Madhesh Province

Nepal's smallest and most densely settled province: the plains of Mithila and Bhojpura, Sita's birthplace Janakpur, ponds, mango groves and Parsa's forests.

Madhesh is the only province lying entirely in the Terai. Its eight districts stretch from Saptari on the Koshi to Parsa on the Bagmati border with Bagmati Province, and they are home to Maithili, Bhojpuri and Bajjika speaking communities with a culture shared across the open border with Bihar.

Janakpur, the ancient capital of the kingdom of Videha, is the heart of it all: the white marble Janaki Mandir, hundreds of sacred ponds and the colourful Mithila wall painting done by women of the region. North of the East–West Highway the land rises into the Chure (Siwalik) hills, where Parsa National Park and the Chure forests of Bara and Rautahat still hold elephants and gaur.