Surkhet

Surkhet is a district in Mid-Western Development Region of Nepal. Birendranagar is the administrative headquarter of Surkhet as well as the whole Mid-Western Development Region. it is a part of Surkhet Valley, which is about 50 Square Kilometers in size. It gets its name from late king Birendra Bir Bikram Shah. It is approximately 400 kilometers west of the Nepalese capital, Kathmandu.

The temperature ranges from 5°C to 38°C from summer to winter. "'Inhabitants"'People started living in this valley after the eradication of malaria. Before its own identity as an independent district, it used to be in the district of Dailekh. Surkhet is hub to remote districts like Dailekh, Kaalikot, Jumla, Mugu, Jajarkot, and Salyan. Recently because of insurgency, many people have migrated to Surkhet from these districts.

The majority of the people are Brahmin and Chettris, and there are minorities which are Newar, Magar, Tharu, Sunaar, and Kaami. Eighty percent of the people are Hindu. Others are Buddhists, Christians, and Muslims.

Infrastructure

Surkhet is accessible by air service and roads from various parts of the country. Ratna highway links it to the rest of Nepal. Karnali highway, currently under construction, will link Surkhet to the remote Western region Karnali. An air service connects Surkhet to Kathmandu, Nepalgunj, Jumla and several other districts.

There are three colleges which provide education up to Master's level. It has a district hospital which provides basic medication for its people. The main occupation is farming.

There are many NGOs and INGOs working in this area for development. The INF Surkhet Programme is one of the oldest organizations working in the health and development sector.

Tourism

Tourist attractions are places like Kakrebihar, Bulbule, Deutibajai, Mangalgadhi, Gothikanda, Ghantaghar, Bheri river and many other places with religious as well as historic values. Kakrebihar is the remains of an old Buddhist Monastery (palace), which is in the list of national heritage sites in Nepal. Bheri river is a well known destination for rafting. Birendranagar is a beautiful city which is among very few cities in Nepal built under a master plan. People have access to a good network of roads as compared to other mid-sized cities in Nepal which makes transportation easy. But due to lack of proper attention from the government and donor agencies in looking after this beautiful heritage city, there has not been sufficient effort to make it look more beautiful and establish it as a popular tourist destination.