Sarkegad is a small commercial settlement at roughly 1,500 m on the bank of the Karnali in southern Humla, on the road up from Kalikot and Bajura. It has a campus, a government health post, trail hotels and a row of general shops. For anyone heading north it is the last stop with dependable phone coverage and anything resembling a supply chain.
Where Sarkegad is and how you get there
Sarkegad, also written Sarjegad and known locally as Sarkisalla, sits on the valley floor where the Karnali is still a wide, brown, fast river rather than a gorge torrent. It is in the southern part of Humla district, and almost everybody who arrives has come up the lower Karnali Corridor from Kalikot or across from Bajura, with Surkhet as the road head where the journey really begins.
The vegetation tells you where you are: subtropical growth along the river, hot and humid in summer, giving way to dry pine on the slopes above. This is the bottom of Humla, and nothing about it looks like the district people picture when they hear the name. The high country is a long way further up.
The single most useful thing to understand about Sarkegad is what it is the last of. Above it the road stiffens toward Kharpunath and the settlements thin out fast. Whatever you have not sorted here, you are carrying to Simikot or doing without.
What is actually in Sarkegad
Himjyoti Multiple Campus is the landmark, affiliated to Tribhuvan University and running BA and B.Ed programmes. A campus in a place this size changes it: there are young people in the bazaar, there is a reason for a teashop to stay open in the afternoon, and there are households renting rooms. Alongside it there is a government health post, the usual cluster of general stores, and basic trail hotels along the road.
| What you will find | Reality on the ground |
|---|---|
| Himjyoti Multiple Campus | TU-affiliated, BA and B.Ed. The reason the settlement is busier than its size suggests |
| Government health post | Primary care and first aid. Not a hospital, and not equipped for a serious trauma case |
| General shops | Rice, lentils, oil, biscuits, noodles, batteries, rope, plastic sheeting |
| Trail hotels | Dal bhat and dormitory beds. Shared pit latrines, bucket washing |
| Fuel | Bottles and jerry cans only. No pump, no forecourt, no receipt |
| Mobile coverage | The last reliable signal on the corridor before the climb |
Buying fuel in Sarkegad
There is no filling station in Humla. Fuel arrives by vehicle from the road head to the south, is decanted into whatever container is available, and is resold. In monsoon 2026 it came out of plastic bottles and jerry cans at a clear mark-up over the pump price down in the lowlands, and it smelled of kerosene when it was poured.
That is the normal arrangement, not a scam, and arguing about it misunderstands what you are paying for: somebody drove that fuel up a track that closes with the weather. What you can control is what goes into your tank. Carry a fine-mesh filter funnel and use it every time. Sediment is common and dilution is not unusual, and neither is visible until the engine is running badly on a climb with nowhere to stop.
Budget consumption higher than you would on tarmac. Low-gear crawling, thin air and constant elevation change push fuel use well above the flat-road figure, and there is nothing between here and Simikot that will rescue you from a miscalculation.
Phone signal, cash and the last of the network
Sarkegad is where the corridor stops being connected. Coverage north of here is patchy at best and absent for long stretches, and it is worth sending whatever needs sending before you leave. Anyone tracking your progress from home should be told, in plain terms, that silence for several days is the expected outcome rather than a signal of trouble.
On money: carry cash, in small notes, and more of it than you think. Everything from here north is a cash economy, change is genuinely scarce, and a large note can be an obstacle rather than an asset. There is no reliable way to draw money on a foreign card anywhere in the district.
Sleeping and eating
The trail hotels do what trail hotels do across the Karnali basin: dal bhat, cooked once and served twice, a dormitory or a shared room, a shared pit latrine, and washing from a bucket or a tap in the yard. Nobody is running a booking system. You arrive, you ask, you get a bed if there is one.
The food is better than the arrangement suggests, because the valley floor grows things the high country cannot. Expect rice rather than the barley and buckwheat staples you meet further up, and expect fresh vegetables to appear in a way they will not again for some days.
When the road works, and when it does not
The tracks here are unpaved and dust-heavy in dry weather, and prone to washout in wet. The Karnali runs high and loud through the monsoon and the side streams that cross the road can go from nothing to impassable in an afternoon. Sections slump; they get repaired; they slump again. This is a working road rather than a finished one.
The practical consequence is that you should treat any timetable as a hope. Vehicles run when the road is open and stop when it is not, and the decision is made on the day by the people driving. The seasonal guide to West Nepal covers the broad windows; locally, the answer to when the road is open is whoever you can find who came down it this morning.
Beyond the road head, freight moves the old way. Mule caravans on the Karnali covers that system, which has not stopped operating simply because a bridge went in further up the valley.
Should you stop in Sarkegad or push on?
Push on if it is early and the weather is settled, because there is more to see further up and the light matters on this road. Stop if there is any doubt at all. The stretch above Sarkegad is not somewhere to be caught out after dark, and the settlement is comfortable enough that a night here costs you very little. For the wider context of the district you are entering, the Humla district guide sets out the geography, and the Simikot guide covers what is waiting at the top.
Before you travel. Humla is a restricted border district and conditions change without notice. Roads close, flights are cancelled, permit rules and fees are revised, and the Hilsa crossing opens and shuts to different categories of traveller. Confirm the current position with the District Administration Office in Simikot, the Department of Immigration, or a registered local operator before you commit to a route.
Frequently Asked Questions
How high is Sarkegad?
About 1,500 m, on the bank of the Karnali in southern Humla. It is one of the lowest inhabited points in the district, which is why the vegetation is subtropical and the summer heat surprises people who came expecting Himalayan conditions.
Is there a petrol pump in Sarkegad?
No. There is no filling station anywhere in Humla. Fuel is sold decanted into plastic bottles and jerry cans at a mark-up over lowland pump prices, and it is often carrying sediment or cut with kerosene. Carry a filter funnel and use it every time you fill.
Is there mobile phone coverage in Sarkegad?
Yes, and it is the last reliable coverage on the corridor. North of here the signal is patchy and absent for long stretches. Send what needs sending before you leave, and warn anyone tracking you that several days of silence is normal.
Where can you stay in Sarkegad?
Basic trail hotels along the road, serving dal bhat with dormitory or shared rooms, shared pit latrines and bucket washing. There is no booking system and no need for one. Ask on arrival.
Can you get a vehicle repaired in Sarkegad?
Not properly. There is no authorised service anywhere north of the lowlands, and no stock of parts for a motorcycle or a modern 4WD. Anything you cannot fix yourself, with parts you brought, is a problem that will be solved by somebody improvising rather than by a workshop.