Town or village
Dailekh Bazaar
The hill bazaar headquarters of Dailekh district, close to the Shirsthan and Nabhisthan flame shrines.
Karnali Provinceदैलेख
Dailekh District
Hill district of the Karnali region, known for the natural gas flames of its Panchakoshi shrines and the old Khasa Malla seat at Dullu.
- Province
- Karnali
- Headquarters
- Dailekh
- Area
- about 1,489 km²
- Places on Firfirey
- 3
About Dailekh
Dailekh lies in the middle hills of Karnali Province, north of the Surkhet valley. The Karnali River forms much of its western edge, separating it from Achham, while Kalikot lies to the north and Jajarkot to the east. The land is a jumble of terraced ridges and deep river valleys, rising from warm, low riverbanks to forested hilltops, with smaller streams draining down to the Karnali and its tributaries.
Most people are Hindu hill farmers, with Chhetri, Brahmin, Thakuri and Dalit communities and a Magar presence, and the economy rests on farming and seasonal work in India. Travellers come mainly for religious and historical interest: Dullu was an important centre of the medieval Khasa Malla kingdom and keeps stone inscriptions from that period, and the surrounding Panchakoshi shrines are known for flames of natural gas burning from the ground.
Places in Dailekh
Temple, monastery or heritage site
Dullu
An old hill town in Dailekh with a Khas Malla era inscribed pillar and the Dhuleshwar flame shrine.
Temple, monastery or heritage site
Panchakoshi (Dailekh)
A circuit of five Hindu shrines in Dailekh where small natural gas flames burn from the ground.
Getting there
Dailekh is reached by road from Birendranagar in Surkhet, usually a drive of several hours over hill roads. Surkhet has the nearest regular airport, with flights from Kathmandu and Nepalgunj, and Nepalgunj connects to the national highway network on the plains.
Best time to visit
Autumn and spring are the best times to visit, as the monsoon brings heavy rain and landslides to the hill roads, while winters are dry and cool with cold nights on the ridges.
Editorial draft: the district overview is being checked. Headquarters and Nepali names: nepal-places dataset (MIT). Area and map position computed from the district boundaries of the Government of Nepal, Survey Department, via OCHA.