Official Name: | Gwallek |
Native Name: | ग्वाल्लेक |
Settlement Type: | Village development committee |
Pushpin Map: | Nepal |
Pushpin Label Position: | bottom |
Pushpin Mapsize: | 300 |
Pushpin Map Caption: | Location in Nepal |
Subdivision Type: | Country |
Subdivision Name: | Nepal |
Subdivision Type1: | Zone |
Subdivision Name1: | Mahakali Zone |
Subdivision Type2: | District |
Subdivision Name2: | Baitadi District |
Population As Of: | 1991 |
Population Total: | 2971 |
Population Density Km2: | auto |
Population Blank1 Title: | Ethnicities |
Population Blank2 Title: | Religions |
Population Blank2: | Hindu |
Timezone: | Nepal Time |
Utc Offset: | +5:45 |
Coordinates: | 29.51°N 80.43°W |
Gwallek is a village development committee in Baitadi District in the Mahakali Zone of western Nepal. At the time of the 1991 Nepal census it had a population of 2,971 and had 549 houses in the village.[1]
Gwallek is home to the Gwallek Kedar sacred forest, which enshrouds the Gwallek Kedar mountain and houses the shrine of the deity Kedar, also known as Mahadev. Gwallek Kedar is considered the most important of the four 'Kedar' abodes found in this region straddling the Indo-Nepal border, the other three being Raula Kedar (also in district Baitadi, Nepal), Thagel Kedar (in district Pithoragarh, India), and Dhaj kedar (also in district Pithoragarh, India). A detailed report on the cultural significance of the Gwallek Kedar sacred forest is available online from a study conducted by ICIMOD in 2016.[2]