Town or village · 150 m
Bardibas
A highway junction town at the foot of the Chure hills, where the BP Highway from Kathmandu meets the East-West Highway.
Madhesh Provinceमहोत्तरी
Mahottari District
A Mithila district of temples and farmland, with Jaleshwar's Shiva shrine in the south and the busy Bardibas junction in the north.
- Province
- Madhesh
- Headquarters
- Jaleshwar
- Area
- about 1,005 km²
- Places on Firfirey
- 3
About Mahottari
Mahottari sits in the central part of Madhesh Province, between Sarlahi to the west and Dhanusha to the east, with Sindhuli to the north and Bihar in India along its southern border. Its northern fringe climbs into the low Chure hills, while the rest is level Terai drained by small rivers flowing south towards the Ganges plain. Bardibas, on the East-West Highway, lies near the foot of the hills.
The district shares the language and culture of Mithila with neighbouring Dhanusha, and Maithili is widely spoken. Rice, wheat, pulses and vegetables are the main crops, and many villages lie on the route of the Mithila Madhya Parikrama, a pilgrimage circuit linked with Janakpur. Travellers usually pass through Bardibas, while Jaleshwar, the headquarters, is visited for its old Shiva temple.
Places in Mahottari
Temple, monastery or heritage site · 75 m
Jaleshwar Mahadev Temple
The Shiva temple that gives Jaleshwar its name, with a lingam set below ground level in water.
Temple, monastery or heritage site · 75 m
Matihani
A small Mithila town south-west of Janakpur, linked in tradition with the wedding of Ram and Sita.
Getting there
Bardibas is the gateway, reached on the BP Highway from Kathmandu through Sindhuli or along the East-West Highway, typically most of a day's drive from the capital. Jaleshwar lies south of Bardibas by road, close to the Indian border. The nearest airport with regular flights is Janakpur in neighbouring Dhanusha.
Best time to visit
The cooler, dry months from October to March are best, though midwinter can be foggy and chilly; April to June is hot and the monsoon brings heavy rain and occasional flooding.
Editorial draft: the district overview is being checked. Headquarters and Nepali names: nepal-places dataset (MIT). Area and map position computed from the district boundaries of the Government of Nepal, Survey Department, via OCHA.