Pristine Kandule house luring tourists in Palpa

Kandule house: File photo

It appears that many things are disappearing from this world. It may be cultures, ancient architectural designs, tribal languages, and religious practices.

The postmodern mode of life has paved the way for new comforts of life that have directly and indirectly impelled human life to adapt to new patterns of life including the new type of houses made up of cement, woods, glasses and many more. The ancient design of houses is losing grounds in modern times. However, many people are bent on preserving the things which are on the verge of extinction.

So, the conservation campaigns continue to thrive simultaneously. In Nepal Palpa district is one of the ancient districts that are home to various ancient things. So, today we introduce you to one of the ancient types of houses found in Palpa that has attracted many tourists including internal and external ones. About 70 km away from district headquarter Tansen of Palpa is located a sparsely spread population of Magars at Khandar who are the ancient indigenous tribes of Nepal.

This ancient village of Khandar has few houses which are called “Kandule houses” which are made up of mud, round in shape with a thatched roof in a conical shape with just one door as an entrance. There is a limited number of rooms inside the house, but the house is very suitable for both cold and hot seasons.

The top hills of this village offer a spectacular view of the southern parts of the terai region and in the northern parts can be seen beautiful glimpses of mountains. Domestic as well as foreign tourists have started flocking to this village to watch these rare houses of Magar people in Palpa these days.

After the influx of tourists to this area to see these houses, the villagers have taken initiatives to protect and preserve these Kandule houses.

That’s why Chairman Mukta Bahadur Saru of the rural municipality has taken his stance to preserve these houses. Such houses are usually seen in the festivals, but now they are being preserved as a valuable means of attractions for tourists and more as tourism products in the village.

Mostly the rural municipalities of Rambha, Mathadevei, Rainadevi, and Chhara can be seen with few such houses. The Nisdi municipality which has several such houses beautifies the village and makes the village more attractive to look at. These ancient types of houses are associated with Magar culture in this village.