About 200km east of the Janakpur turn-off, BIRATNAGAR is Nepal's industrial capital and its second-biggest city, with more than 200,000 residents. Its nearness to the port of Calcutta enabled it to become a major exporter of jute (used in rope and sacks) early on in the country's industrial development, and it has since diversified into steel, textiles, vegetable ghee, soap and plastics. It's also famous (in Nepal) for being a political hotbed, having produced four prime ministers in the past fifty years. However, Biratnagar's future is in doubt. Jute is in decline, its other industries can't compete with their bigger Indian rivals, Birganj is muscling in on trade with Calcutta, and the 1995 cancellation of a $1 billion hydroelectricity project in the hills to the north has turned a speculative boom into a bust.

There are actually two Biratnagars - the downtown trading centre and the sprawling industrial belt along the highway to the north of the city - neither of which is remotely interesting. Frankly, the only reason to come here would be to make a flight or bus connection to somewhere else. That said, the city centre is relatively laid-back and traffic-free. There are few sights, but if you're here on a Wednesday you could at least visit Biratnagar's haat bazaar , held east of town, where you can count on a colourful assembly of Tharus, Danuwars, Rais, Limbus and various Indian castes. In the countryside surrounding Biratnagar, Tharus and Danuwars are indigenous: to sample village life , head out on the road past the haat bazaar towards Rangali, east of town, and head north or south after crossing the canal. The Jogbani border crossing , 5km south of town, is closed to foreigners (officially, anyway).