The Sinja Valley is located in the

Jumla District Jumla District ( ne, जुम्ला जिल्ला), is one of the ten districts of the Karnali province of Nepal. This district has Jumla as its headquarters, an area of ; it had populations of 89,427 and 108,921, respectively, in th ...

Karnali Province Karnali Province ( ne, कर्णाली प्रदेश) is one of the seven federal provinces of Nepal formed by the new constitution which was adopted on 20 September 2015. The total area of the province is covering 18.97% of the cou ...

, of

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is ma ...

. The valley was the ancient capital city of the Khasa Kingdom and is considered a historically significant place. The valley is also considered as the birthplace of

Nepali language Nepali (; , ) is an Indo-Aryan language native to the Himalayas region of South Asia. It is the official, and most widely spoken, language of Nepal, where it also serves as a '' lingua franca''. Nepali has official status in the Indian st ...

Site description

The valley houses the ancient capital city of the

Khasas Khasas (Devanāgarī: खश; ') were an ancient Indo-Aryan tribe and a late Janapada kingdom from Himalayan regions of northern Indian subcontinent mentioned in the various historical Indian inscriptions and ancient Indian Hindu and Tibetan lite ...

that ruled this area from the 12th to the 14th Century. Palaces, temples, and the ancient remains of a settlement were uncovered during excavations spearheaded by the Department of Archaeology at

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

. Major finds from the site include a large network of underground pipes that formed a complex water delivery system as well as a ring of massive monolithic stone columns circumscribing the settlement.Sinja valley - UNESCO World Heritage Centre
/ref> On the cliffs at the valley edge were found some of the earliest written examples of

History

The Khasa kingdom fragmented into twenty-two individual kingdoms after the 14th century, which then remained until Nepal was unified in the 18th century. The founder the Khasa kingdom of Sinja valley was Nagraj. Across from the Hima River there are caves with ancient votive Buddhist chaityas and cliff inscriptions. Even today the ancient rites of the Masto (Shamans) are practiced in many of the stone Dewals or temples. The Sinja Valley was where the Nepali language originates from and the earliest examples of the Devanagari script from the 13th Century were found on the cliffs and in nearby Dullu.

World Heritage Status

This site was added to the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. I ...

World Heritage A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

Tentative List on January 30, 2008 in the Cultural category.

Notes

References

Sinja valley - UNESCO World Heritage Centre
Retrieved 2009-03-03. {{Commons category, Sinja Valley Nepalese culture Jumla District Archaeological sites in Nepal Valleys of Nepal