Explore The Western Terai
Nepal’s remote far west, linked to the rest of the country by the Mahendra Highway, is slowly opening its doors to travellers. It’s still a hell of a haul to get here from Kathmandu, but Delhi is just twelve hours by bus from the far western border crossing, and the smooth, fast road between the two passes two of Nepal’s richest wildlife parks, Bardia National Park and Sukla Phanta Wildlife Reserve. The partly Muslim city of Nepalgunj, the largest city in the west, is the hub for flights to several remoter airstrips. The Mahendra Highway makes good time to Nepalgunj, 250km west of Butwal, crossing the Duduwa Hills (350m ascent) and following the green and pleasant valley of the Rapti River (no relation to the river of the same name in Chitwan). North of here lies Dang, home of the white-clad Dangaura Tharus, and fine cycling country.
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Nepalgunj
Nepalgunj
The industrial and transport hub of the far west, NEPALGUNJ is also Nepal’s most Muslim city. The presence of Muslims in the Terai is hardly surprising, since the border with India, where Muslims comprise a significant minority, was only determined in the nineteenth century. Until just prior to the 1814–16 war with the British, this area belonged to the Nawab of Oudh, one of India’s biggest landowners; after Nepal’s defeat it was ceded to the East India Company and only returned to Nepal as a goodwill gesture for services rendered during the Indian Mutiny of 1857. A fair few Muslims fled to Nepalgunj during the revolt – Lucknow, where the most violent incidents occurred, is due south of here – and others filtered in during the Rana years, seeing chances for cross-border trade. The resulting permanent Muslim community is self-contained, but maintains business and family links with India. Indeed, the entire city feels Indian.
In the heart of the sprawl is Tribhuwan Chowk, the lively but dilapidated intersection of the city’s two main shopping thoroughfares, south of which the Indian-style Janaki Mandir sits in the middle of the road like a toll booth. The Muslim quarter lies northeast of Tribhuwan Chowk and is worth a wander. The mosques in this area are disappointingly modern, though, and out-of-bounds to non-believers. Hindu worship and trade centres around the nondescript Bageshwari Mandir; behind the temple is a large pool with a jaunty, kitsch statue of Mahadev (Shiva) in the middle.
- Bardia National Park
- West of the Karnali River
