Jumla: Chandannath, the airport and the Karnali Highway

Jumla is the district where Nepali as a language began. It is reached by air or by the Karnali Highway from Surkhet. This page covers the district; the neighbouring ones are in the districts hub, and the walk to the lake is on the Jumla to Rara trek page.

Where it is

Jumla is one of the ten districts of Karnali Province and one of the seventy-seven districts of Nepal¹. Its headquarters are in Chandannath municipality, and it covers 2,531 km2¹. In 2021 the district had 118,349 inhabitants¹, up from 108,921 in 2011¹.

The terrain is Himalayan and mountainous, with elevations from 915 m to 4,679 m¹. The Higher Himalayan Region consists of the Patarasi and Kanjirowa ranges, and the major rivers are the Hima, the Tila and the Jawa¹.

Jumla is divided into 1 urban municipality, Chandannath, and 7 rural municipalities: Kankasundari, Sinja, Hima, Tila, Guthichaur, Tatopani and Patarasi¹. The 2021 census found Chhetris to be a majority at 60% of the population, and 97.30% of people Hindu, 1.45% Buddhist and 1.16% Christian¹.

History

The Nepali language, then known as Khas, originated in the Sinja Valley, and Sinja was the capital of the Khas Kingdom¹. Jumla was part of the Khasa kingdom from the 11th to the 13th century¹.

After the 13th century the kingdom divided into the 22 Baise principalities of the Karnali-Bheri region, and the Kingdom of Jumla was one of them¹. It was founded around 1404 and became one of the most powerful kingdoms in western Nepal¹. It took the kingdom of Mustang in 1760¹. Kaji Shiva Narayan Khatri led the Gorkhali troops that annexed Jumla for the Gorkha kings in 1789¹.

Sinja Valley

The Sinja Valley, in Jumla District, was the ancient capital city of the Khasa Kingdom and is considered a historically significant place⁵. Excavations led by the Department of Archaeology at Cambridge University uncovered palaces, temples and the remains of a settlement⁵. Major finds include a large network of underground pipes that formed a complex water delivery system and a ring of massive monolithic stone columns circumscribing the settlement⁵.

On the cliffs at the valley edge were found some of the earliest written examples of the Nepali language, and the earliest examples of the Devanagari script, from the 13th century, were found on the cliffs and in nearby Dullu⁵. Across the Hima River there are caves with ancient votive Buddhist chaityas and cliff inscriptions, and the rites of the Masto (shamans) are still practised in many of the stone dewals, or temples⁵. The valley was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List on 30 January 2008, in the Cultural category⁵.

Chandannath Temple

Chandannath Temple (चन्दननाथ मन्दिर) is a Hindu temple in Khalanga Bazar of Chandannath Municipality, at an elevation of 2,514 m⁶. It was built during the Kallala Dynasty; few written documents on the dynasty or the temple survive, and the events and lore have been passed on orally for generations⁶.

People believe that Chandannath, a man from Kashmir, brought the statue of Dattatreya (Trimurti) and kept it where the temple stands⁶. He is also believed to have first introduced brown rice to Jumla⁶. Some local people tell another story: a cow that gave its owner no milk let milk drop from its teats when it stood above the place where the temple now stands, and the villagers took the spot as sacred and built the temple there⁶.

Local people change the temple’s lingo every year⁶. The lingo is a timber of approximately more than 52 feet, coloured brick red with a huge cloth stitched around it, so that it looks like a triangular flag⁶. The replacement ceremony is held during Ghatasthapana, the first day of Dashain, when the temple is crowded with devotees; large crowds also come for Krishna Janmashtami and Maha Shivaratri⁶.

Getting there

By air

Jumla Airport (IATA JUM, ICAO VNJL) is a domestic airport serving the district². It stands at 7,700 ft (2,347 m) above sea level and has one asphalt runway measuring 670 by 25 m². In October 2026 Nepal Airlines, Sita Air, Summit Air and Tara Air were listed flying to Jumla from Nepalgunj, and Summit Air also from Birendranagar². Operators and routes are covered in flights to Jumla.

On 18 January 1999 a Necon Air Cessna 208 Caravan stalled and crashed after take-off, and 4 passengers and 1 crew member of the 10 passengers and 2 crew died².

By road

The Karnali Highway has a Surkhet to Jumla section⁴. Two dated road reports from August 2025 follow.

After the blockages reported on 17 August 2025 earthmovers were deployed to clear the landslides, and vehicles heading to Surkhet via Kalikot were stranded at several points³. After the collapse reported on 27 August 2025 equipment and manpower were deployed for repair, and authorities urged travellers, including tourists heading toward Jumla and the Karnali region, to use alternative routes until repairs were completed⁴.

More on the highway is in the Karnali Highway page, on the rains in monsoon road closures, and on the Surkhet end in Surkhet. The section through Kalikot is where both 2025 reports place the blockages^3,4.

Onward to Mugu

In August 2025 the road near Nagma, on the Kalikot-Jumla border, was the road to Mugu³. For Rara Lake and the district beyond, see Mugu.

Safety

By 17 August 2025 landslides had blocked the Karnali Highway, and by 27 August 2025 a road collapse had stopped its Surkhet to Jumla section^3,4.

The airport is at 2,347 m² and the district climbs to 4,679 m¹.