Tansen is a beautifully authentic hill-town located due south of Dhaulagiri Himal in West-Central Nepal. We include Tansen in many of our itineraries through this region because it combines spectacular views of the Himalaya and surrounding valleys, traditional architecture and lifestyles, very few tourists, and decent amenities. This is wonderfully relaxing central location for numerous spectacular day-hikes in the middle hills of Nepal. Tansen gets its name from the Magar language meaning "northern settlement". The Magar people were the original inhabitants of this region with their own unique culture, language and traditions. Tansen became the seat of the Kingdom of Palpa (it is still often referred to as "Palpa") under the Mukunda Sen of the Sen Dynasty during the middle sixteenth century. Palpa became very powerful during this time, ruling over a vast kingdom extending south into modern India and east to Kathmandu. Mukunda Sen even ransacked Kathmandu and carried off many treasures. In the late eighteenth century Palpa formed an alliance with Gorkha to the east-northeast. Under Prithvi Narayan Shah, Gorkha conquered most of Nepal and roughly established the boundaries of modern Nepal. Due to its allegiance with Gorkha, Palpa escaped rule by Gorkha until 1806 when it became the last region in Nepal to be annexed. Tansen is still the capital of the Palpa district and retains much of its past importance in west central Nepal with a university, one of the finest hospitals in Nepal, and spectacular architecture dating to its heyday in the eighteenth century.

Tansen is spectacularly situated on a horseshoe shaped flat perched high above the Madi Valley. Fifteen minutes walk directly north of the main part of the town is a ridgeline park and small town called Shrinagar that overlooks the town. From here are fabulous views over most of the middle hills (Photo) and on to the snow-capped high peaks of the Himalaya. If you get here in early morning, you can watch the clouds drop down into the surrounding valleys and create an awe inspiring vista of small hilltop towns poking through the clouds with the shining peaks of the Himalaya as a backdrop. This is one of the finest sites in Nepal! Shrinagar forest/park is quite large and has numerous walking trails with beautiful vistas, peaceful meadows, and a few small temples. Tansen itself is a compact town with a busy town center. It is charming with numerous small alleyways, steep cobblestone streets, and beautiful Newari style homes (photo). This has always been an important location for trade between the Kali Gandaki River to the north and India to the south and thus became one of the more important trading towns in Nepal. Many of the local inhabitants still rely on trade, although the building of the Siddhartha Highway, which runs 2 kilometers to the east, in the 1970’s greatly reduced the need for traders to come through Tansen. The town has very few vehicles because of the many very steep streets and doesn’t suffer from the smog problems of most other towns of its size in Nepal. We can supply you with a walking tour of the city which takes you to the palace, the anomalously flat ancient military parade grounds (which were literally carved out of the hill slopes), ancient bathing pools, the 1806 Amar Narayan Temple (considered one of the most beautiful pagoda style temples outside the Kathmandu valley) with its erotic carvings, and Tansen Durbar square.

Outside of Tansen are numerous day-hikes:

Rani Ghat – this is a 5-6 hour roundtrip hike due north of Tansen to the newly restored nineteenth century Rani Ghat Palace on the shores of the Kali Gandaki River. Renovations were finished in 1999 following nearly 70 years of abandonment. This palace seems to be taken directly out of an Indiana Jones movie, set in the jungle on a small protrusion of rock with steep slopes/cliffs above and below the palace. The trek is 7 kilometers (14-km roundtrip) downhill from Tansen through wonderfully terraced hills and hilltop towns, finally descending into a jungly gorge lined with waterfalls.

Ridi Bazaar – Ridi is a sacred town on the banks of the Kali Gandaki River 13 kilometers to the west-northwest of Tansen. Ridi was once a very important holy trading town and is still common to see pilgrims here to bath in the Kali Gandaki or cremate their dead. It is particularly well known for the Ekadashi of Khattik, which attracts many pilgrims and includes parades and dancing (Oct.-Nov.). Be sure to visit the eighth century Rishikesh Mandir (Hindu temple) which houses a small Vishnu idol that according to legend was pulled out of the river as a boy and has subsequently grown into an adult.

Ghorabanda – Ghorabanda is well known throughout Nepal for its pottery. It is 2 kilometers east of Tansen and is a thriving small town of Kumal (caste) potters. This is one of the finest places to see this age-old skill performed in its traditional setting.