The area was part of Rukum District, established in 1962 as a hills and mountains district of Rapti Zone in the Mid-Western Development Region, with Musikot (also called Jhumlikhalanga) as its administrative center. During the Maoist insurgency of 1996-2006, Rukum was a flashpoint and stronghold of the insurgents alongside neighbouring Rolpa, and many Maoist leaders came from the district; Musikot itself was once described as a Maoist 'red fort'. After the conflict, the Government of Nepal together with the Nepal Tourism Board, Rukum district officials and Maoist party leaders launched the Guerrilla Trek (Peace Trail) with a ceremony in Kathmandu in October 2012 to open the former war zone to tourism. Western Rukum District was formally created when the undivided Rukum District was split into Western Rukum (Karnali Province) and Eastern Rukum (Lumbini Province) in the state's reconstruction of administrative divisions of 20 September 2015, administratively effected in 2017. Transportation in the district expanded rapidly after the Second People's Movement of 2006, with new roads linking it to the southern plains and Kathmandu.
Researched by the ChillNepal team from published sources. Spot something out of date? Tell us from the place's page.
