Districts
Madhesh Province
Rautahat रौतहट
Sugarcane plains, Gaur border town
Rautahat spreads across the central Madhesh plains from the Bagmati river south to the Indian border at Gaur, a market town with centuries of cross-border trade behind it. The Durga temple at Matsari draws large crowds of devotees from Nepal and Bihar at Navaratri, and the Matsya Narayana temple nearby holds year-round Vaishnava significance. Sugarcane, rice and a mixed Madheshi and Muslim population give the district a distinctly Terai character.
About Rautahat
Rautahat spreads across the central Madhesh plains between the Bagmati river and the Indian border at Gaur — a market town with a customs post linking Nepal to Bairgania in Bihar, about 3 km south. The district's principal pilgrimage site is the Durga temple at Matsari, which draws large crowds from Nepal and Bihar during the Navaratri festivals each autumn. A second Vaishnava site, the Matsya Narayana temple, holds year-round significance nearby. Beyond these, Rautahat is flat sugarcane and paddy country: it is honest lowland plains rather than a sightseeing destination.
Rautahat's population is a mixed Madheshi, Tharu and Muslim patchwork that gives everyday life a distinctly plural character. Gaur is the district's commercial engine, connected to the East-West Mahendra Highway by the Gaur–Chandranigahapur road. The border crossing at Gaur–Bairgania is a minor land crossing useful for onward travel into Bihar's Sitamarhi district.
At a glance
- Headquarters
- Gaur
- Known for
- Sugarcane plains, Gaur border town
Getting there
Gaur, the district headquarters, is about 150 km from Kathmandu by road — roughly 4–5 hours via the Hetauda highway connecting to the Gaur–Chandranigahapur road south to the Mahendra Highway. There is no airport in Rautahat; the nearest is Simara (SIF) in Bara, about 40 km west. The Gaur–Bairgania border crossing gives access to Bihar's Sitamarhi and Muzaffarpur districts.