The word Madhesh is derived from Sanskrit and means madhya desh (middle country). This title was used to identify the land in the middle of the Himalayas and the Vidhya mountains. In Modern Nepal, the word is used to describe the Terai region (land south of Siwalik Hills). The province features 20 large cities and towns. Amongst them, the largest is in Birgunj, with a population of 240,922. Second on the list is Janakpur, with 159,468.
The terrain in this region has minimal difficulties. It is the only province with a passenger railway line in Nepal. In terms of road connectivity, the main link is the Mahendra Highway. Also known as the East-West Highway of Nepal. This highway crosses through multiple areas of the province. The Tribhuvan Highway begins at Birgunj but doesn't have a large footprint as the Mahendra Highway. Other highways that link to this region are BP Highway, Birendra Highway and Postal Highway.
The region features 3 domestic airports:
A. Rajbiraj Airport
B. Janakpur Airport
C. Simara Airport
Nepal's largest international airport, Nijgadh International Airport, is currently under construction in this region.
45.36% of the population speak in Maithali. Bhojpuri and Bajjika are spoken by 18.59% and 14.68% of the population. The national language, Nepali, is spoken by only 6.56%. In terms of religion, 84.75% of the population is Hindu. 11.55% are Islam, and 3.01% are Buddhist.
In terms of tourism, province 2 has 26,092 individuals tourism workers. The majority of the popular destinations in this region are religious. There are no UNESCO World Heritage sites in this province, but Parsa National Park and Janaki Temple are two sites of great national interest.
Janaki Temple
Queen Virsha Bhanu of Tikamgarh built the temple in 1910 AD. The local name of this temple is Nau Lakha Mandir. Nau Lakha means 9 lakhs.
It is said that the construction cost was about the same amount. The temple was built on a holy site. As per legends, King Janak (Seeradhwaj) performed the worship of Shiva-Dhanus on this site. In 1657, a golden statue of Goddess Sita was found at this spot. Some historians state that Sita's home once stood here. Sannyasi (Saint) Shurkishordas is credited for discovering the golden image. He is also hailed as the founder of modern Janakpur.
Janaki Temple sees an influx of pilgrims, especially during Ram Navami, Vivaha Panchami, Dashain and Tihar. During other times of the year, traffic is very minimal. The majority of the pilgrims are from Nepal, India and Sri Lanka.
Parsa National Park
PNP is the 12th national park of Nepal. It spans two provinces (Madesh Province and Bagmati Province). The park's western boundary is Chitwan National Park, Makwanpur to its north, Bara to its east and Parsa and Valmiki Tiger Reserve to the south.
Initially, the area was protected as a wildlife reserve in 1984 AD. The aim was to preserve the habitat of the Asian Wild Elephant (Elephas maximus) and the remaining Char-Khose-Jhadi. In 2015 AD, 128.39 km2 of Bara district was incorporated into the reserve. In 2017 AD, the status of the demarcated area was raised to National Park.
The current land size of this park is 639 km2. The major attractions of this park are:
A. Royal Bengal Tiger
B. Bison
C. One-horned Rhinoceros
D. Wild Dog
E. 490 species of birds
F. Common Leopard
The best time of the year to visit PNP is during winter. The locals are permitted to cut the thatch grass during this reason, thus increasing visible range. This time of the year is optimal to view wildlife. For bird watching the months of February, April, September and November are best. Various species of migratory birds join the residential birds creating a spender view. The park management have built various view towers for enthusiasts to site wild elephants and tigers. There are also 3 elephant camps located respectively at Amlekhgunj, Partapur and Gaduwaline. Numerous providers offer jungle drives and elephant rides.
