Bara District

Bara lies in the central Terai of Madhesh Province, with Parsa to the west, Rautahat to the east, Makwanpur to the north and the Indian state of Bihar to the south. Most of the district is low, level farmland crossed by small rivers flowing south from the Chure hills, which rise along its northern edge. Forest in the north forms part of the wider Parsa National Park landscape, and the East-West Highway runs through Pathlaiya and Nijgadh.

Bhojpuri is the main language of the south, with Tharu, Pahadi and other communities settled closer to the hills and the highway. Farming, especially rice, wheat and sugarcane, sits alongside a busy industrial corridor between Pathlaiya and Birgunj. Visitors mostly come for religious and historical reasons: the Gadhimai temple at Bariyarpur draws very large crowds during its festival, and Simraungadh preserves remains of a medieval Mithila capital.