Righa is a village development committee in Baglung District in the Dhaulagiri Zone of central Nepal. At the time of the 1991 Nepal census it had a population of 3,728 and had 680 houses in the town. A lake can be found at the top of the high mountain. The cool climate, peaceful atmosphere, and chirping of birds entice the heart.
Patihale and Righa Tal, which are bustling with domestic tourists, are waiting to welcome many tourists. The beautiful view from Righa Tal, which is considered the head of Nisikhola, has attracted thousands of people. Lately, hundreds of tourists have been coming here daily to enjoy the beauty of Patihalne and Righa Tal. This lake on the border of Nisikhola rural municipality of Gandaki province and East Rukum of Lumbini province has been taken as the village of Nisikhola village.
When the project of national pride was connected with Madhyapahari Lokmarg, then its propagation started rapidly. The locals did not imagine that Riga tal, which was being used by shepherds for drinking water, would be developed as a tourist destination. Now this area has become a center of attraction for tourists.
Tourists go to this area in Poush and Magh to play in the snow and in Baisakh, Jestha, and Ashar to beat the heat and enjoy the green nature. Patihalne is on Madhyapahari Lokmarg while Riga Tal is 15 minutes north of Patihalne. Now Nisikhola Rural Municipality has constructed a road to reach the lake. So that you can easily reach the lake on foot or by car.
The name Righa Tal is mainly derived from the Magar Kham language. "Ri" means water and "c" means deep, which means frozen in one place. From this lake, one can see the view of various places of Baglung district, Rolpa, Rukum, Gulmi, Pyuthan, Arghakhanchi, Parbat and other places. Dozens of snow ranges and high mountain regions such as Machhapuchche, Annapurna, Dhawalagiri etc. can be seen.
“Nisikhola Rural Municipality has started building infrastructure to manage the lake. The rural municipality has started promoting and building infrastructure in this area. DPR has been prepared for its development, the road leading to the lake will be managed and the lake will be widened. To make the lake more attractive, we have planned to widen it, and build a well-organized park around it, if some work has been done, we will do more work from the next budget, after solving the problems here, we have prepared a plan to develop this area will be built." Said Surya Bahadur Ghartimagar, Village Chairman.
“The arrival of tourists has increased after the black road. Before not many people used to come here, shepherds used to graze sheep and cattle in this place. After the highway was blacked out, hundreds of people come to visit with their cars every day. Now the lake has become better, it's not like before." said Ghartimagar, Local development.
"Shepherds still fill the water from here and use it, it is now organized, the village council has started protecting it, and tourists have started coming." He added.
“I had come to see it because it had gone viral on social media. Since the road leading to this place is good, you can visit on holidays. This lake is very beautiful, I had seen it on Facebook, and now I am very 'excited' to visit here in person." Said Pravesh KC, who came to visit from Rukumkot, the headquarters of Rukum East.