SUNSARI

Inaruwa is the district headquarters of Sunsari district at a distance of 500 kilometres from Kathmandu. It is a densly populated district with wide range of ethnic people.
Dharan is the focal point of this region, lying at the base of the evergreen Bijaypur Hills. An unusual feature of town life is the Union Jack that flies over one of the squat single-storey building. This is one of the British Army Gurkha recruiting centres in Nepal. Wiry teenagers from the hills continue a long and noble tradition, enlisting usually for life while older generation, now retired, make the long trek each month from the same hills to pick up their pensions. A tough physical examination limits the number of recruits but those who succeed are fitted out with new uniforms and flown abroad for 10 months' basic training, hereafter returning home for their first leave to a hero's welcome from their relatives and neighbours.
The new recruits walk through Dharan smiling proudly and browsing among he market stalls in the old town, where vendors peddle oranges, butter, and herbs. The orchards of the Vijaypur Hills are rich and productive, and surplus fruit is preserved in a recently established canning factory. Access is by bus from Biratnagar through Itahari.
Dharan is also the base for trekking the Makalu region. One of the toughest treks in the world takes you from Dharan through the subtropical floor of the Arun Vally and over the Shipton Pass to the slops of the three great peads of Makalu, Everest, and Lhotse.
Bijaypur is a flat Churiya hillock which uninterruptedly overlooking the flat green Tarai on its south. It lies at a distance of about 3 kilometers north-east of the main Dharan city. Clustered and enshrined with many important temples of the region such as Pindeshwori, Shiddhivinayak and Bhimesthan, Bijaypur is the most important pilgrimage sit in the region. Bijaypur is naturally adorned with typical geo-topography and has a congenial climatic condition. It is a historical township from where the rulers including the Sen Dynasty used to run administration. Bijaypur is equally holy place for mongols where shrine of Buda Subba exists. It takes 45 minutes on foot to reach Bijaypur from Dharan.