Rana Tharu Community Homestay - As far west as it gets.

Since Suklaphanta turned from a nature reserve in a National Park the important grassland areas, where the largest population of endangered swamp deer in Nepal live is given a much higher level of protection than previously. The national park is also home to tiger, leopard, wild elephant, one-horned rhino, many kinds of deer and more. The Tharu people who live in the Terai are rich in cultural heritage and have their own special costumes, unique ways of living, language and religious belief, which make them different from other indigenous communities in Nepal. The Rana Tharu are thought to have migrated from the Thar Desert to Nepal's Far Western Terai region. Although there is controversy over their origin, legend has it that they were formerly members of high caste in Rajasthan who fled after the Moguls invaded India in the 16th century. There are other theories, however, suggesting Tharu people were of Nepalese origin and were descendants of the Śākya and Koliya peoples living in Kapilvastu. The Rana Thapa has a different dialect which means that though they can generally understand their Tharu neighbors just 50 kilometers away in Bhada Community Homestay, they cannot speak easily. There are several different groups of Tharu with the eastern Morang Kochila Tharu in Jhapa, Morang and Sunsari districts; the Kochila Tharu in Udayapur and Saptahari; the Kothari or Dangaha Tharu in the central and mid-western Terai; and; and the Rana Tharu in the far western region of Kailali and Kanchenpur.