Butwal, the commercial and industrial hub of Nepal

Situated near the Indian border is a small city of about eight thousand hector square named Butwal. This small city is home to thousands of Nepalese belonging to various caste, religion, ethnicity and language. It connects us to various other towns like Bhairahawa, Tansen and Narayanghat through different highways. Lying about 26 km away from the Indian Border, it is also close to the birthplace of Gautam Buddha in Lumbini. Although it is small, it is one of the popular commercial, industrial and agricultural hubs as it has Nepal’s second largest horticulture business and more than thousand industries and business enterprises providing employment to over four thousand people. The water supply to the city’s flat land comes from the Tinahu River and the farmers here use under-ground water system for drinking and supplying water to their farms. The system of integrated farming is practiced here and the schools and universities in the region itself grow rice, wheat, bean, etc. Also, such products are imported from India and sold to major cities such as Kathmandu and Pokhara.



One of the popular places to see while in Butwal is the Birendra Park. The colorful flowers and green gardens make this park an ideal picnic and hangout spot for many. Also, a weekly market (that opens twice a week) opens near the Park and during bazaar, popularly called Butwal Haat, many color of grains, seeds, vegetables  and kitchen utensils are brought for selling purpose and it is usually crowded with the people buying and selling the products.

Another popular place to see is the Purano Butauli Bazaar, meaning ‘old Butwal bazaar’ (it is also the place from where the city got its name as ‘Butwal’). The old and new bazaar is divided by the Tinau River while the two suspension bridges (located at Pulchok and Haat Bazaar, respectively) connect them. Across the river, there are temples of the Hindu gods like Lord Ganesh, Narayan (Bishnu) as well as a Buddhist monastery and Padma Chaitya Vihar. Thousands of Buddhist pilgrims coming to Lumbini also come to this monastery during the festival of Buddha Jayanti. This commercial and industrial hub of Nepal has a moderate climate as it is situated on the foot hills of Chure Mountain.