Saptari सप्तरी

Saptari occupies the eastern Madhesh plains, its headquarters at Rajbiraj — one of the oldest planned towns of the Terai. The district's most significant pilgrimage site is the Chhinnamasta Bhagawati temple at Sakhada village, about 10 km south of Rajbiraj: dedicated to a tantric Mahavidya goddess and said to date to the 13th-century Karnat dynasty, it draws devotees from across eastern Nepal and Bihar. The western boundary of Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve — Nepal's first Ramsar site, declared in 1987 — touches Saptari; the reserve shelters the last wild water buffalo in Nepal and over 485 bird species, making it one of South Asia's premier wetland birding destinations.

Saptari is Maithili-speaking country, with Sama Chakeva and other seasonal festivals part of the agricultural rhythm. Rajbiraj's role as a planned Terai town gives it a more legible street grid than many district headquarters of similar size. The district is workhorse Terai plains — paddy, mustard, sugarcane — and the practical base for visiting Koshi Tappu is the reserve's own camp rather than Rajbiraj, though the town has adequate guesthouses.