Olangchung Gola (locally as Walung or Holung, , historically transcribed as Wallanchoon) is a village (previously: a village development committee) in ward no. 7 of

Phaktanglung Phaktanglung is a Rural municipality (Gaunpalika) located in Taplejung District in Province No. 1 of eastern Nepal. The local body was formed by merging seven previous VDCs namely Sawadin, Khejenim, Linkhim, Ikhabu, Tapethok, Lelep, Olangc ...

rural municipality of

Taplejung District Taplejung District ( ne, ताप्लेजुङ जिल्ला ) is one of 77 districts of Nepal and one of the 14 districts of Province No. 1. It is remotely located in the Himalayas in Eastern Nepal with Tibet to the north across the ...

Province No. 1 Province No. 1 (proposed names: Kirat Autonomous State, Kirat, Limbuwan, Khambuwan Rashtriya Morcha, Nepal, Khambuwan, Mount Everest, Sagarmatha, Virata, Birat and Koshi River, Koshi) is the easternmost of the seven Provinces of Nepal, province ...

in Nepal. Olangchung is surrounded by Lelep village to the east and

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...

to the north,

Sankhuwasabha District Sankhuwasabha District ( ne, सङ्खुवासभा जिल्ला ) is one of 14 districts of Province No. 1 of eastern Nepal. The district's area is 3,480 km2 with a population of 159,203 in 2001 and 158,742 in 2011 ...

to west and Mikkwakhola rural municipality to south. It is located to the north of

Tamor River The Tamor River is a major river in eastern Nepal, which begins around Kanchenjunga. The Tamor and the Arun join the Sun Koshi at Tribenighat to form the giant Saptakoshi which flows through Mahabharat Range on to the Gangetic plain Koshi river ...

in the mountainous area in the northwest of Taplejung District bordering

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

. Lately the river flowing next to the village is gradually expanding towards the village posing a serious threat of submerging the village. Olangchung Gola is the last village before crossing the Lumbasumba La pass to the west to the remote village of Thudam along the high Great Himalayan Trail system. There is one lodge for trekkers with camping space in Olangchung Gola.

Etymology

''Gola'' means "market" in the local language. In fact, the name "Olangchung" came from a folklore involving a wolf and a trader.

History

The area was once a strategic place between

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...

and

Sikkim Sikkim (; ) is a state in Northeastern India. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China in the north and northeast, Bhutan in the east, Province No. 1 of Nepal in the west and West Bengal in the south. Sikkim is also close to the Siligur ...

. Historically Tipta La (), also called the Walung Chung Pass, was an important trade route to Tibet. In addition, Olangchung Gola was the trade hub for surrounding villages such as Yangma,

Ghunsa Ghunsa () is a village of Taplejung, Nepal at elevation of 3,475 m and is a major check point for Mt. Kangchenjunga. This village came into attention after the helicopter accident that killed 24 passengers including most prominent figures in conser ...

, Khangbachey, Lungthung, Lelep. In 1775, a treaty with Sikkim was negotiated at this location, in the presence of Tibetan representatives. However, Nepalese sources state that Tibet and Nepal were the chief signatories. The border was apparently set at the

Kankai River The Kankai River ( ne, कन्काई नदी, also referred to as Kankai Mai or Mai Khola) is a trans-boundary river flowing through the hills of Ilam and the plains of the Jhapa District in Nepal. A holy river for many Hindus living ...

. But soon afterwards, Nepal occupied Ilam, giving rise to Sikkimese grievance. In 1892, the Sikkimese ruler

Thutob Namgyal Thutob Namgyal ( Sikkimese: ; Wylie: ''mthu-stobs rnam-rgyal'') (1860 – 11 February 1914) was the ruling chogyal (monarch) of Sikkim between 1874 and 1914. Thutob ascended to the throne succeeding his half-brother Sidkeong Namgyal who died ...

, peeved by the ill-treatment accorded by

British Raj The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was himsel ...

, went into hiding here, ready to escape into Tibet. However, Tibet refused entry, and he was eventually arrested by the Nepalese and returned to British India.

Transportation

In late 2016, China built a road connection on their side to the border at Tiptala Bhanjyang (Tipta La). In June 2017, Chinese construction crew constructed a dirt track from the border to Olangchung Gola, the funding of which was provided by local Nepali consumers' committee. In 2019, the Chinese government allocated addition funding to upgrade the road. In the other direction, construction of the road connecting Phungling Municipality began in early 2018.

People

The Walung people are the indigenous inhabitants of the region around Olangchung Gola. They are descended from Tibetan traders and practice

Nyingmapa Buddhism Nyingma (literally 'old school') is the oldest of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. It is also often referred to as ''Ngangyur'' (, ), "order of the ancient translations". The Nyingma school is founded on the first lineages and transl ...

. A large monastery, Deki Chholing

Gompa A Gompa or Gönpa ( "remote place", Sanskrit ''araṇya''), also known as ling (), is a Buddhism, Buddhist ecclesiastical fortification of learning, lineage and sādhanā that may be understood as a conflation of a fortification, a vihara and a ...

, was built 450 years ago sits on top of the village. At the time of the

1991 Nepal census The 1991 Nepal census was a widespread national census conducted by the Nepal Central Bureau of Statistics. Working with Nepal's Village Development Committees at a district level, they recorded data from all the main towns and villages of each ...

it had a population of 422 people living in 82 individual households. According to

2011 Nepal census Nepal conducted a widespread national census in 2011 by the Nepal Central Bureau of Statistics. Working with the 58 municipalities and the 3915 Village Development Committees at a district level, they recorded data from all the municipalities an ...

239 people live in 62 individual households.Households and population by village development committees/municipalities., Central Bureau of Statistics, Nepal

Notable People

Dr. Sanduk Ruit a veteran

ophthalmologist Ophthalmology ( ) is a surgery, surgical subspecialty within medicine that deals with the diagnosis and treatment of eye disorders. An ophthalmologist is a physician who undergoes subspecialty training in medical and surgical eye care. Followin ...

was born in Olangchung Gola.

References

Steinmann, B. 1988, Les Marches tibétaines du Népal. Etat, chefferie et société traditionnels à travers le récit d'un notable népalais. Paris, l'Harmattan.

External links

UN map of the municipalities of Taplejung District
Populated places in Taplejung District {{Taplejung-geo-stub