Doti: Dipayal Silgadhi, the Seti Highway and the road to Khaptad

Doti is a district of the far west with a medieval kingdom in its history. Its headquarters, Silgadhi, sits inside Dipayal Silgadhi Municipality on the Seti River^1,5. This page covers the whole district; its neighbours are in the districts hub, starting with Dadeldhura and Achham.

Where it is

Doti is part of Sudurpashchim Province and one of Nepal’s 77 districts¹. With Silgadhi as its headquarters it covers 2,025 km2¹. The 2021 census recorded 204,831 people, against 211,746 in 2011¹. It has a literacy rate of 70.74% and a sex ratio of 1188 females per 1000 males¹.

The district consists of nine municipalities, two urban and seven rural¹. Dipayal Silgadhi and Shikhar are the urban ones¹. In 2021, 31.42% of residents lived in municipalities¹.

Dipayal Silgadhi lies in the Lesser Himalayas on the bank of the Seti River, at 563 m⁵. It had 32,941 people in 7,447 households at the 2011 census⁵, and it previously served as the headquarters of the Far-Western Development Region⁵.

Climate zones

Getting there

By road

The Seti Highway began in Dipayal Silgadhi and linked it to Amargadhi, the district headquarters of Dadeldhura^5,2. It was a 66 km national highway before 2021, when the Seti Highway (H15) merged with NH03, the Pushpalal Highway². From Amargadhi the Terai region can be reached on the Mahakali Highway⁵. See Dadeldhura for that end of the road.

Doti is also the gateway to Khaptad National Park⁸. The overland route can be made by bus from Kathmandu to Dhangadhi and then from Dhangadhi to Dipayal⁸. Another route starts with a flight from Kathmandu to Dhangadhi, followed by a drive through winding mountain roads⁹.

By air

Doti Airport (IATA SIH, ICAO VNDT), also called Silgadhi Airport, is a domestic airport in Dipayal Silgadhi at 577 m³. It has one asphalt runway of 490 m³; the Civil Aviation Authority’s factsheet gives the runway as 490 m x 20 m⁴.

The airport started operations on 24 September 1973³. A CAAN factsheet (profile edited 12 February 2020) listed Doti Airport as Not in Operation⁴. The runway was blacktopped and upgraded in 2020, and the airport was reinaugurated on 3 October 2020³. Scheduled flights to Dhangadhi started in 2022, and in October 2026 Nepal Airlines was the airline listed³.

History

Doti was a medieval kingdom of Kumaon, founded by Niranjan Malla Dev¹. Kumaon lost Doti during the expansion of the Nepal kingdom in 1790¹. Dumrakot was the base of the Doti Kingdom during the fighting against the Gorkhalis¹. The historic place of war between the Doti Kingdom and the Gorkha Kingdom during the expansion of Nepal in 1790 is Nari-Dang, which lies on the bank of the Seti River⁸.

The name Doti is believed to have originated from the word “Dovati”, which means the land between two rivers⁸.

Shaileshwori Temple

It is believed that after the divine marriage of Lord Shiva and Parvati, they chose the Chandragiri mountain in Doti as their retreat¹⁰. Mother Parvati then transformed herself into a rock to hide her presence¹⁰. The sacred rock was worshipped as Shiladevi, which later became known as Shaileshwori Devi¹⁰.

The trail to the temple winds through villages, forests and terraced fields¹⁰. The annual Shaileshwori Mela is held at the temple¹⁰.

Culture and food

Dhido, a thick porridge made from buckwheat or millet, is a traditional dish⁹. Gaura Parva is a major festival in Sudurpashchim Province⁹.

Khaptad and park fees

In April 2025 a temporary tourist police post was set up in Dipayal Silgadhi Municipality to ensure the safety of visitors to Khaptad and surrounding tourist areas⁶. The post protects both domestic and foreign visitors to Khaptad National Park, and has a team of seven police personnel⁶.

Khaptad National Park 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 the park are on the Khaptad National Park page, and the walking route is on the Khaptad trek page.