Dolpo–Pa
Nomads of the Dolpo region, Nepal
Dolpo was said to be the last enclave of pure Tibetan culture. The Dolpo-pa maintain a way of life that has changed little from that of the Chang Tartars out of Central Asia, who are thought to have been the original Tibetans. Their speech echoes the tongue of nomads who may have arrived two thousand years ago
Dolpo is a region on the Nepalese side of the high Himalaya, on the Tibetan border
The Dolpo-pa make the journey north to the Chang Tang, on the Tibetan Plateau – to meet the Drok-pa from Tibet. They load their yaks with precious Himalayan rock salt from the great Tso lakes. This is where the "exchange of life" begins, on the roof of the world. Atter a second journey of several months to the south, at an altitude of between 4,000 to 5,200 meters – this salt will be exchanged for grain from the fertile valleys of Nepal.
Today the rhythm of their migration is changing but they remain one of the last nomadic caravans of the world
Dolpo: Be-yul a hidden land - the ancient route of the vital salt-grain trade, between the Tibetan plateau and the Nepalese valley. Map taken from Eric Valli’s book Himalaya
The journey north – from Saldang to Kyato Chongra
The Lake Drabye salt flats are located more than 150 miles north of the Nepalese border. The salt is collected on the edge of a seasonally flooded lake basin. The Drokpa of the Chang Tang bring the salt near the Nepalese border. (now mainly in trucks)
The Dolpo-pa must cross the high waters of the Tsangpo Chu (Brahmaputra) The yaks are strong enough to fight the current and swim across.
In Kyato Chongra, Thinle and the other caravanners from Saldang, Namdo, Komas, Gnisal, and Phiger come to meet them with their yaks loaded with corn and barley.
The Dolpo-pa cross the Tibetan border at the Khung La (pass). They leave the mountain chaos behind them and penetrate the Chang Tang's vast land. They hike until they see the caravanners / the Drokpa – their black yak hair tents on a grassy plain near a lake. This is where, as Thinle puts it, the "exchange of life" begins.
Loading the cargo of Himalayan salt onto the yaks;
Thinle greets the salt caravan, the life blood of the Himalaya, at Saldang;
Thinle spins yarn from sheep wool
Himalayan rock salt from Tibet is loaded onto the yaks and transported across the Himalaya.
The start of my journey with Thinle and his caravan craft here
On the journey south – where the salt will be exchanged for grain from the fertile valleys of Nepal.
Saldang, the highest inhabited village of the Dolpo region – is where the journey south began – and where I joined them - I wanted to witness this age-old exchange
Crossing 5 of the highest passes (all above 5000m) - to the Nepalese valley to trade. The second step of the salt voyage, which would have us climb over the highest mountain passes on the planet and lead us from the high plateaus to the valleys, was about to begin.
Two days before the grand departure, the lamas presented offerings to the gods and distributed amulets to protect the caravan from avalanches and evil spirits.
A Dolpo-pa woman wears a tik-pu, a silver Tibetan headdress worn by married women in Dolpo. Saldang, Dolpo
A Dolpo-pa man and his grandson in the high altitude village of Saldang, against the deep blue Himalayan sky. Dolpo
“In the words of local nomads, the winter sky that once brought predictable white from above sky now shimmers in cloudless blue, day after day. Winds that once brought predictably furious precipitation from the monsoon’s distant force, now bring only more azure skies, more winds; and the sharp toothed peaks which for so long remained encased in gleaming snow-bound glory, now show ever-widening patches of exposed rock. The mighty snows are not coming as they once did here and with their absence, the silver snow-streams and glacial run-offs, the very water that irrigates and provides is proving scarce.”
Caravans all head towards the Baga La pass
Women carrying babies and yaks carrying salt climb in deep fresh snow
Here, everything: the climate, landscape, language, lifestyle, spirit, and even the colour of the sky, was so different to anywhere else I’d been before – Dolpo, in the high altitude, arid, windswept, frozen mountains.
The Immensity, the thin air… the passing eagles, climbing the highest passes in the world on this perilous journey – with a people who call this place home.
Accounting for all its many legs, this trip means five months of absence. Only the richest, the oldest, and the weakest remain in the deserted village.
Each caravan is a community in its entirety, comprising an extended family group with new-borns and elders, with their yaks and sheep.
