Exploring Butwal, Nepal: Terai cuisine, Lumbini trails and a stay at Hyatt Place
The Hindu
Set between the Siwalik hills and the plains, Butwal offers travellers a mix of regional cuisine, pilgrimage trails to Lumbini and the comfort of Hyatt’s new hospitality landmark
Somewhere between the overlooked and the underrated lies Butwal, a city in western Nepal that rarely figures on tourist itineraries. Cradled by the Siwalik Hills, known locally as Chure Pahad, it stands at the edge of Nepal’s Terai (plains) region, with the Tinau River winding quietly through. Part trading hub, part cultural centre, this quaint valley town — 26 kilometres from the India–Nepal border and 123 kilometres from Gorakhpur Airport — serves as a gateway to Lumbini, birthplace of Gautama Buddha, and offers a scenic intersection of hills and plains. From a suite at the newly-opened Hyatt Place Butwal, the landscape unfolds in layers: grey-blue hills rising beyond clusters of colourful houses, each crowned with a mumty (a small structure built on a rooftop) and threaded by serpentine lanes.
The façade of Hyatt Place Butwal | Photo Credit: Special arrangement
“Butwal’s proximity to India, particularly the Gorakhpur feeder market in Uttar Pradesh, positions it as a natural hospitality gateway for cross-border business and leisure travel. The seamless road connectivity from Gorakhpur and Gautam Buddha International Airport reinforce its tourism and business potential,” says Tushar Nagar, pre-opening general manager at Hyatt, explaining Butwal’s scope in Hyatt Hotels Corporation’s strategic growth across South Asia. The hotel’ was up and running in December last year, he adds.
Zing Bar at Hyatt Place | Photo Credit: Special arrangement
The conversation meanders from some of the most-visited sites in and around Butwal — Jitgadi Fort, Siddhartha Cable Car, Manimukanda Park, Akhileshwor Mahadeva Temple and Nuwakot Hill — and halts at food. Head chef Umesh Tamang, unassuming and reverently passionate, paces to the table from behind Zing Bar’s kitchen door. Rubbing his hands together, as if warming up for a challenge, he smiles and introduces the topographic disposition of Nepal before placing the menu card.
Head chef Umesh Tamang | Photo Credit: Special arrangement
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