BOOK REVIEW of HUMLA-Journey into the Hidden Shangri-La

FACTS THROUGH PHOTOGRAPHS

(English translation of the review by Kamal Maden)

http://nepalihimal.com/article/14680

Book-HUMLA: Journey into the Hidden Shangri-La
(People-Culture-Landscape-Wildlife)

Text/photographs: Naresh Kusi and Geraldine Werhahn

Publisher: Himalayan Map House

Pages: 128

Price: USD 28.99 (outside Nepal) and NPR 2000 (Nepal)

After a 55 minutes flight from Nepalgunj, the black-topped airfield of Simkot welcomes you to Humla. The district headquarter is where the foot trail to Limi valley starts. Walk north-west to reach Dharapori on the first day. You will make it to Okharthala/Kermi on the second day. Walk two more days towards the north and the wide valley of Talung opens up. Limi valley, one of the remotest places in Nepal, comes into scene from Talung. After another day of walk to the north, the trail turns west. You need to walk two more days to cover the three villages of Limi, the boundary of which is extended upto Namka la (pass). 

Limi is considered the 'Shangri-La' of Humla, a remote district in the Karnali zone of mid-western development region. The valley is situated between 3700-4100 masl. A thin population of 904 people live in 181 households of Limi (National population census 2011), the culture of which is dictated by a strict monastic system. The arid Transhimalayan high altitude valleys of Limi are inhospitable for humans. These valleys are the grazing grounds of a fascinating assemblage of rare ungulates like wild yak, Tibetan wild ass/kiang, argali, Tibetan gazelle and their predators like snow leopard, Himalayan wolf, brown bear, Tibetan fox and red fox.

Opened to foreigners only in 2002 by the Government of Nepal, the sacred land of Limi still sees only a few tourists. This settlement is considered very ideal to study the traditional culture of Tibetan Buddhism, where it is preserved better than in other similar Himalayan valleys of Nepal.

The valley is also known to be important in terms of a unique biodiversity it houses. The pictorial book 'HUMLA: Journey into the Hidden Shangri-La' by wildlife biologists Naresh Kusi and Geraldine Werhahn is a proof to this.

A 2015 article in the journal Mammalia, published from France, mentioned the finding of wild yak to the north of Limi valley. This species was considered to have gone extinct in Nepal. Kusi and Werhahn, who are among the six authors of the article, made research expeditions to Limi in 2014-15 where the duo studied people, culture, landscape and wildlife.

Mammals

Big herds of Tibetan wild ass roam to the north of Limi valley. Known by the name Kiang in the Tibetan language (the same name is used in Nepali and English languages), its scientific name is Equus kiang. The animal, found only in the Transhimalayan valleys of higher Himalayas, is bigger than donkeys, its domestic relative. Its body is light brown and has white from legs up to the nose. The book presents beautiful photographs of kiangs grazing near Gyau khola (river) and running majestically in the steppes.

'The status of Nepal's mammals: The national red list series' published by the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation (DNPWC) mentions that kiangs are found only within Mustang district with an estimated national population less than 100 individuals. But the authors claim to have counted about 600 kiangs in Limi.

The book also sheds light on a new fact about Tibetan gazelle in Nepal. The Gazella picticaudata (Procapra picticaudata at present), described by the British resident Brain Hodgson in 1846, was also said to be found only in Mustang. But the animal, which is 60 cm at shoulder and has a body length of 120 cm was also found in Humla as well. 

Argali or Nayan is the biggest wild sheep. Available literature tells its presence only in Mustang district within the Annapurna Conservation Area. But the animal was also found in Chyakpalung area of Humla. The book lists 32 mammals in Humla of which 19 were observed while others were documented on the basis of signs like scats, fur, spines (Porcupine). This book has become the first book to publish the photo of wild yak in Nepal, a species that was considered extinct in the country. 

Birds

The authors list 132 species of birds in Humla including Limi valley. Interestingly, there is a photo of Tibetan Lark, a species that was not recorded for Nepal before. The bird found earlier between 3200-4600 masl in China, India and Pakistan was found between 4800-4950 masl in Limi. The authors saw not just a single individual but a flock of about 30 birds.

In 1844, Hodgson had mentioned the presence of Common Redshank, a wetland bird, in Nepal. This bird, common throughout the world, had not been seem breeding in Nepal. Kusi and Werhahn managed to capture breeding pairs and a chick in Tso (lake) Lamgyok  at 5010 masl.

A total of 74 species of birds, recorded less than 10 times in Nepal, are listed as vagrant. Ornithologists say that Black-necked Crane should be considered a vagrant for Nepal. But according to the people of Limi, the bird is seen in Ngin valley for more than six months of a year. Kusi also informed of seeing them for four months. Similarly the book also mentions the observations of Ashy Drongo, Intermediate Egret, Eurasian Cuckoo, Brown Fish Owl, Common Tern and Lesser Sand Plover in elevations higher than currently known.

Flora

British residents Oleg V. Polunin, William R. Sykes and L.H.J. Williams had been to Humla, Jumla and Dolpa in 1952 to collect herbarium specimens. According to senior botanist Keshab Rajbhandari, about 17,000 herbarium specimens were collected during that expedition. The collections are preserved in the British museum of London. Of these, Meconopsis simikotensis was collected from the bank of Dozam khola to the east of Simkot at 4270 masl while another species Ranunculus longicaulis was found near Simkot. 

Kusi and Werhahn did not collect herbarium specimens but documented the flora in photographs. They sent the photographs to Bhaskar Adhikari, Mark Watson and Colin Pendry, the botanists at Royal Botanic Garden of Edinburgh. Photographs of more than three dozen such high altitude flowers have been put in the book. But the scientific names of about a dozen are incomplete. For example, a flower of Cremanthodium sp. has been shown. But there are more than 14 species in the genus Cremanthodium in Nepal.

Limels (people of Limi) speak the western dialect of Tibetan language. The book has also made attempts to throw light on various aspects of Limi in 83 photographs (besides the flora and fauna).

To sum up, the book is an important document presenting the diversity of Limi valley, which is largely unknown to rest of the world. The authors have planned to spend their royalty for wildlife conservation in Limi valley, which is a commendable initiative in itself.