Banma’s Quari Towers: Homes Built from Earth, Stone and Wood

Banma’s Tibetan quari towers were built as dwellings from rammed earth, stone and timber. A national heritage record describes them as stepped structures, commonly two or three stories high, set near hillsides. Their heavy profile belongs to everyday life as much as to the skyline.

The levels organized different uses. Livestock occupied the lower floor; people lived in rooms above; the upper level held a shrine and storage. A single-trunk ladder connected the floors. This vertical plan brought animals, household rooms and sacred or stored objects into one compact building, shaped by materials available in the local landscape.

The heritage record distinguishes wooden, stone, mixed stone-and-wood, and newer styles. It notes that the buildings often sit on sunny slopes near mountains, with flat roofs and thick walls. Timber courses cross the masonry, with earth packed between them; small exterior windows and triangular smoke outlets punctuate the walls.

The record names three broad types—pass or lookout towers, signal towers and family dwellings—so not every tower should be described as a fort. The quari building tradition joins the wider landscape through its materials and forms, while its interior plan reveals a practical household architecture adapted to a mountain setting.