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.
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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.
Last updated: Feb 17, 2009
Thorn Tree forum discussion
Recent posts
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Re: India visa and visit to Birganj and other border towns....
by Midnite_Toker 14 June 2011
> {quote:title=freenote wrote:}{quote} > crossed into India at Sunauli and found it the pits of the earth ..then I suspect you never went…
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Re: India visa and visit to Birganj and other border towns....
by freenote 12 June 2011
Yep , that's what we done ,spent a day in Lumbini and then into India .
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RE: India visa and visit to Birganj and other border towns....
by uselessbaba 12 June 2011
Sunauli is probably the best option if you want a stopover on the way, as you can make the 20 min detour to lumbini ( the birthplace of…
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