Introducing Birganj

Unlovely would be a good way to describe Birganj. As the main transit point for freight between India and Nepal, the town is mobbed by trucks, deafened by car horns, jostled by rickshaws and choked by traffic fumes. Most of Nepal's exports leave the country via the hectic border crossing at Raxaul Bazaar, but travellers tend to skip this crossing entirely in favour of the much saner border crossings at Sunauli and Kakarbhitta.

If you can get over the heat and noise, there are some interesting buildings dotted around town. The fanciful clock towerin the centre of town is covered in Buddhist and Hindu iconography and just west is the popular Gahawa Maysan Mandir, sacred to Durga. On the other side of Main Rd is the Ghariarwa Pokhari, a sacred pond used by locals as an impromptu swimming pool. Nearby is Bal Mandir, a meeting hall styled after the Buddhist stupa at Bodhnath, and further south is a colourful Shiv Templewith a giant statue of Lord Shiva.