Ways of Life in Himalayas Region

The Himalayas region lies in the northern part of Nepal. It contains only about 7.3% of the total popua;tion of Nepal. The mountain ranges are over 3300m high and the general topography is rugged with steep slopes. the top soil is full of large and small rock materails. Here, the climate is cold throughout the year. Rainfall occurs in the from of snow in the higher altitudes whereas frost covers the ground in the lower altitude in winter. In such a type of physical environment, the life of the people is very hard and soil also is not good for agriculture. Barley and buck wheat are the main crops besides potatoes.

The people living in the mountain are short statured with strong legs and broad chest. They wear thick and rough cotton and woolen clothes to protect themselves from thesevere cold. They also wear woolman socks arid docha(knee-long leather shoes, made locally) . Most of the people even males keep their hair long because it also protects their head from cold wind. They drink a lot of hot tea made of salt and ghee to keep themselves warm. Drinking liquor or chhang(rice-beer) is common. The people live is clustered hamlets. About 30-40 houses are clustered together. Houses are made up of stones with mostly mud roof. As most of the time of the day there blows strong chilly wind, houses have hardly one or two tony windows and that too on the roof top for ventilation and light. Houses are made on the slopes close to ane another. But in some villages, where the land for settlement is limited, houses are made so close to one another that the roof of each lower house becomes the yard of the houses built on the upper slope.