While Nepal is best known for Himalayan peaks and Kathmandu’s busy backpacker streets, the lesser-known Terai lowlands offer a completely different world: jungles filled with wildlife, peaceful farmland, sacred Buddhist sites, and a warm culture that treats visitors like family. Here, the indigenous Tharu people live among national parks and fertile plains along the Indian border — and hospitality isn’t just a custom, it’s a belief.
In the village of Bhada, travellers can stay through Nepal’s Community Homestay Network, which lets families open their homes to guests and benefit directly from tourism. Staying with Shyam Chaudhary in her traditional mud-and-timber house, visitors help prepare food, learn to make local dishes like spicy fruit pickle, and take part in community celebrations.
One such event is Auli — a lively festival marking the end of the rice harvest. Villagers gather with music, dancing and offerings to thank Mother Nature, while a symbolic ritual meal of barbecued rice-field rat is served to protect future crops from pests. Homemade drinks flow, marigold garlands swing, and everyone joins the dancing as drums echo across the fields.
Women-run homestays have brought new income and recognition to Bhada, drawing domestic tourists and curious foreigners seeking an authentic, off-the-beaten-path experience. As one host explained, the Tharu welcome is rooted in an old saying: Atithi devo bhava — “the guest is god.”
In a Nepal rarely seen by outsiders, generosity is a way of life — and those who venture beyond the mountains find a land rich in nature, tradition, and unforgettable human connection.
