Kaski District (Nepali: कास्की जिल्ला, [kaski] ), a part of Gandaki Province, is one of the seventy-seven districts of Nepal. The name is disambiguated from Kaskikot, the ancient Kaski Kingdom.
The district, with Pokhara as its district headquarter, covers an area of 2,017 square km and had a total population of 492,098 according to 2011 Census. This district lies at the centroid point of the country. The altitude of Kaski district ranges from 450 meters the lowest land to 8091 meters the highest point in the Himalaya range. Kaski District politically has One Metropolitan City, 4 Gaupalika and 3 electoral sectors.
The district covers parts of the Annapurna mountain range, and the picturesque scene of the mountains can be observed from most parts of the district. It is one of the best tourist destinations of Nepal. The district is full of rivers such as Seti Gandaki, Modi and Madi along with other rivulets. The district headquarters Pokhara lies about 750 m above the sea level. The district is known for the Himalayan range with about 11 Himalayas with height greater than 7000 m. The nearby peaks include Machhapuchhre (Virgin Peak - 6993m). The Annapurna Range in the northern side is always full of snow. The scenery of northern mountains, gorge of Seti River, Davis Falls, natural caves, Fewa Lake, Begnas Lake and Rupa Lake are both natural resources and tourist attractions.
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Etymology
Regarding Booring the origin of the name Kaski, there are many hypotheses; among them:
from Khās; Cas; Kas: Caus, referring to the Khās Rulers.
from Kashyap Rishi who spent his time in Kaskikot making ayurvedic grantha "Kashyap Sagita";
from koshkash, meaning a place with natural mineral resources;
from kacchad, a Nepali style of dress;
from Kashikot, the central part of Kaski.
History
In the early 1800s, the capital of Kaski was Batulechaur and that Sarangkot was a town with a fort.
Politics
All the governance and development of Kaski District are handled mainly by District Development Committee Kaski (DDC-Kaski).
Culture
The district is full of people with multi-language, multi-religion and multiple cultures. Different people have different foods, dresses and norms based on their caste and religion. Many places offer Home Stay for internal as well as international tourists along with performance of local dance according to caste and cultures.
According to the census of 2068 Kaski district has people of about 84 castes, 44 languages and 11 religions. The dressing style of people here matches with national dress. The main foods of people here are Dal-Bhat Tarkari, Roti, and Dhindo (These are typical Nepalese foods). The district is the common place of different castes such as Magars, Gurung, Brahmin, Chhetri, Newar, Thakali, Kumal and many more.
Sports
According to the District Sport Committee, Kaski District has one stadium, named Pokhara Rangashala, of about 417 Ropani of area and capacity of 21,000 spectators. Kaski has its reputation in generating sportsmen in the country.
Education
The major school in the district is Shree Tribhuvan Shanti Model Secondary School.
Tourism
Phewa Lake is a tourism destination in Nepal and the second biggest lake of Nepal with the area of 4.43 square km and a perimeter of 18 km (11 mi). Boating is possible in Phewa Lake and takes in the surrounding forest and settlements near it. The Tal Barahi temple is also situated at the middle of the lake.
Begnas Lake, at Lekhnath of Kaski district, is the third big lake of Nepal with the area of 3.73 square km. The lake is known for its pure water compared with other lakes and the view of Annapurna and Machhapuchhre.
Rupa Lake
Patale Chhango or Davis Falls: water falls located at Chorepatan-Pokhara.
Gupteshwor Mahadev Cave at Chorepatan-Pokhara is a religious and tourism destination.
Mahendra Cave at Bataulechaur has length of about 125 m. It has different images of Lord Shiva and Lord Ganesh and others that are natural.
Planeterium at Bataulechaur is a tourist location with different attractions, such as a planetarium, science center, mirror maze, and mystery house.
Seti River flows from Machhapuchhre Peak through gorges with the depth of about 200 feet.
Bindhabasini Temple is one of the most important religious destination of Nepal. Different Himalayas can be seen from this temple.
Sarangkot is known for views of the sunrise, sunset, views of Pokhara city and Paragliding. It is located at about 5500 feet.
Machhapuchhre is a mountain 6997m in height, known for its fish-tail structure. The peak is still not open for mountaineers.
Demographics
At the time of the 2021 Nepal census, Kaski District had a population of 600,051. 6.20% of the population is under 5 years of age. It has a literacy rate of 87.73% and a sex ratio of 1049 females per 1000 males. 513,504 (85.58%) lived in municipalities.
Khas people make up 60% of the population, of which Brahmins are the largest ethnicity. Khas Dalits are 17% of the population. Hill Janjatis are 33% of the population, mainly Gurung and Magar. Newars are 4% of the population, and foreigners (mainly in Pokhara city) are 1% of the population.
At the time of the 2021 census, 77.67% of the population spoke Nepali, 11.14% Gurung, 3.92% Magar, 1.91% Nepal Bhasha and 1.50% Tamang as their first language. In 2011, 78.5% of the population spoke Nepali as their first language.
Administration
The district consists of one metropolitan city and four rural municipalities. These are as follows:
Pokhara Metropolitan City
Annapurna Rural Municipality
Machhapuchchhre Rural Municipality
Madi Rural Municipality
Rupa Rural Municipality
Former Municipalities and Village Development Committees
The Village Development Committee (VDC) was dissolved on 10 March 2017 to be replaced by the Gaunpalika. So, there are no VDCs in this current time.