Humla lies in the far west of Nepal on the border with Tibet and has long been part of the Tibetan Buddhist cultural sphere; the district article describes it as a historic part of the Tibetan Buddhist religious tradition, with eleven small villages of Tibetan origin. The ancient foot trail from Simikot to Hilsa along the Humla Karnali has been used for centuries by locals for trade at the old trade mart of Taklakot (Purang) in Tibet and for pilgrimage to the holy sites of Lake Manasarovar and Mount Kailash. After the April 2015 Nepal earthquake badly damaged the Tatopani-Zhangmu pilgrimage route, traffic for the annual Mount Kailash pilgrimage shifted to the Humla route via Simikot. The Nepal Trust has worked in Humla since 1996 and was the only organization allowed to continue its development work throughout the district during the Maoist insurgency; it has managed the Great Himalaya Trail Development Program since 2008. In July 2025 Simikot was officially connected to Nepal's national road network with the inauguration of a Bailey bridge over the Chuwakhola river, ending Humla's status as the last district without a national highway connection.
Researched by the ChillNepal team from published sources. Spot something out of date? Tell us from the place's page.
