The Mid-Western Development Region ( Nepali: मध्य-पश्चिमाञ्चल विकास क्षेत्र, ''Madhya-Pashchimānchal Bikās Kshetra'') was one of the largest and formerly one of

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 ...

's five development regions. Westward from the

Central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

region surrounding

Kathmandu , pushpin_map = Nepal Bagmati Province#Nepal#Asia , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = Bagmati Prov ...

were the

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

, Mid-Western and finally Far-Western regions. Counter-intuitively, ''Mid-Western'' lay west of ''Western''. It comprised three

zones Zone or The Zone may refer to: Places Climate and altitude zones * Death zone (originally the lethal zone), altitudes above a certain point where the amount of oxygen is insufficient to sustain human life for an extended time span * Frigid zone, ...

: * Karnali * Bheri * Rapti There were 15 districts in this region. The main rivers of this region were Karnali, Bheri,

West Rapti River West Rapti, also known as the Kuwano drains Rapti Zone in Mid-Western Region, Nepal, then Awadh and Purvanchal regions of Uttar Pradesh state, India before joining the Ghaghara—a major left bank tributary of the Ganges known as the Karnali i ...

and Babai. Mt. Kanjiroba, Mt.

Sisne Sisne ( ne, सिस्‍ने गाउँपालिका ''Sis‍nē Gāum̥pālikā'') is a rural municipality in Eastern Rukum District of Lumbini Province Province of Nepal. Demographics At the time of the 2011 Nepal census, Sisne Ru ...

and Mt.

Patarasi Patarasi ( ne, पातारासी) is a rural municipality located in Jumla District of Karnali Province of Nepal. The total area of the rural municipality is and the total population of the rural municipality as of 2011 Nepal census is 1 ...

were the main mountains of the Mid-Western Development Region.

Banke National Park Banke National Park is located in the Lumbini Province and was established in 2010 as Nepal’s tenth national park after its recognition as a "Gift to the Earth".DNPWC (2010)''Banke National Park'' Government of Nepal, Ministry of Forests and So ...

Bardiya National Park ; , iucn_category = II , photo = Bardiya_02.jpg , photo_caption = , photo_alt= , map_image = , map_caption = Location in Nepal , location = Nepal , map = Nepal , relief = 1 , coordinates = , area_km2 = 968 , established = 1988 , go ...

Shey Phoksundo National Park Shey Phoksundo National Park is the largest and only trans- Himalayan national park in Nepal. It was established in 1984 and covers an area of in the districts of Dolpa and Mugu in the Mid-Western Region, Nepal. The protected area ranges in el ...

and

Rara National Park Rara National Park is a protected area in the Himalayas of Nepal and was established in 1976. Covering an area of in the Mugu and Jumla districts, it is the country's smallest national park. Its main feature is Rara Lake at an altitude of . Th ...

s were some of the conservation areas of Mid-Western Development Region which were helping to attract more number of tourists. It occupied 29.2% of the total land of Nepal. It occupied an area of 42,378 km²

Bhutia The Bhutia (; sip, Drenjongpa/Drenjop; ; "inhabitants of Sikkim".) are a community of Sikkimese people living in the state of Sikkim in northeastern India, who speak Drenjongke or Sikkimese, a Tibetic language fairly mutually intelligible w ...

Brahmin Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests (purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers (guru ...

Chhetri Chhetri (Kshetri, Kshettri, Kshetry or Chhettri), ( ne, क्षेत्री ; IAST: ''Kṣetrī'') historically called Kshettriya or Kshetriya or Khas are Nepali speakers of Khas community, some of whom trace their origin to migration fro ...

, Magar, Tharu,

Awadhi Awadhi (; ), also known as Audhi (), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken in northern India and Nepal. It is primarily spoken in the Awadh region of present-day Uttar Pradesh, India. The name ''Awadh'' is connected to Ayodhya, the ancient city, w ...

and ''Thakuri'' were the main ethnicities. They were involved in different occupations like farming, animal husbandry, tourism, and service.

Ghorahi ''Ghorahi'' (Nepali: घोराही उपमहानगरपालिका) is the seventh largest city and largest sub-metropolitan city of Nepal. The city (formerly ''Tribhuvannagar'') lies in Lumbini Province in the Mid-Western part ...

Nepalgunj Nepalgunj (), also spelled Nepalganj, is a Sub-Metropolitan City in Banke District, Nepal. It lies on the Terai plains near the southern border with Bahraich district in Uttar Pradesh, India. Nepalgunj is 153 kilometers south-west of Ghorahi ...

Birendranagar Birendranagar ( ne, वीरेन्द्रनगर) officially Birendranagar Municipality is a city in Surkhet District in Karnali Province of Nepal. It is the district headquarter of Surkhet District and also the capital city of Karnali ...

were the major trade centres of Mid-Western Development Region. There were various types of industries such as steel manufacturing and a garment industry. Different types of cultural sites such as Swargadwari lied in this development region. Peoples of this development region celebrated numbers of festivals like

Dashain Dashain or Bada'dashain, also referred as Bijaya Dashami in Sanskrit, is a major Hindu religious festival in Nepal. It is also celebrated by Hindus of Nepal and elsewhere in the world, including among the Lhotshampa of Bhutan and the Burmese Gur ...

, Tihar,

Lhosar Losar (; "new year"William D. Crump, "Losar" in ''Encyclopedia of New Year's Holidays Worldwide'' (McFarland & Co.: 2008), pp. 237-38.) also known as Tibetan New Year, is a festival in Tibetan Buddhism. The holiday is celebrated on various d ...

etc. They grew different types of food such as rice, maize, pulse, wheat, and paddy. Banke and

Dhorpatan Hunting Reserve Dhorpatan Hunting Reserve is the only hunting reserve in Nepal. Established in 1987 it covers an area of in the Dhaulagiri Himal of western Nepal in the Eastern Rukum, Myagdi and Baglung Districts. In elevation, it ranges from . Flora and faun ...

Rara Lake Rara Lake also known as Mahendra Lake is the largest fresh water lake in the Nepalese Himalayas. It is the main feature of Rara National Park, located in Jumla and Mugu Districts of Karnali Province. Rara National Park stretches over . History ...

, Swargadwari and other sacred places were in this development region. In addition, the Gorkh , Kanti and Mukti Himal were also located in this region.

References

Regions of Nepal Bheri Zone Karnali Zone Rapti Zone Karnali Province * Former subdivisions of Nepal 2015 disestablishments in Nepal {{Nepal-geo-stub