Butwal

Advertisement

Introducing Butwal

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.

Advertisement

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 dramatic waterfalls, 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.

Last updated: Feb 17, 2009

Thorn Tree forum discussion

Recent posts

  1. Giora avatar
    RE: Buses Lumbini-Chitwan

    by Giora 03 March 2012

    You'll have to change buses a few times: from Lumbini, you'll find regular buses to Bairawa (I've probably spelt that wrong: it's the…
  2. uselessbaba avatar
    RE: Entry to Nepal & Himalaya sight seeing routes

    by uselessbaba 16 February 2012

    Best road for Biking/scenery is Siddadarth Highway, Pokhara to Butwal with overnight at Tansen. Fantastic !!
  3. into-thin-air avatar
    RE: Buses from Gorkha to the Terai

    by into-thin-air 14 December 2011

    Difficult to say whether you could get a direct bus, But even if you can’t you should still be able to do the journey without too much…

See all Thorn Tree forum discussions for Butwal

In our shop

Bags feeling light?
Coffee table looking bare?
Get your guidebooks, travel goods, even individual chapters, right here.

See all books in our shop

Travel Insurance

Going to Nepal? Make sure you're covered.

Get a quote

See all travel services

Advertisement