Rolpa is drained southward by the Madi Khola from a complex of 3,000 to 4,000 meter ridges about 50 kilometers south of the Dhaulagiri Himalaya. This mountainous barrier historically isolated Rolpa by encouraging travelers between India and Tibet to detour to follow easier routes to the east or west, while east-west travelers found easier routes to the north through Dhorpatan Valley, or to the south through Dang Valley or along the Mahabharat Range.