Need to craft here - my story with them
Thinle’s caravan crossing the Baga La pass at 5,169m in freezing wind - carrying wood for building in the high altitude villages
The powdery, waist-high snow that we fought through crossing he Baga La pass
A yak had been lost in the night.
Mountains covered with icy snow sparkled at the summit or the passes…..
Need to craft here - my story with them
A family on the move through the arid landscape
The Himalaya, with its dramatic contrasts and harsh climate, a high mountain world, a gigantic barrier of rock and snow - feels vast, hostile and impassable. But since the dawn of time, it has been a place of passage, a formidable junction between two civilizations, two religions, two worlds of the Dolpo-pa and the Rong-pa.
a family on the move through the arid landscape
Facing freezing winds - the snow burns their skin black on their hands
The women rub yak butter on their faces and the yaks’ horns - to protect them from the bitterness. They also coat their hair in the butter before they braid it, intertwining it with yak hair.
One of the many yak caravans on the ancient grain-salt trade route between Tibet and Nepal;
Yak loaded with sacks of salt showing the traditional wooden charu used to tie the cargo together and traditional red pommel tied onto the yak horns
The thin oxygen imposes a silence cut by the tinkling of bells, the clacking of slingshots, a cry, a piercing whistle, and the powerful breathing of beasts. The Dolpo-pa sing to their yaks to keep up morale and pace as they move, their singing and the jingling bells around the yak necks ringing out into the vast landscape.
Yaks sometimes fall off the precipitous trails on steep slopes barely wide enough for a single yak to pass with its load.
Thinle’s caravan on the ancient grain-salt trade route
Thinle is full of fire and spontaneity. Some say that his mouth is sometimes too quick, but that his heart is good. Thinle knows how to deal with yaks. Like his Drok-pa ancestors - the nomads from the high Tibetan Plateau - he cannot imagine a life without the animals that he urges on at the rhythm of the seasons, searching for salt, grain, and pastures. In Tibet, the great yak caravans are slowly being replaced by trucks, but in Dolpo the animals still play a crucial role. They nourish the heart of the Himalaya
The country of grain is not far away. Soon, we will arrive at the home of the Rong-pa, originally from India, with fine features and skin darker than that of the Dolpo-pa. There once again, on the fringes of India and Tibet, the exchange of life will take place, the trade of salt for grain, the meeting of two civilizations.
The Dolpo-pa have trading in their blood - trade in a few villages – a few days to negotiate in each village
Camp life along the trade route;
Hand-made woven sacks are sewn together to keep them closed on the journey;
Mother packing up blankets beside a pile of juniper that will be burnt to appeal to the spirits of the mountains for a safe passage
In defiance of the relentlessly harsh climate, some of the Dolpo-pa sleep in the open, around a fire. They submerge themselves under layers of blankets and skins, piling their sacks around them to offer shelter from the biting wind. Yak butter tea with tsampa barley flour shifts the chill that engulfs the bones on these glacial nights that freeze
The caravan makes its way around Poksundo Tso lake
We have crossed the last pass and dropped down into lower Dolpo – skirting the beautiful Poksundo Tso lake - a passage leading from one world to another.
More to add / craft here of my story with them
I don’t know about having these two in??? I like the portrait one – as it’s leaving behind the moiuntains…
Camp life along the trade route;
Hand-made woven sacks are sewn together to keep them closed on the journey;
Mother packing up blankets beside a pile of juniper that will be burnt to appeal to the spirits of the mountains for a safe passage
The white, frozen mountains have given way to the first sight of trees, the smell of fertile earth and pine needles, the bird song and the sound of running water. We’ve left behind the relentless icy winds, deep snow and the highest peaks in the world.
Today the Dolpo-Pa’s way of life is under threat. Previously free to move and trade, the last 10 years have seen increased restrictions from the Chinese and Nepalese governments, and state-subsidised Indian salt has undermined the market for Tibetan rock salt. China’s colossal Belt and Road Initiative is transforming access through the region, with new road infrastructure being built to connect China with the world, making this ancient trade route across the Himalaya potentially redundant.
In Tibet, the great yak caravans have been replaced by trucks, but in Dolpo the animals still play a crucial role for now. They nourish the heart of the Himalaya.