Districts
Lumbini Province
Rupandehi रुपन्देही
Lumbini — Buddha's birthplace, Maya Devi Temple
Rupandehi, in the western Terai, contains Lumbini — the birthplace of the Buddha and one of Nepal's four UNESCO sites. Pilgrims and monasteries from across the Buddhist world gather in its monastic zone around the Maya Devi Temple. Butwal, the district's commercial hub, is a gateway between the plains and the hills.
About Rupandehi
Rupandehi is the home district of Lumbini — the Buddha's birthplace and one of Nepal's four UNESCO World Heritage Sites — where the Maya Devi Temple, the Ashokan Pillar and an international monastic zone of more than 30 monasteries built by Buddhist nations from Thailand to Germany cluster around the Sacred Garden. The district extends north from the Terai plains through the foothills to Butwal, the main commercial hub at the junction of the Mahendra and Siddhartha highways, and east to Bhairahawa (Siddharthanagar), the administrative and air gateway to the whole region.
Beyond Lumbini, the district holds the ruined palace complex of Mani Mukunda Sen at Butwal — built by the 16th-century Palpa king who briefly dominated much of western Nepal — and community forests around Tilottama. Rupandehi is predominantly Terai farmland with a large Tharu and Madheshi population. Most international visitors arrive at Gautam Buddha International Airport, Bhairahawa, and spend their time in Lumbini rather than exploring the wider district.
At a glance
- Headquarters
- Butwal
- Known for
- Lumbini — Buddha's birthplace, Maya Devi Temple
Getting there
Bhairahawa's Gautam Buddha International Airport is the primary gateway — 30-minute flights from Kathmandu run multiple times daily on Buddha Air and Yeti Airlines. By road, Bhairahawa is 283 km from Kathmandu, roughly 8–9 hours by tourist bus via Narayangarh and Butwal. Lumbini is 22 km from Bhairahawa by local transport; Butwal, 23 km north of Bhairahawa, links the district onward to Pokhara and the mid-hills.