Mahakali ( ) was one of the fourteen zones located in the Far-Western Development Region of

Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...

, covering an area of 7449.28 km² in the westernmost part of the country. It stretches along Nepal's far western border with

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, marked by the Kali River or Mahakali River. In 2015 Nepal discontinued use of zone designations in favor of provinces. The zone formerly known as Mahakali is now part of

Sudurpashchim Province Sudurpashchim Province () is one of the seven Provinces of Nepal, provinces established by the Constitution of Nepal, new constitution of Nepal which was adopted on 20 September 2015. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China to the north, ...

. Mahakali's headquarters is Bhimdatta (formerly called ''Mahendranagar'') in Kanchanpur District. The zone covers the Himalayan range including Api Peak in the North, Hill valleys, Inner Terai valleys such as Patan Municipality in

Baitadi District Baitadi District ( ), historical name “Bairath” (बैराथ), a part of Sudurpashchim Province, is one of the 77 districts of Nepal. It is a Hill district. Baitadi, with Dasharathchand as its headquarters, covers an area of and has ...

in the center and the outer

Terai The Terai or Tarai is a lowland region in parts of southern Nepal and northern India that lies to the south of the outer foothills of the Himalayas, the Sivalik Hills and north of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. This lowland belt is characterised by ...

in the South. The name of this zone is derived from the Kali River.

Geography

The boundary of this region was Kali river on the west and Seti Zone on the east. After the Sugauli Treaty (also spelled Segowlee) was signed on December 2, 1815 and ratified on March 4, 1816, between the British

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...

and The

Kingdom of Nepal The Kingdom of Nepal was a Hindu monarchy in South Asia, founded in 1768 through the unification of Nepal, expansion of the Gorkha Kingdom. The kingdom was also known as the Gorkha Empire and was sometimes called History of Asal Hindustan, ...

; Kali river which originates from Limpiyadhura, became the international boundary with the United Provinces of

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

(now

Uttarakhand Uttarakhand (, ), also known as Uttaranchal ( ; List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2007), is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. The state is bordered by Himachal Pradesh to the n ...

). The coldest area in the zone is Byash and the hottest is Kanchanpur. The Api Himalayas lie in this zone from where Chameliya river originates.

Administrative subdivisions

Mahakali was divided into four districts; since 2015 these districts have been redesignated as part of

Language, culture and history

Mahakali Zone of Nepal has a distinct language, culture and history. Various dialects of Dotyali language are spoken in this region. Gora is a famous festival observed in Mahakali Zone. In ancient times, this region was a part of the ''Katyuri'' kingdom. After its collapse, this zone became a part of Doti kingdom, a branch of the

Katyuri Kings The Katyuri kingdom also known as Katyuri dynasty was a medieval ruling kingdom that ruled over the regions in Uttarakhand in India and western Nepal from 500 to 1200 CE. or 700 to 1200 CE. The founder of this dynasty, King Vasu Dev was origin ...

. Brahmadev Mandir in Kanchanpur District was built during the reign of the Katyuri king Brahmadev.

Famous and religious places

* Badimalika Temple * Malikarjun Temple

Important cities

The largest city in the Mahakali Zone is Bhimdatta (or ''Bhim Datta'', formerly called ''Mahendranagar''), which is also the headquarters of Kanchanpur District. Other main towns of Mahakali Zone are Dashrathchand, Patan (Baitadi) and Darchula Bajar. The Amargadhi, the district headquarters, is named after General Amarshing Thapa (a famous Gorkha General) who formed a fort to expand Gorkha Empire capturing Kumaoun state after had defeated in a previous war with Kumaoun during 1790 A.D. Rajghat is also a famous city of Kanchanpur District. It is located at Raikawar Bichawa VDC. There are 3 municipalities in Kanchanpur District.

Protected areas

Mahakali Zone hosts the Sukla Phanta Wildlife Reserve in Kanchanpur District in the

, which covers an area of 305 km² and surrounded by a buffer zone of 243.5 km².Majupuria, T.C., Kumar, R. (1998) Wildlife, National Parks and Reserves of Nepal. S. Devi, Saharanpur and Tecpress Books, Bangkok.

References

* Pande, B.D. (1993) ''History of Kumaun.'' Shree Almora Book Depot. ,

External links

Government of Nepal: ''The Population and Socio-Economic Atlas of Nepal''
{{coord, 29, 30, N, 80, 30, E, region:NP_type:adm1st_source:GNS-enwiki, display=title Sudurpashchim Province Zones of Nepal 2015 disestablishments in Nepal