Bajhang: Chainpur, Saipal and Surma Sarobar

Bajhang is the Sudurpashchim district that holds Saipal³. Chainpur, the headquarters, sits on the bank of the Seti River and the Bauli Khola¹. This page covers the whole district; its neighbours are in the districts hub, including Darchula and Bajura.

Where it is

Bajhang is a part of Sudurpashchim Province and one of Nepal’s 77 districts¹. It covers 3,422 km2¹. The 2011 census gave 195,159 people and the 2021 census 189,085¹. It has a literacy rate of 70.54%¹, and in 2021 29.48% of residents lived in municipalities¹.

The district is surrounded by Bajura and Humla in the east, Baitadi and Darchula in the west, Humla in the north and Doti and Achham in the south¹. Its elevation runs from 900 m to 7,035 m¹.

Chainpur and Jaya Prithvi

Jayaprithvi is a municipality and the district headquarters of Bajhang District, in Sudurpashchim Province⁸. It was established on 18 May 2014 by merging former Village Development Committees, and it lies on the bank of the Seti River⁸. At the 2011 census it had 22,553 people; 75.7% spoke Nepali and 23.7% Bajhangi as their first language⁸. In that census 41.6% were Chhetri, 22.4% Hill Brahmin and 15.1% Thakuri⁸.

Chainpur is an ancient town in Jaya Prithvi Municipality, in the Seti Zone of north-western Nepal². At the 1991 census it had 4,143 people and 759 houses². The Peace Corps operated in Chainpur from 1990 to 2002². In Sydney Wignall’s Prisoner in Red Tibet and Spy on the Roof of the World, the story starts and finishes in Chainpur². The town has two community radio stations, Jayaprithvi FM at 96.3 MHz and Bajhang FM².

Getting there

By air

In October 2026 Chainpur was listed with a grass runway in town and limited flights². The Nepal Tourism Board’s Khaptad page gave, in October 2026, the route as a flight from Kathmandu to Nepalgunj (60 minutes), then to Chainpur (20 minutes), followed by a three-day walk to Khaptad⁴. Bajhang Airport lies in Old-Rithapata⁸.

By road

In October 2026 buses were listed from Kathmandu to Dhangadhi and from Dhangadhi to Bajhang⁵. The Khopde-Bajhang Road, also called the Jaya Prithivi Bahadur Singh Road, connects Khopde and Bajhang over 109 km⁵. Road conditions change with the monsoon; see monsoon road closures for the regional picture.

What to see

Saipal is a mountain in the Himalayas of north-west Bajhang district, 7,031 m high, and was first climbed in 1960 by Sangay Thinlay³. It is the second-highest mountain in the Far Western Himalayas⁵. Other snow peaks include Ramkot Peak, Sankhamala Himal and Lama Peak⁵. Api, Nampa and Saipal are a trio of high mountains in north-western Nepal that together form a small range of sharp, icy peaks³. The walking route is on the Saipal base camp trek page.

Surma Sarowar lake, at 4,300 m, lies south-west of the Saipal range⁵. Every year at the end of July a large festival called Birijaat is held there, when thousands of pilgrims take a ceremonial bath⁵.

Khaptad National Park

Khaptad National Park, in the Far-Western Region, was established in 1984 on the advice of Khaptad Baba, and a buffer zone of 216 km2 was declared in 2006⁹. It stretches over Bajhang, Bajura, Achham and Doti districts, covers 225 km2 and ranges in elevation from 1,400 to 3,300 m⁹. Sahashra Linga, at 3,200 m, is the highest point of the park⁴.

The park consists of moorland, steep slopes and streams, with 567 floral species⁹. It harbours 23 mammals, including Indian leopard, Himalayan black bear, dhole and Alpine musk deer⁹. Its 287 bird species include the Impeyan pheasant, peregrine falcon and white-rumped vulture⁹. The Nepal Tourism Board lists March to May and October to November as the best season, at 10 to 20 degrees Celsius, with June to September rainy⁴. The route is on the Khaptad trek page.

Permits

In October 2026 the Department of Immigration’s trekking route and permit fee table listed Bajhang at USD 90 per week, with USD 15 per day beyond 1 week⁶. The area it names is Saipal Rural Municipality, wards 1 to 5⁶.

Khaptad National Park, reached through Chainpur on the Nepal Tourism Board’s route, charges an entry fee per person per entry. In October 2026 the Nepal Tourism Board’s park entry-fee table listed it as follows, with children under 10 free⁷:

Rules for each area are collected in restricted-area permits and Khaptad National Park.