gaon for sure.