Dolpo is a culturally Tibetan region in western Nepal Valleys (south), and the Phoksumdo and Mugu Karnali Valleys (west and northwest). To the southwest lies Dhaulagiri, the sixth highest mountain in the world (8172 meters). This massif and its outliers create a rainshadow that determines much of Dolpo's climate. Though no meteorological records have been kept in Dolpo, its valleys probably receive less than five hundred millimeters of precipitation yearly. Dolpo is home to some of the highest villages on earth; almost ninety percent of the region lies above 3,500 meters. The population of Dolpo is less than five thousand people, making it one of the least densely populated areas of Nepal. Its inhabitants wrest survival from this inhospitable landscape by synergizing agriculture, animal husbandry, and trade. Dolpo's agro-pastoral livelihood is characterized by migrations between permanent villages and pastures at higher altitudes. More than ninety percent of the population lives under... read more about Dolpo Region