BUTWAL

Ashok Bhusal:

Butwal is fairly typical Terai town - hot, flat, dusty and crowded - but it sits at a very important junction. From here, the Mahendra Hwy runs east to Kakarbhitta and west to Mahendranagar and the Siddhartha Hwy runs north to Pokhara and south to Bhairawa/Sunauli. Even if you don't stop here, it's quite likely that you'll pass through town on your way across the plains.

There isn't a great deal to see, but the old town on the west bank of the Tinau River is worth exploring. A small pedestrian suspension bridge leads across the river from just west of Traffic Chowk. If you follow the Siddhartha Hwy north into the spooky looking Tinau Gorge, you'll come to a series of dramaticwaterfalls, reached by another mini-suspension bridge.

Archaeologists have recently identified a village just east of Butwal as the site of the kingdom of Devdaha, home to the mother of Siddhartha Gautama Buddha. So far, only limited excavations have been carried out, but there's a small memorial park on the site, signposted off the Mahendra Hwy towards Narayangarh.