Jajarkot: Khalanga, the Bheri valley and the road to Dolpa

Jajarkot sits in the Bheri River valley, and its travel story is the road: a 118 km link to Dolpa that was still being finished in 2018⁸. Khalanga is the administrative and market centre. The sections below cover where the district is, how to reach it, what to see and what to expect. For the wider region see the districts hub.

Where Jajarkot is

Jajarkot is one of the districts of Karnali Province¹. Khalanga is its headquarters¹, and the district covers 2,230 km2¹. It has 3 municipalities and 4 rural municipalities¹.

Khalanga sits above the Bheri River valley and serves as the main administrative and market centre for the surrounding hills⁵. It was incorporated into Bheri Municipality in 2015². At the 1991 census Khalanga had 8140 people living in 1533 households².

The district had 171,304 people in the 2011 census¹. The 2021 census counted 189,360 people, and the CBS Karnali report is the source¹³. The neighbouring district that holds Chaurjahari Airport is covered in the Western Rukum guide.

Getting there

By air

Chaurjahari Airport (RUK) is a domestic airport serving Western Rukum District, not Jajarkot itself⁴. It has one runway of 600 metres⁴. No scheduled services run to and from it now; Nepal Airlines resumed services there in 2018 after several years without⁴.

The older route into Jajarkot ran through that airport. In 2010 the easier option to the road was a flight from Kathmandu to Nepalganj and then a flight to Chaurjhari⁷. Jajarkot Bajar was then about three hours’ trek from Chaurjhari⁷. Treat that as a 2010 route, not a current one.

By road

Road access is limited, and Jajarkot is mainly connected to the outside world through Khalanga and the Bheri River valley⁵. The Jajarkot-Dunai road links Jajarkot, Rukum and Dolpa districts⁸.

The road effort began earlier. In November 2010 the World Bank financed work to connect the district headquarters of Darchula, Bajhang, Kalikot, Jumla, Jajarkot and Rukum to the strategic road network¹⁰. The Dolpa page covers the far end of the road, and Surkhet is the regional hub to the south-west.

When to go

HSJ Travel, an operator, lists March, April, October and November as the best time to visit Jajarkot, as seen on 20 October 2026⁵.

What Jajarkot is known for

Jajarkot Durbar is a 250-year-old palace and the district’s major heritage landmark⁵. Jajarkot also has a palace from the Baise Rajya era that compares to the Malla palaces in Kathmandu (Nepali Times, 2010)⁷. The Department of Archaeology records the district’s monuments, and its list includes the Jajarkot Palace (NP-JJ-09), a Shiva Temple (NP-JJ-02), the Kalika Temple (NP-JJ-07) and the Jajarkot Darbar Vestiges (NP-JJ-04)³.

Outside the town, a Shiva temple stands in a cave three hours’ walk from Jajarkot bajar⁷. A cave-associated Shiva temple with a bat population lies several hours from Khalanga⁶. Ragda Waterfall is a scenic waterfall in the district⁵. The Bheri River’s turquoise waters cut through steep valleys and suit photography and sightseeing⁶. Chhedagad Valley offers some of the district’s most picturesque trekking opportunities⁶.

Permits and fees

The Department of Immigration’s trekking route and permit fee table, seen on 20 October 2026, lists 15 regions, and Jajarkot is not one of them¹¹.

The table ends at Darchula, at USD 90 per person per week¹¹.

Where to stay and health

In 2010, facilities for room and board in Jajarkot were a little rudimentary⁷.

A 2009 outbreak of diarrhoeal disease in Jajarkot was investigated, and the investigation was published in the Journal of Nepal Health Research Council in October 2009¹².