Rajahdom of Lo

History

• The Rajadom of Lo has a long, rich and complex history. Its early history is shrouded in legend, myth and mystery, but there are records of events in the Kali Kandaki Valley as early as the 8th century. According to local legend Padmasambhava, the great founder of Tibetan Buddhism came to the Kali Kandaki Valley on his way to Tibet. The first emperor of Tibet, Trisong Detsen, (742-797) was desirous of introducing Buddhism to his empire, but his desire was thwarted by evil mountain deities. Learning of the holiness of Padmasambhava, the emperor invited him to come and do battle with these evil powers. Guru Rinpoche, as he is known in Tibet, on his way through eastern Lo, in 775, built the temple of Ghar Gompa (House Temple) which still stands guard today. He arrived in Tibet in 810 and used his tantric powers to subdue the evil deities he encountered along the way. He founded the first monastery in the country, Samye Gompa, initiated the first monks, and introduced the people to the practice of Tantric Buddhism.
• It is also quite likely that the Tibetan poet Milarepa, who lived from 1040 to 1123, visited Lo.
• It is generally believed that the warrior Ame Pal was the founder king of the Buddhist Kingdom of Lo in 1380. Shres-rab la-ma was the military commander and provincial commissioner of Lo for the Gung-thang kings. He held a semi-independent status, which allowed him to secure the government for his lineal descendants. His grandson, Ame Pal consolidated his power and extended his influence over a wide region in western Tibet, eventually establishing his own kingdom. His Gung-thang overlords recognised him as an independent ruler, with the title of chos-gyal. His kingdom remained closely tied by language and culture to Tibet. Ame Pal, or perhaps his father, conquered a large part of the territory in the upper Kali Kandaki and was responsible for the development of the city of Lo Manthang and for constructing many gompas (temples). The ancestry of the present Raja can be traced back 25 generations to Ame Pal.

• For a time, Lo was part of Ngari, a name for far western Tibet. Ngari was not a true political entity, but rather a loose collection of feudal domains that also included parts of Dolpo (now a district of Nepal). By the 14th century, much of Ngari, as well as most of what today is western Nepal, was part of the Malla Empire governed from the capital at Sinja, near Jumla.

• Ame Pal's successors continued to rule independently until the second quarter of the sixteenth century. After many battles and countless incursions, the neighbouring principality of Jumla established control over Lo, and for a time no paramount ruler was recognised. The Jumla rajas divided the principality amongst regional commissioners and governors, these offices being filled by various members of the Lo ruling family.

• Gya-hor-pal-zang recovered a measure of independence from Jumla and was recognised as chos-gyal, about 1560. However, his brother and successor succumbed to Jumla rule once more, and his descendants continued as vassals for the next century.

• The Malla Empire declined and split into numerous petty hill states. By the 18th century, Jumla had consolidated and reasserted its power. In an effort to develop their domain as a trading center and to obtain Tibetan goods, the rulers of Jumla turned their attention eastward. In 1740, they assumed control over Lo, from which they extracted an annual tribute.

• Since the valley was the easiest corridor through the Himalaya Mountains linking the Tibetan Plateau to southern Asia, it became a major trading center. Great caravans of sheep and yaks brought loads from Tibet to Lo where theys were transferred to the mules and goats more suited to travel in the warmer lowlands. Southwards the trade was in salt, wool, musk, borax and tsampa; heading north was rice, grain, and textiles

• When he ascended the throne in 1762, Prithvi Narayan Shah, founder of the house of Gorkha, began to consolidate what is present-day Nepal. He conquered Jumla and laid claim to Lo. Although Lo was forced to pay tribute for protection, they regained a large measure of autonomy. Prithvi Narayan Shah went on to conquer much of what is now modern Nepal. At the time of his death in 1775, the kingdom extended from Gorkha eastward to the borders of Sikkim. His descendants directed their efforts westward and by 1789, Jumla had been annexed.

• The vassal rulers of Lo made several valiant, but unsuccessful, attempts to re-establish their independence. Their chance finally came in 1788 when the Nepalese Regent, Prince Bahadur Shah, requested an alliance to complete his plans for unifying Nepal. He needed the help of Anjia Dorje to subdue the Raja of Jumla, Lo’s overlod. In 1790, after the successful completion of the war, Anjia Dorje accepted Nepalese sovereignty and secured the return of lands annexed by Jumla which had been annexed outright, including lower Lo, Manang, Nyishang, Phug, Nubri, Rui, Namjar, and Dolpo. Thereafter he was recognised as a tributary ruler with the hereditary title of Raja of Lo. He received a crown recognising his new status from the Maharajadhiraja of Nepal and was granted a gold and plumed crown by the Emperor of China, which now form part of the Tog-gsum or regalia of the rajadom. He was a religious and cultural reformer who renovated monasteries and monuments, built several temples and a modern palace, and invited learned lamas to settle in Lo.

