Doti District

Doti lies in the hills at the centre of Sudurpashchim, with Achham to the east, Bajhang to the north, Baitadi and Dadeldhura to the west and Kailali to the south. The Seti River flows through the district in a broad valley, where the twin towns of Dipayal and Silgadhi face each other across the river. From there the land climbs to forested ridges and, in the north-east, to the high plateau of Khaptad National Park.

Doti was once the seat of a powerful hill kingdom, and its name is still used for the wider far-western region and its Doteli language. Most people are Khas Chhetri, Brahmin and Dalit communities who farm terraced slopes and work seasonally in India. Travellers come mainly to walk up to Khaptad, with its grassy meadows, forests and ashram, and to visit the old temples around Silgadhi.