Ghodaghodi Tal

Ghodaghodi Tal is the largest of a cluster of natural lakes and marshes in the forests of eastern Kailali, close to the East-West Highway near Sukhad. The main lake is shallow and irregular, with many small bays and islands, and for much of the year its surface is covered with water lilies and lotus. Smaller ponds and oxbow wetlands lie around it in the surrounding sal forest, and together they form one of the most important lowland wetland systems in the far west of Nepal.

The complex has been listed as a Ramsar wetland of international importance. It is a good place for birdwatching, with resident herons, egrets, kingfishers and jacanas, and large numbers of migratory ducks in winter. Turtles and fish are common, and the forests around the lakes form part of a wildlife corridor linking the Terai forests with the Siwalik hills, so deer, monkeys and other mammals move through the area.

For travellers on the long highway across the western Terai it makes an easy and calm stop. A short walk along the shore, a visit to the small temple by the water and an hour or two with binoculars at dawn or late afternoon are the usual ways to spend time here. Facilities are modest, which suits the quiet character of the place.