• More recent history to come later.

Physical Description

• The Rajadom of Lo is an enchanting land of windswept vistas, red walled monasteries, and feudal towns, located on the Central Asian plateau. It lies between Tibet on the north, and the Nepali districts of Dolpa to the west, Myagdi to the south, and Manang to the east. It is an extension of the Tibetan plateau with an average elevation of over 3,000 m. Located to the north of the highest mountains Dhaulagiri and Annapurna and to the north of the main Himalayan range and geographically part of the Tibetan highlands, it is roughly 80 km long (north-south) and 45 km at its widest giving it an area of 3,573 km2.

• The main feature of the Rajadom of Lo is the Kali Gandaki river, its valley and tributaries. It runs north-east to south-west towards Nepal Terai, bisecting the country. The river was once the major trade route between Tibet and India, especially for salt. Part of the river valley, the Thak Khola, a downfaulted graben. According to the difference between the river elevation and these peaks, this is the world's deepest gorge. The gorge separates two of the world’s highest mountains, the major peaks Dhaulagiri (8,167 m/26,795 ft) to the west and Annapurna (8,091 m/26,545 ft) to the east. At one point, the difference between the valley floor and the summits is over 6,000 meters and the ominous peaks are only 20 km apart. The river runs at elevations between 1,300 and 2,600 meters (4,300 and 8,500 ft), 5,500 to 6,800 metres (18,000–22,300 ft) lower than the peaks. The river is older than the Himalayas. As tectonic activity forced the mountains higher, the river cut down through the uplift. The river rises along the Tibet border and the coincident Ganges-Brahmaputra divide and flows south through the Rajadom. The gorge begins at Kagbeni where the Himalayan ranges begin to close in. The river then continues southwards past Jomsom, Marpha and Tukuche to the deepest part of the gorge in the area of Lete. The gorge then broadens past Dana and Tatopani towards Beni.

• The Rajadom of Lo consists of two climate and natural regions: the lower, more fertile valleys and the upper reaches which stretch all the way to the border with Tibet. The southern part is called Thak Khola, “The Valley of the Border Country”, and is characterised by lush fields of wheat, barley and maize. The indigenous population stem largely from the Thakali ethnic group, a famed trading people who now make a living as innkeepers for the countless tourists and pilgrims that pass through.

• After the village of Kalopani, literally ‘black water’ in Nepali, the river gorge opens out into a magnificent alluvial plain running to the north. At this point, we leave behind the rolling hills, and enter the dusty and arid moonscape of upper Lo. Trees become ever more scarce, and from morning until night, a strong wind blows from the south, sometimes reaching 45 knots. The mountains loom to the sides and behind, and we have entered the beginning of the Tibetan plateau. Cypress and juniper give way to birch and fir, and forest leopards, musk deer and the hardy goat-antelope can be seen alone or in herds along the wind-swept hills.

• The landscape is of indescribable vastness and beauty, a vast high valley, arid and dry. The valley is characterized by eroded canyons, colorful rock formations with a barren, desert-like appearance. The hills tend to be great red fluted cliffs of tiny round stones cemented together by mud. One of the most fascinating features of the Rajadom of Lo is the thousands of cliff dwellings, some of which look completely inaccessible. Rimmed by more than 20,000 snowcapped peaks and bathed in hues of orange and red rocks with sporadic fields of vibrant green, yellow and red of barley, maize, and buckwheat, the Rajadom of Lo is a step back to a simpler time.

• The countryside is similar to the Tibetan plateau with its endless expanses of yellow and grey rolling hills eroded by wind. Strong winds often blow across the valley in the afternoon, generally subsiding at night. Lying in the rain shadow of the Himalaya, Lo has much less rain than Nepal. Annual precipitation is between 250 and 400 mm. During the monsoon the skies are cloudy and there is some rain. In the winter there is usually snow; Although the region can be visited year-round, the summer season from May to September is particularly suitable since other areas of Nepal are at this time too hot or wet to be pleasant. Winter in Upper Lo can be bitter, with heavy snowfalls and even landslides, sometimes as much as 30 or 40 cm accumulating on the ground. The lower reaches of the valley are best visited in the fall and the spring, when rhododendrons are in bloom and the mountain views are breathtaking.

• The mountains are home to 101 species of mammals including snow leopard, musk deer, Tibetan argali, Tibetan wolf, Tibetan fox; 474 species of birds; 39 species of reptiles and 22 species of amphibians; as well as the mythical mehti (abominable snowman). A total of 1226 species of plants can be found in the mountains including 38 orchid species and nine rhododendron species

• Villages are several hours apart and appear in the distance almost as mirages; during the summer season, after the crops are planted, they are green oases in the desert-like landscape.