Waling (वालिङ) is a town and municipality in the western hilly region of Nepal. It is in the Aadhikhola valley in the Syangja District of Gandaki Zone of Nepal.

Founding and early history 

There is a number of folklore about origin of the word Waling. One of them mentions it to be derived from the word wali - the monsoon folk songs sung by women in fields while planting paddy. Waling is famous for its unending paddy fields on the plains along banks of Aandhikhola River and the undulating terraces in mountain slopes that are crisscrossed by numerous creeks. Many people used to come to watch these festive women groups singing wali and planting paddy beautifully in unison in the monsoon drizzle.

The town itself is on the banks of river Aandhikhola that flows west along the valleys and gorges in the western lesser himalayan mountains to meet the famous Kaligandaki river. Mythology dates back the origin of Aandhikhola to the ancient time of Dwapar Yuga described in Hindu Puranas during the period of King Dasharatha, the father of Lord Ram of Ramayana. During that time, a pious and aged blind couple had a devoted son named Shrawankumar. The old couple wished a piligrimage before their death and Shrawan Kumar was on journey carrying them on his shoulder to fulfill their desire. On the way in a forest near Himalaya, his parents became very thirsty. He left them in a comfortable tree shade and rushed to a nearby river promising to return soon with water. As he hurriedly plunged his pitcher in the water, it produced a noise like that of a wild animal. King Dasaratha was hunting nearby and happened to hear the sound. The king could shoot his target without seeing the target only with guidance of sound.He assumed the sound to be of a wild beast and shot his arrows in the direction. As he arrived, he saw a young man lying dead with his arrow piercing his chest. He then saw the pitcher and immediately realised his mistake. The guilt-ridden king quietly carried water to the old couple but they demanded to know about their son before drinking it. When he told them about his mistake resulting in their son's death, they began to cry and died in the spot leaving behind a pool of tears which transformed into a small lake. A stream began to flow from this lake. The term 'Aandhi' means 'blind' and 'khola' means 'river' in nepali language. Thus this new river got its name as Aandhikhola referring to tears of Shrawan Kumar's blind parents.

The Waling Municipality came into existence on December 26, 1996 by incorporating the then Walling, Dhanubase and Pekhubaghkhor village development committees.

Geography and climate 

Waling has six seasons.

Average rain: 2265 mm

Minimum Temp: 9.5 degree Celsius

Maximum Temp: 32 degree Celsius

Climate: Tropical-Subtropical

It is situated between 713 meter- 1596 meter above the sea level in the fold of the mountains that are considered part of inner lesser himalaya in Syangja district of western Nepal. The geology of inner Lesser Himalayan rocks constituting the Ksuma-Syangja area in western Nepal are separated into the Lower Nawakot Group, Upper Nawakot Group, Sirkot Group, and Tansen Group, respectively from bottom to top.

Natural and artificially promoted erosion and slope instability in those hill and mountain area are drasticly threatening the ecological balance. A geological study of rock structure and slope stability study of Walling area done in 1981 described a potential risk mapping method that was quick, giving a good picture of the condition of the terrain and based only on the relationship between the rock structure an topography.

Syangja district has been described as one of the most disaster prone areas in western Nepal.The geological and climatic condition have resulted in extremes of landslides,debris flow,flooding and wild fires.Most of the disasters have been natural and in the recent years, there is some evidence of increase of flooding, land sliding, deforestation and land degradation.The district ranked second highest,along with Makawanpur, with the total number of number of landslide events occurred during the period 1971–2000 being 46.It also ranked highest in terms of landslide density and loss of property compared to other districts. Landslide at Dhanubase (Dhanubaseko pahiro) is a major vulnerable hotspot in Waling area.Waling falls under the very high hazard probalility area according to the Syangja district disaster management plan.

Waling Municipality at a Glance ( Year 1999/2000).

• Area: 124895.40 square hectares.
• Arable land: 2696.70 sq hectares
• Residential area: 449.90 hectares
• Forest/Prairte Area : 4484.80 Hectres                                                                                                           Copy Source:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waling