Temple, monastery or heritage site
Arjundhara Dham
A Hindu pilgrimage site in Jhapa linked by legend to Arjuna of the Mahabharata, busy on festival days.
Koshi Provinceझापा
Jhapa District
Nepal's flat, green south-eastern corner of rice fields and tea estates, home to the Kakarbhitta border crossing and Bhadrapur airport.
- Province
- Koshi
- Headquarters
- Bhadrapur
- Area
- about 1,610 km²
- Places on Firfirey
- 3
About Jhapa
Jhapa is the easternmost district of Nepal's Terai, a low, flat plain in Koshi Province bordered by India: the Mechi river marks the eastern border with West Bengal and the open border also runs along the south. Ilam rises in the hills to the north and Morang lies to the west. Rivers such as the Kankai cross the district from the Churia foothills, and Nepal's lowest point lies in its south-east at Kechana Kalan.
This is one of Nepal's most populous and productive districts, with rice, tea, betel nut and jute grown across the plain. Rajbanshi, Dhimal, Meche and Santhal communities live alongside settlers from the hills. Towns such as Birtamod, Damak, Mechinagar and the headquarters Bhadrapur are busy trading centres. Travellers mostly pass through on the way to Ilam, Darjeeling or Sikkim, or visit tea estates and Arjundhara.
Places in Jhapa
Town or village
Bhadrapur
The headquarters town of Jhapa on the Mechi river, with the airport that serves Nepal's far east.
Town or village
Kakarbhitta
Nepal's easternmost border town on the Mechi river, the main crossing to Siliguri, Darjeeling and Sikkim.
Getting there
Bhadrapur airport has regular flights from Kathmandu, and Biratnagar airport is a short drive to the west. The East-West Highway runs the length of the district to Kakarbhitta on the Indian border, and long-distance buses from Kathmandu take most of a day and a night.
Best time to visit
October to March is the most comfortable time, dry and mild with cool, sometimes foggy winter mornings; summers are hot and humid, and the monsoon brings heavy rain and occasional river flooding.
Other districts in Koshi Province
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.