Rana Tharu Community Homestay, Kanchanpur

With its vibrant flowers and stylish guests, Rana Tharu Community Homestay is a fascinating place to stay. The village is close to Bhimdatta, Nepal's ninth-largest city (formerly known as Mahendranagar). 

Only 5 kilometers separate it from the Indian border, yet 700 kilometers separate it from Kathmandu. The community is nestled next to Suklaphanta National Park.

The inhabitants of Rana Tharu provide eight cottages with associated bathrooms that have sixteen purpose-built rooms. All of the rooms are simple yet clean and comfy, and the beds all have mosquito netting.

The homes are well-maintained and feature lovely gardens filled with flowers. The majority of brick-built homes were constructed in accordance with traditional Tharu design, essentially modified with flat roofs to store grass for the animals.

Rana Tharu prefers to live in large extended families with several generations, where everyone contributes to the household's labor, finances, and use of a single kitchen.

The Tharu people's cuisine features a variety of unique delicacies. You must try Dhikri, a rice flour-based dish that is steamed and is typically eaten with chutney, curry or veggies.

The clothing of the Rana Tharu people is exceptionally bright and exquisitely embroidered; they purchase fabric remnants, and each woman creates her own magnificent outfit from them. The traditional dances of the Tharu group are very dissimilar from those of the other Tharu groups.

The Suklaphanta national park should always be visited while in Ranu Tharu. Swamp deer, spotted, hog, and barking deer, wild boar, tigers, leopards, rhinoceroses, elephants, and more than 400 bird species all have major habitats in the park.

The village, which is quite small, is set out on a straightforward grid of gravel roads, where you could see the occasional bullock cart or bicycle but not many other cars. You can observe the locals going about their daily lives while you explore the village.