Basantapur is a
village development committee in
Sunsari District
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, image_caption = Night view of Dharan, Itahari & Tarahara :: Barahakshetra Temple: BPKIHS, Dharan : Dharan Clock Tower
, image_map = Sunsari district lo ...
in the
Kosi Zone
Kosi or Koshi ( ne, कोसी अञ्चल, ne, कोशी अञ्चल ) was one of the fourteen zones of Nepal until the restructure of zones to provinces. The headquarters of Kosi Zone was Biratnagar which was also its largest cit ...
of south-eastern
Nepal
Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne,
सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...
. At the time of the
1991 Nepal census
The 1991 Nepal census was a widespread national census conducted by the Nepal Central Bureau of Statistics.
Working with Nepal's Village Development Committees at a district level,
they recorded data from all the main towns and villages of each ...
it had a population of 5566 people living in 879 individual households.
At the center of town is a sculpture of
rhododendron
''Rhododendron'' (; from Ancient Greek ''rhódon'' "rose" and ''déndron'' "tree") is a very large genus of about 1,024 species of woody plants in the heath family (Ericaceae). They can be either evergreen or deciduous. Most species are nati ...
, which grows very commonly in the area.
Tourism
Basantapur serves as a base village for some
treks including the Tinjure, Milke and Jaljale trek, which provides views of
Everest
Mount Everest (; Tibetan: ''Chomolungma'' ; ) is Earth's highest mountain above sea level, located in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas. The China–Nepal border runs across its summit point. Its elevation (snow heigh ...
,
Kanchenjunga
Kangchenjunga, also spelled Kanchenjunga, Kanchanjanghā (), and Khangchendzonga, is the third List of highest mountains on Earth, highest mountain in the world. Its summit lies at in a section of the Himalayas, the ''Kangchenjunga Himal'', wh ...
and
Makalu
Makalu ( ne, मकालु हिमाल, Makālu himāl; zh, t=馬卡魯峰, p=Mǎkǎlǔ fēng) is the fifth highest mountain in the world at . It is located in the Mahalangur Himalayas southeast of Mount Everest, in Nepal. One of th ...
, the first, third and fifth highest mountains in the world. Kanchenjuna and Makalu can be seen from Basantapur on a cloudless day.
Aside from lodging, Basantapur has a very local economy and provides only basic amenities. There are no shops geared specifically for tourists or trekkers.
Transport
The road to Basantapur from Dharan is bumpy and slow. Basantapur can be reached by local bus in about 4 hours from Dharan.
Microbuses from Dharan are also available for a nominally higher price and normally arrive quicker than the local buses, which stop more often.
Basantapur can also be reached by hiring a taxi or private Jeep.
Accommodation
There are at least seven lodges in Basantapur, all within walking distance of the bus stop at the center of the village, which takes 5 minutes to walk from end to end.
References
Populated places in Sunsari District
{{Sunsari-geo-stub