VERNACULAR

ARCHITECTURE OF NEPAL
 THAKALI ARCHITECTURE

• The Thakali group originated from the Thak Khola region of the Mustang district
in the Dhaulagiri zone of Nepal. The region receives very little rainfall and it is
extremely cold during most of the year, with temperatures dropping
significantly at night. Due to dry climates, their houses are typical for the semi-
desert, trans-Himalayan region.
 THAKALI HOUSES

The essential design feature of Thakali house is

presence of enclosed courtyard and use of
ground floor for grain storage rooms/ animal
barns. Kitchen is usually located on the ground
Entrance and Interior Court of
floor, abounding in a variety of shiny brass pots
Thakali House, Nepal (Source:
displayed on shelves around the room. The
http://www.toptravelleads.com)
wealthy Thakali houses usually have spacious
interior courtyards entered through gate
located
below elaborately carved wooden balconies.
 Interior view, Thakali House (Source: http://www.toptravelleads.com)

The upper floor consists of sleeping rooms, family chapel room, additional storage rooms as
well as the main living quarters including another kitchen area, typically containing a
ceremonial fire pit. The ceremonial, ornamental fireplace is put up by the Thakalis only
symbolically that no fire is ever lit in it. In wealthy Thakali houses, the second floor rooms are
entered through fine wooden gallery, typically built around the entire interior perimeter of the
house. Structurally, timber would always be used extensively, and a uniquely cut and colored
T-post, serving the function of a ceiling supporting structural member, is found in every Thakali
house.
The houses have flat mud roofs due to minimum rainfall of the region and this mud
construction also helps to maintain the temperature balance inside the houses. The
flat roof accessible by characteristic tree trunk ladders is multipurpose social space
which is also suitable for drying of grains. It’s interesting to note that social and
economic status of the house owners are indicated by quantity of stacks of wood
piled along the walls and on top of the flat roofs of the houses.

Use of Spaces in Thakali Architecture (Source: http://www.toptravelleads.com)