Simikot
{{For|the rural municipality|Simkot}}
{{Infobox settlement
|official_name = Simikot
|other_name =
|native_name = सिमिकोट
|nickname =
|settlement_type = District Headquarters
|motto =
|image_skyline = Simikot N.jpg
|imagesize = 300px
|image_caption =
|image_flag =
|image_seal =
|image_map =
|mapsize =
|map_caption =
|pushpin_map = Nepal
|pushpin_label_position = bottom
|pushpin_mapsize = 300
|pushpin_map_caption = Location in Nepal
|subdivision_type = Country
|subdivision_name = {{flag|Nepal}}
|subdivision_type1 = Province
|subdivision_name1 = Karnali
|subdivision_type2 =
|subdivision_name2 =
|subdivision_type3 = District
|subdivision_name3 = Humla
|government_footnotes =
|government_type =
|leader_title = Mayor
|leader_name =
|leader_title1 =
|leader_name1 =
|established_title =
|established_date =
|unit_pref =
|area_footnotes =
|area_total_km2 = 785.89
|area_total_sq_mi =
|area_rank = 18th largest RM (in country)
6th largest (in province)
|population_as_of =2011
|population_footnotes =
|population_note =
|population_total =11,557
|population_density_km2 = auto
|population_blank1_title = Ethnicities
|population_blank2_title = Religions
|timezone = NST
|utc_offset = +5:45
|timezone_DST =
|utc_offset_DST =
|coordinates = {{coord|29|58|18|N|81|49|15|E|region:NP_scale:1000000|display=inline,title}}
|elevation_footnotes =
|elevation_m = 2910
|postal_code_type =
|postal_code =
|area_code =
|blank_name =
|blank_info =
|website = {{URL|simkotmun.gov.np}}
|footnotes =
}}
Simikot is the administrative headquarters of Humla District of Karnali Zone in the mountain region of northwestern Nepal.
Significance
Lying at an altitude of just over 2,900m on a gentle slope high above the Humla Karnali River, Simikot lies on an ancient trade-cum-pilgrimage route to Mount Kailash.{{Cite book |last=Lama |first=Tsewang |title=Kailash Mandala: A Pilgrim's Trekking Guide |publisher=Humla Conservation and Development Association |year=2002 |location=Kathmandu}} Mount Kailash is located in the Purang County of the Tibetan Autonomous Region, China, which borders Humla district of Nepal to the north. In the April 2015 Nepal earthquake, the popular Tatopani-Zhangmu route for the pilgrimage to Mount Kailash was badly damaged.{{Cite web |last=Cowan |first=Sam |date=August 26, 2021 |title=The Araniko Highway conundrum |url=https://www.recordnepal.com/the-araniko-highway-conundrum |access-date=August 3, 2022}} In the aftermath of this earthquake the traffic for the annual pilgrimage to Mount Kailash shifted to Humla. Pilgrims would fly from Kathmandu to Nepalgunj, and then from Nepalgunj to Simikot. At Simikot, they would either spend a night in this village's few hotels, or would straightaway be taken in helicopter flights to Hilsa, from where they would cross into Tibet (China).{{Cite book |last=Bubriski |first=Kevin |title=Kailash Yatra: a Long Walk to Mt Kailash through Humla |last2=Pandey |first2=Abhimanyu |publisher=Penguin Random House |year=2018 |location=New Delhi}}
Transport
Access to Simikot from developed parts of Nepal is mainly by air. Simikot Airport's relatively short {{convert|549|m|ft|-1}} runway at nearly 3,000 metre elevation requires passenger planes with STOL characteristics such as Dornier Do 28 and de Havilland Twin Otter.
Roads from the south have only reached Jumla {{convert|86|km|mi|0}} to the southeast, however a rough road has been built from the Tibet Autonomous Region border crossing at Hilsa, {{convert|51|km|mi|0}} WNW
Media
Simikot has two Community radio Stations: Radio Karnali Aawaj at 94.2 MHz and Radio Kailash at 103.4 MHz.
See also
- [http://www.un.org.np/sites/default/files/maps/district_maps/Humla.pdf UN map of Humla District]
- {{cite book |last=Thubron |first=Colin |year=2011 |title=To a Mountain in Tibet
|url=http://www.harpercollins.com/browseinside/index.aspx?isbn13=9780061768262 |location=New York |publisher=Harper Collins |access-date=Dec 14, 2013}}
- Bubriski, Kevin and Abhimanyu Pandey (2018). [https://lib.icimod.org/record/33919 Kailash Yatra: a Long Walk to Mt Kailash through Humla.] New Delhi: Penguin Random House.