Districts
Bagmati Province
Makwanpur मकवानपुर
Indrasarovar (Kulekhani) lake
Makwanpur straddles the transition between the Terai and the Bagmati hills, with its headquarters at Hetauda — the capital of Bagmati Province and a Terai-edge industrial city. Daman, at 2,322 metres on the Tribhuvan Highway, offers one of Nepal's widest Himalayan panoramas, taking in peaks from Dhaulagiri to Everest. Kulekhani reservoir, also known as Indra Sarovar, is Nepal's largest man-made lake and a quiet counterpoint to the highway traffic below.
About Makwanpur
Makwanpur straddles the transition between the Terai lowlands and the Bagmati hills, holding three very different landscapes in a single district. Hetauda, the headquarters and the capital of Bagmati Province, is a flat, industrious city at the Terai edge, 76 km south of Kathmandu by the fast-track expressway. Daman, up on the Tribhuvan Highway at 2,322 metres, earns its reputation with reason: on clear days its view tower takes in a near-continuous Himalayan horizon from Dhaulagiri in the west to Everest in the east. Kulekhani reservoir (Indra Sarovar), Nepal's largest man-made lake, occupies a steep valley between Markhu and Kulekhani and is a quiet spot for boating and birdwatching.
The Tribhuvan Highway, Nepal's oldest road, completed in 1956, crosses the district on its way between Kathmandu and Birgunj, passing through Daman and the Chitlang valley. Chepang communities — one of Nepal's most marginalised indigenous groups — live in the forested mid-hills of the district. Makwanpur is also a gateway into the Parsa–Chitwan wildlife corridor; the Chitwan National Park border lies just west of Hetauda. Hetauda's mild climate and direct road links make it the most practical base for seeing Daman and Kulekhani in a single circuit.
At a glance
- Headquarters
- Hetauda
- Known for
- Indrasarovar (Kulekhani) lake
Getting there
Hetauda is 76 km from Kathmandu via the Kathmandu–Terai Fast Track expressway — roughly one and a half to two hours. Via the older Tribhuvan Highway through Daman the distance is about 132 km and three to four hours; Daman itself is around two to two-and-a-half hours from Kathmandu. Public buses to Hetauda depart Kathmandu's New Bus Park regularly; Daman is best reached by private vehicle.