Phungling Municipality (previously also ''Taplejung Municipality'') is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

located in

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

. The municipality was formed merging the then two Village Development Committees of Phungling and Dokhu in May 2014. At the time of the

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 ...

it had a population of 19,085 people and 4,480 individual households.

Background

Phungling was a Village Development Committee along with other 49 VDCs in

before 2014. At the time of

, it had total population of 14,974 individuals and 3571 households. On 8 May 2014, Government of Nepal announced 72 new municipalities. The government merged 283 VDCs to create 72 new municipalities. Dokhu VDC was merged with Phungling VDC to form new Taplejung Municipality. On 10 March 2017, Nepal restructured the old administrative system into 753 new local level body thus Hangdeva, Phurumbu and Phawakhola VDCs merged with the then Taplejung municipality and renamed it as Phungling Municipality. After merging more VDCs to the old Taplejung municipality the total area increased to and total population became 26,406. It is located at 27°21'0N 87°40'0E with an altitude of 1441 metres (4730 feet).Taplejung, Nepal Page - Falling Rain Genomics
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Demography

The main inhabitants in Phungling are Limbu, Chhetri, Tamang, Brahman, Sherpa, Bhote, Newar, and Gurung.

Transportation

Phungling Municipality is linked with roadway and airway. It is connected to 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 268-km road which begins in

Kechana Kechana is a Village development committee (Nepal), village development committee in Jhapa District in the Province No. 1 of south-eastern Nepal. At the time of the 1991 Nepal census it had a population of 4420 people living in 948 individual hou ...

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 Taplejung. Passenger buses and jeeps to Taplejung are easily available in

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 ...

. Suketar Airport has flights from Biratnagar and Kathmandu.

Media

To promote local culture Phungling has 3 FM radio stations: Radio Tamor - 102.0 MHz which is a

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 ...

station, Taplejung F.M. - 94.0 MHz and Radio Faktanglung 89.8 MHz.

Pathibhara Devi Temple

One of the major attractions is the

Pathibhara Devi Temple Pathibhara Devi (in Nepali: पाथिभरा देवी मन्दिर, in Limbu: Mukkumlung) is one of the most significant temples in Nepal, located on the hill of Taplejung. It is also considered one of the holy places for the Nep ...

. This little-known region attracts tourists seeking spiritual fulfillment and blessings from the powerful Pathibhara Devi. Kiranti, Hindus and Buddhists reach the temple for celebrations during special occasions. The trek to pathibhara Devi (3794 m) combined with the natural and cultural experiences of the region make the visit a unique exhilarating experience. It takes a day to reach the temple on foot from Taplejung Bazaar. On the way to the temple are many species of rhododendron which are unique.

Climate

Phungling has a

subtropical highland climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ( ...

(Cwb) with cool, dry winters and warm, rainy summers.

Notable person

Chhurim Chhurim is a Nepali mountaineer and the first woman to climb Mount Everest twice in the same season, a feat which was verified by the ''Guinness Book of World Records'' in 2013. She accomplished this feat in 2012, climbing Everest on May 12 and ...

, mountaineer, first woman to climb Everest twice in the same season. *

Te-ongsi Sirijunga Xin Thebe Tye-Angsi Sirijanga Sing Thebe Limbu was an 18th-century Limbu scholar, educator, historian, linguist, leader, and philosopher of Limbuwan and Sikkim. He was formally known as ''Sirichongba'' and even more popularly known as "Sirijanga." Life ...

: Limbu martyr and legend. * Til Kumar Menyangbo Limbu: Politician *

Surya Man Gurung Surya Man Gurung is a Nepalese politician, district president of the Nepali Congress in Taplejung District. He contested the 1999 legislative election in the Taplejung-1 constituency, but was defeated by the CPN(UML) candidate Til Kumar Menyang ...

:Politician *

Sanduk Ruit Sanduk Ruit ( ne, सन्दुक रूइत, , born September 4, 1954) is an ophthalmologist (eye surgeon) from Nepal who has restored the sight of over 180,000 people across Africa and Asia using small-incision cataract surgery. Ruit is ...

References

External links

UN map of the municipalities of Taplejung District
{{Province No. 1 Populated places in Taplejung District Nepal municipalities established in 2014 Municipalities in Province No. 1 Hill stations in Nepal Municipalities in Taplejung District