Phidim Municipality is the headquarters of the

Panchthar District Panchthar district ( ne, पाँचथर जिल्ला) is one of 14 districts of Province No. 1 of eastern hilly region of Nepal. It is a Hill district of eastern Nepal. The district covers of area. The 2011 census counted 191,817 pop ...

in 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 ...

of eastern

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 ...

. Phidim was upgraded to a 'municipality' from a 'village', when a development committee merged with other VDCs ( village development committees) - including the Phidim,

Chokmagu Chokmagu is a market center of Phidim Municipality in Panchthar District in the Province No. 1 in eastern Nepal. It was annexed to Phidim on 18 May 2014 to form the municipality. At the time of the 1991 Nepal census The 1991 Nepal census was a ...

and Siwa villages - on May 18, 2014. It offers a route for trekkers and locals, who travel to and from the

Taplejung 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 ...

district bordering with the

Tibetan Autonomous Region The Tibet Autonomous Region or Xizang Autonomous Region, often shortened to Tibet or Xizang, is a province-level autonomous region of the People's Republic of China in Southwest China. It was overlayed on the traditional Tibetan regions of Ü ...

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 ...

. It is also a commercial hub for the rural surroundings.

Transport

Phidim is connected to the rest of the country through the

Mechi Highway Mechi Highway ( Nepali: मेची राजमार्ग) is a two-lane freeway in Eastern Nepal, spanning about 268 kilometers in length. The highway connects all the districts of Mechi zone, hence the name ''Mechi''. It runs from the VDC of ...

, a road which begins in

Kechana Kechana is a village development committee in Jhapa District in the Province No. 1 of south-eastern Nepal. At the time of the 1991 Nepal census The 1991 Nepal census was a widespread national census conducted by the Nepal Central Bureau of St ...

Jhapa Jhapa ( ne, झापा जिल्ला; ) is a district of Province No. 1 in eastern Nepal named after a Rajbanshi word "Jhapa" meaning "to cover" (verb). The latest official data, the 2021 Nepal Census, puts the total population of the d ...

district and ends in

Phungling Phungling Municipality (previously also ''Taplejung Municipality'') is a municipality located in Taplejung District in the Province No. 1 of Nepal. The municipality was formed merging the then two Village Development Committees of Phungling and ...

. Passenger buses and jeeps to Phidim are available at

Birtamod Birtamod (Nepali: बिर्तामोड नगरपालिका) is a municipality in Jhapa District of Nepal. It is the commercial, educational and transport hub of Jhapa District. Sarnamati Bazar, Dhulabari Bazar, Dhaijan Bazar, Char ...

and Ilam. A new Madhya Pahadi Rajmargha connects Phidim to the Athrai Rular Municipality of Terhathum district, which is linked to

Koshi Highway Koshi Highway ( ne, कोशी राजमार्ग) or H08 is a 390 km long planned highway located in Province No. 1 of Nepal. It is north-south highway which is understood to be shortest highway which connects India to China across ...

Myanglung Myanglung ( ne, म्याङलुङ) is a municipality and the district headquarters of Terhathum District of Province No. 1 in eastern Nepal. The municipality is situated at an elevation of about 1500 metres above sea level. Myanglung was ...

(headquarters of Terhathum District). Madhya Pahadi Rajmargha, one of the roads linking east and west Nepal through hilly areas, starts from the Panchthar district and is connected to Phidim. Koshi Corridor which is under construction connects Phidim directly to

Dharan Dharan ( ne, धरान) a sub-metropolitan city in Sunsari District of Province No. 1, Nepal, which was established as a fourth municipality in the Kingdom in 1958. It is the third most populous city in Eastern Nepal after Biratnagar and It ...

in less than 5 hours which is also the shortest route to terai region. Phidim has hotels and inns for accommodation and food.

Geography

Phidim is within a valley in the foothills of the

Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 100 ...

in eastern Nepal. It is a hill township. Phidim is a six-hour drive from

through a winding road via Ilam. Phidim, offers views of the

Himalaya The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 100 ...

and other hills. Phidim is characterized by tin-roofed houses and small concrete buildings. Two rivers —Phewa and Hewa— surround the hill where the town is located. Phidim

Demography

At the time of the

2001 Nepal census The 2001 Nepal census ( ne, राष्ट्रिय जनगणना २०५८) was conducted by the Nepal Central Bureau of Statistics.National Report 2001 -> Introduction Nepal Central Bureau of Statistics According to the census, the po ...

, Phidim had a population of 13,652 people. The inhabitants are Limbu, Magar, Yakha,

Gurung Gurung (exonym; ) or Tamu (endonym; Gurung: ) are an ethnic group indigenous to the hills and mountains of Gandaki Province of Nepal. Gurung people predominantly live around the Annapurna region in Manang, Mustang, Dolpo, Kaski, Lamjung, Gorkha, ...

Rai RAI – Radiotelevisione italiana (; commercially styled as Rai since 2000; known until 1954 as Radio Audizioni Italiane) is the national public broadcasting company of Italy, owned by the Ministry of Economy and Finance. RAI operates many ter ...

Tamang The Tamang (; Devanagari: तामाङ; ''tāmāṅ'') are an Tibeto-Burmese ethnic group of Nepal. In Nepal Tamang/Moormi people constitute 5.6% of the Nepalese population at over 1.3 million in 2001, increasing to 1,539,830 as of the 2011 c ...

, so-called

Dalit Dalit (from sa, दलित, dalita meaning "broken/scattered"), also previously known as untouchable, is the lowest stratum of the Caste system in India, castes in India. Dalits were excluded from the four-fold Varna (Hinduism), varna syste ...

Brahmin Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests (purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers (guru ...

and

Newar Newar (; new, नेवार, endonym: Newa; new, नेवा, Pracalit script:) or Nepami, are the historical inhabitants of the Kathmandu Valley and its surrounding areas in Nepal and the creators of its historic heritage and civilisatio ...

, which makes it one of the most culturally diverse places in eastern Nepal.

Climate

The climate of Phidim remains warm during the summer and is mild in the winter. Maximum temperature in the summer is 35 °C, whereas in winter, it falls to 5 °C.

Economy

Because of its fertile soil and irrigation, Phidim produces rice, potato, cardamom and tea. Kanchenjunga Tea Estate, one of major producers of

Nepal tea Nepali tea is a beverage made from the leaves of tea plants (''Camellia sinensis'') grown in Nepal. They are distinctive in appearance, aroma and taste, but are similar in many ways to tea produced in Darjeeling tea, perhaps because the eastern ...

, has a field office in Phidim.

Incidents

February 5, 2010: A fire that started from a hotel in Phidim killed three people. Property worth 2 million rupees were estimated to be damaged. It was reported that three dozen people were inside three hotels when it caught on fire, which was later extinguished by local security forces.

Media

Phidim has three

community radio Community radio is a radio service offering a third model of radio broadcasting in addition to commercial and public broadcasting. Community stations serve geographic communities and communities of interest. They broadcast content that is popular ...

stations: Radio Sumatlung - 104.2 MHz, Eagle FM and Singhalila FM - 97.3 MHz. 2 weekly Newspaper ''Public Post'' started around 2009 and Miklajung awaj started in 2 February, 2016.

References

External links

Phidim Today, a news portal run by Phidimese youth

How a peace corps volunteer boosted my morale

Phidim in pictures
{{Province No. 1 Populated places in Panchthar District Nepal municipalities established in 2014 Municipalities in Province No. 1 Municipalities in Panchthar District