Physionomically Mongoloid featured ' Thakali' derive from Thak Khola , the valley of the Kali Gandaki river in western Nepal. These people are famed for their neatly tended kitchens and derive their subsistence from hotels, inns, and restaurants income. They are encountered mainly in the Annapurana round trekking, one of the most famous trekking routes in the country.

Thak Khola lies in Mustang district of Dhaulagiri zone of Nepal. Thak- sat-se is the traditional area of the Thakali community, which lies in the salt trading zone on the south of Tukuche mountain.

Economy and trade
The Thakalis, with exceptional businessman-ship are one of the most successful ethnic groups in the country. They derive profitably from trade and tourism through their investments in hotels, motels and trading of salt. ' Thak- sat- se' and Tukuche are the traditional areas of salt trading with Tibet. As middlemen, the Thakali get their salt from Tibet either directly or through neighboring border people of Lo, Bar gaun and Panch gaun. They barter it with rice , wheat, buck wheat from lower hills. Among the Thakalis, there persists an interesting system of financial co- operative scheme, known as Dhigur which is used to maintain the relative financial security for the Thakalis. Dhigur , the lump sum contributed by many Thakali families and persons, is lent to the one who is needy for his/ her trading activities.

Festivals
Lha Feva is the most significant festival for the Thakalis. It is observed some day in the month of November of every monkey year of the twelve year cycle according to the Tibetan calendar. Lha Feva is observed as the coming of God. The Sanskritic name of the festival is Kumbha Mela. Another festival Shyoben lava, its Sanskritic name ' Kumar Jatra', is ceremony for the boys. The Thakali society is undergoing rapid cultural change. They are constantly reforming their society with the changing times. Although they represent a small ethnic group but have a strong contribution in the national economy on the whole.

Traditions and Culture
In contrast to the Gurungs, the Thakalis form a strictly endogamus group which is distinctly divided into four exogamus clans. A Thakali thus is to marry none other than Thakali, but the marriage has to be outside his or her own particular clan. The four clan are equal in status socially or ritually. However on the basis of precedance in the worship, Gauchan clan comes first, followed by Tulachan, Sherchan, and Bhattachan. They have their particular clan gods as animal representative of dragon, elephant, lion and Yak for Gauchan, Tulachan, Sherchan and Bhattachan respectively. The Thakali practices cross- cousin marriage. Marriage is usually by capture. Usually friends and relatives of the to- be- bridegroom, capture the girl in the evening and retain her confined in one of the relative's house until they get the approval from the girl's parents. Polygamy i.e. marrying more than one wife is occasionally found but polyandry are not found among the Thakalis. The religion of the Thakali is a mixture of Buddhism, Jhankrism, Bonpo and Hinduism, but they are close to Jhankrism, a kind of Shamanistic cult as their original religion.