Tourism in Nepal

Nepal Village Foundation (UK)

Supporting sustainable livelihoods development projects in the rural villages of Nepal

Sunday, February 28, 2010, 09:36:47

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Gate way to the Terai

When the wider world thinks about Nepal they normally think about Mount Everest, Himalayas, Mountains and Kathmandu but there is a huge subtropical, beautiful, flat landscape where 45% of total population live. This is known as the Terai and offers you so many surprises such as magical birth place of Buddha who was founder of Buddhism.

The Main highlights of tourism in the Terai

It suites people of all ages and ability
Lovely people and great hospitality
Subtropical, beautiful and heart touching landscape
Shopping
Real life adventures of living in mud houses with the farmers and their hospitality
Offers you wide range of fresh organic foods
Tradition and culture that have not changed for centuries
Elephant ride Jungle safari, see Rhino, tiger, Leopard and many more
Koshi river rafting, fishing, swimming with fresh water Dolphins
Explore the long standing Koshi Tappu and Parsa Wildlife reserves
Wonderful Bardiya and Chitwan National parks
Buddhism and its origin
Hinduism and its 3.5 million Hindu Gods and Goddess
The famous cultural Mithila arts and painting
International heritage sites
Festivals of the Terai
Meet Uncle Charlie and listen to his interesting the legends and myths
The most famous Rickshaw ride through out the Terai
Visit Haat Bazar (the farmer markets)
Visit Tea plantation area and see red Pandas

When is the best time to visit?

November to end of March is the best, April to end of June weather can be humid and for westerners tourist it could be slightly uncomfortable and July to end of October is rainy season so there are not much to do except in town centre. For more details visit weather guide,

weather guide>>

The festival in the Terai

Concepts of festival in Hinduism: Almost every single festivals are based on some sort of victory or birth or reincarnation or happiness etc, Nepalese people celebrate festivals from all religions such as Buddhist, Muslim etc. it is great way to show a strong unity between different religions of people in Nepal.

Click to read more

Transportation: getting there and away

You can get flight to Kathmandu the capital of Nepal easily via Delhi or Doha or Bangkok from any part of the World and then get connection to Bhadrapur and Biratnagar (the eastern Terai), Janakpur, Bhairawa and Nepalganj (the central Terai) and Dhangadhi and Mahindra Nagar(the western Terai). We recommend staying over the night in Kathmandu and purchasing your tickets as these domestic tickets can not be booked online or in advance.

10 things to remember

@ Do remember not to take any kind of shoes inside any temples and house in the country

@ Do remember not to drink water from the bore hole pump unless you have some sort of filtering mechanism

@ Always use mosquito repellent in the evening time and wear long trousers

@ Sleeping under mosquito net is best idea if your room is not fitted with air condition

@ Namaste is greeting word for any time of the day to any body

@ Staring at any one is common in Nepalese society therefore we suggest that you just smile at them

@ It is always best to remember few useful words Bhat (rice), Dal (lentil), Tarkari (mix vegetables), Anchar (pickle), Mashu (meat) and Pani (water)

@ If you are carrying loads cash then we suggest that you do not to carry it in your back pocket of your trouser while travelling in public transport.

@ So far there is no records that any westerner traveller have been a victim of crime in the Terai so enjoy your holiday without any compromises

@ If you can, avoid late night travelling out side of town centres as there is not much street lighting and so on.

Other information

If you are willing to volunteer you time, skills and resources then please contact local NGOs whose activities directly impact on the local society. This is the best way to help the poor. These little NGOs have no administration cost and all the income directly goes to invest in development projects. Volunteering teachers directly contact to local schools. For school children seeing westerners in their schools is one of the most exciting things in their life.
In near future Nepal Village Foundation will be able to offer you range of organised tours to Terai and any profit made we from this will be invested into poverty elimination projects. Please do keep in touch with us.

David & Pamela would like to share their experiences about tourism in the Terai

Most people who visit Nepal concentrate on Kathmandu and trekking in the Himalayas and completely miss the Terai. This is a wonderful area on the border with India with a completely different landscape, mainly low lying with wide rivers, extensive grassland and woodland. We have just spent a great holiday in this area. For anyone interested in wildlife and visiting a completely different way of life this area is a must. We visited one of the most important birding areas in region, if not Asia, is found at the Eastern end – Koshi. The mixture of extensive wet lands, riverine forest and cultivated land attracts a wide range of rarities, migrants and birds on passage to and from northern and central Asia, as well as birds from the Himalayas during the winter. We were not disappointed; the birding was tremendous seeing well over 200 bird species during our stay as well as Wild Water Buffalo and Gangetic Dolphin, Jungle and Fishing Cats.

Further west in the Chitwan and Bardia National Parks,we found a different range of birds as well as Tiger, Great One-Horned Rhinoceros, Sloth Bear, Leopard, Wild Elephant and many other mammals.

Great wild life, very friendly and helpful people, who live a fascinatingly different way of life to the mountain dwellers, this is an area not to be missed.

David & Pam Petts

Places to visit in the Terai

Koshi Tappu wildlife Reserve (the wetland) Dharan (British Gorkha recruitment town)

Dhankuta (regional centre for eastern Nepal) Jhapa and Ilam (tea plantation)

Birtamoda & Damak (small towns along the Highway) Kakarbhitta (eastern Nepal & India

Boarder check point) Jankapur (the birth place of Hindu Goddess Sita)

Chitwan National Park (Tharu culture and safari) Birgunj (commercial & central boarder check point)

Lumbini (birth place of lord Buddha, UNESCO Site) Butwal (headquarter of Bhairawa)

Royal Bardiya National Park (tigers, elephants & etc) Nepalganj and Mahendranagar