Surkhet: Birendranagar, gateway to Karnali

Surkhet is a hub for the remoter districts of Kalikot, Jumla, Mugu, Jajarkot and Salyan¹. Birendranagar, the district headquarters, is the provincial capital¹. This page covers the district and the town; the other far-west districts are in the districts hub, and the road north is on the Karnali Highway page.

Where it is

Surkhet is a district in Karnali Province, about 600 km west of Kathmandu¹. Birendranagar is its district headquarters and the capital of Karnali Province¹. Surkhet is a hub for the remoter districts of Kalikot, Jumla, Mugu, Jajarkot and Salyan¹. Surkhet Valley is one of the Inner Terai Valleys of Nepal¹. The district had 415,126 people at the 2021 census¹.

Birendranagar municipality stands at about 665 m above sea level, in a valley, and had 153,863 residents in 2021². Its climate is moderate, being neither too cold nor too hot². Winter temperatures drop to about 5 °C and in summer they rise to 38 °C¹. The city was named after King Birendra in 1972; it was previously called Chauhanchaur². It is one of Nepal’s few cities built under a master plan¹.

Getting there

By air

In October 2026 Surkhet Airport in Birendranagar was listed with regular flights to Kathmandu, Nepalgunj and Jumla and other districts¹. The airport was established in 1965². For the flights into the hills see flights to Jumla.

By road

The Ratna Highway links Surkhet to the rest of Nepal¹. The Karnali Highway directly connects Surkhet, Dailekh, Kalikot, Jumla and Mugu³. It is 232 km long⁶. The passage was opened in 2007⁶, and 17 km were blacktopped in 2010⁶. Later, with Rs1 billion from the World Bank, the government blacktopped 126 km from Surkhet to Khidkijhyula and a further 107 km from Khidkijhyula to Jumla³.

In July 2026 around 80 percent of that blacktopping had peeled away, and the 232 km journey that should take about six hours often took up to 24³.

The sections beyond Surkhet are covered in Dailekh, Kalikot and Jumla. The rains are discussed in monsoon road closures.

What to see

The main sites are Kankrebihar, Bulbule, Deuti Bazzai, Ghantaghar, Shahid Park, Patalganga, Gadhi and Jarbuta².

Bulbule Lake is one of the main tourist attractions in Karnali Province, at about 657 m above sea level². Its park has picnic areas, boat rides, gardens and a children’s park². It is about 1.6 km from Mangalgadhi Chowk, a 3-minute drive on a paved road².

Kankrebihar is the remains of an old Buddhist monastery and is on the list of national heritage sites in Nepal¹. It takes about 40 minutes on foot from Surkhet Bus Park, or around 13 minutes by vehicle on the paved road². The surrounding forest is the first forest protection area of Nepal².

Ghantaghar was established in 1988 with the assistance of the Chinese Government². The Province Museum is open every day except Tuesday and public holidays². Bayalkanda Gadhi Fort is about 13 km north on the paved road towards Dailekh, around 30 minutes by vehicle².

The Bheri river is a common destination for rafting¹; Ranighat serves as the landing site for rafting that starts from the Bheri Bridge². Paragliding has started in the valley¹.

Where to stay

Thousands of hotels, inns and lodges are available at Birendranagar¹. Community-operated homestays have contributed to the town’s tourism². The first stop on the road north, in neighbouring Dailekh, is covered under Dailekh.

Safety

In July 2026 the Karnali Highway was described as the deadliest road in Karnali Province despite years of repairs³. Police data attributed nearly 56 percent of all road accidents in the province to it³.