Far Western (Sudur Pashchimanchal) Region, Nepal

The Far Western (Sudur Pashchimanchal) Region is one of the five development regions of Nepal, and as the name would suggest the region is to the extreme west of the country. The administrative headquarters for the region is located in the city of Dipayal, also known as Dipayal Silgadhi, which is in the Doti District of the Far Western Region's Seti Zone.

The Far Western Region of Nepal is sometimes referred to as the Doti region, a word which some believe originated from ‘Dovati’ meaning the land between two rivers, while others are of the opinion that it originated from the Hindu god Dev, and aatavi, meaning the place of re-creation. While it may not be clear as to the origin of the name, there is no denying that the area has an ancient and fascinating history, going back to the 13th century when Niranjan Malldeo founded the Doti Kingdom following the fall of Karyuris Kingdom. Dotiyali is still spoken in the Far Western Region, and is considered to be a Nepali Dialect.

A popular tourist destination in the Far Western Region is the town of Mahendranagar, located in the Kanchanpur district in the Mahakali Zone of Nepal. It is the eighth largest city of the country – the other seven being (in order), Kathmandu, Pokhara, Lalitpur, Biratnagar, Dharan, Birganj and Bharatpur – and is situated five kilometers east of the Indian border. Mahendranagar is the main commercial center of its zone, providing education and health care services, as well as employment opportunities to inhabitants of the region.

The Far Western (Sudur Pashchimanchal) Region incorporates the Shuklaphanta Wildlife Reserve, home to one of the largest herds of golden swamp deer, or barasingha, which are considered to be endangered. Other animals that visitors to the Shuklaphanta Wildlife Reserve may come across include elephant, blue bull, leopard, tiger, hog deer and wild boar.

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