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K–12 teaching and learning · from the UNC School of Education

Purang village

About this photograph

Creator
Margery H. Freeman
Date created
September 30, 1984
Location
Purang village, en route from Kaagbeni to Muktinaath, Nepal
License
This photograph copyright ©2007. Terms of use

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Purang village on a mountain top and arid mountain sides, in western Nepal

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The village of Purang, Nepal, sits on a small, flat mountain top. Purang is in a region known as the “rain shadow” (or “precipitation shadow”) and is blocked by the Himalayan mountains from the monsoon rains. As a result, the climate here is arid and vegetation is sparse. The mud roofs of these houses will last for several years because they are scarcely rained on.

Located southwest of Tibet, Purang covers a total area of 12,497 sq km (4,825 sq miles) and has a population of over 7,000. It is quite ordinary to come across Indian and Nepalese people in Purang. As a frontier county bordering India and Nepal, Purang is the only pass for pilgrims to worship at nearby Hindu holy sites, Mt. Kailash and Lake Manasarovar. In addition, its traditional frontier market, which has a history of more than 500 years, attracts many foreigners to do business here.