Olangchung Gola is one of the rural villages of Phaktanglung rural municipality which is situated inTaplejung district,Mechi zone, Province 1, Nepal. This village is the most rural village of Nepal which lies 3200m above sea level. Despite being a rural village it is a beautiful and amazing tourist destination.
The only way to reach Olangchung Gola is trekking. It takes almost 3 days to reach the village. Trek starts from the Phungling municipality leading towards various small villages like Mitlung, Siwan, Chiruwa Bazaar, Taplethok, Lelep, Lungthung, Ila dada, Jangim, Yangm, and finally to Olangchung Gola. The villages are very beautiful and have various natural resources like rivers, waterfall conservation areas, and many other beautiful sceneries that attract tourists.
A small sample of the itinerary is given below:
Day 1: The trek starts from Phungling municipality heading towards Mitlung, Siwan, and to Chiruwa Bazaar where we spend the night.
Day 2: Trek from Chiruwa Bazaar heading towards Taplethok, Lelep, Lungthung, and to Illa dada which is the destination for the day.
Day 3: Trek from Illa dada to Jangim which is a very difficult part as we have to walk continuously 6 hours by carrying all the essential things including food, water as there are no any villages on the way. From Jangim to Yangam and finally to the Olangchung Gola after approximately 2 hrs of walk from Yangma village.
Olangchung Gola as tourist destination:
The peoples of the village are very lovable. If they know tourists are coming to their village all the people of the village gather at the entry point and welcome every tourist by greeting them and feeding them snacks. In the evening time, they gather and show their traditional dance, Dhunjyang dance to entertain the tourist.
This village is equally beautiful from its cultural and religious point of view. It is also considered as the origin place for Walung tribe people. Only Buddhist people stay in the village or we can also say all the people living here are Buddhist. There is a large monastery called DekhiChholingGompha on the top of this village which was built 450 years ago.
The people residing there celebrate the Ghuntuk festival which falls in the month of October-November. It is a traditional festival that is celebrated to keep the Gumba, Monestry safe and protected. All the people wear a cultural dress and do Puja and other rituals.
The people residing in this village have been influenced by the Tibetan culture from across the border and this can be noticed easily throughout their daily lives and activities.
One of the most interesting things about the village that every house in the village has a similar structure and every house looks the same. There are almost 60 houses in the village. The climate of the village is cold as it falls in the Himalayan region. No crops are produced there except potatoes.
People residing there generate their income through tourism, by selling medicinal herbs, the products made from the yak’s milk to the tourists and also by selling the hand made carpets to foreign countries like India, China, America, London. These products are very famous among other countries.
So, Olangchung Gola, being a rural village, is a tourist destination as the environment is peaceful, clean, green. The beautiful views of hills, rivers, forests, conservation areas, and Gumba are very attractive to the tourist. As well as the people are very helpful, kind, and lovable.
-Article Written by: Kusum Kharel for Land Nepal
