Jhapa Travel Guide

For more than a decade, about 100 000 Bhutanese refugees forced out of that benign gross-national-happiness country of Bhutan have been sitting in Jhapa waiting for a solution to their question of repatriation. The second generation refugees are now coming up - children who have known no other existence than the camps. The camps are supervised and provisioned by the UNHCR, but it diesn't replace the freedom of settlement and taking work and generally progressing with their lives.
I do not mean that you should do refugee camp sightseeing, but just be aware of this situation. A few places in Jhapa you can see the camps from the road, but generally they are a bit away from view. To enter you will need a permit from the relevant district authorities.

Charali isn't much of a town, it is a crossroads town of the Chandragadhi-Ilam route on the Mahendra Highway, just 8 km from Kakarbhitta, the Indian border crossing. Mandro serves good food in clean surroundings, catering both for locals as well as Nepali travellers. Foreigners are far and few between here, but their menu is also given in English text. If you for some reason aren't able to make it to Kakarbhitta for the night, condsider staying and eating here. As many travellers are hill people, you will also find good hill food, tea, beer etc. You won't be at loss. I have eaten here many times before setting out for Ilam, never disappointed.
They can assist you with ticketing, jeep reservation, hotel bookings etc. also, their travel agency next door.
Their facilities are vastly upgraded over the years, and now cater for a larger influx of travellers. Still, you do not get the bus crowds here, because it is located a bit up the road from the East-West Highway.

Favorite Dish: Momos are a hit as always, and Mandro is known for them.

There isn't a whole lot of safe things to do in Jhapa's streets and bazaars after dark. As dusk settles, have a fanned corn on the cob at the curbside, but hit the indoors soon thereafter. Everything closes early anyway and with army and maoist presence still, both likely to take advantage of still-open businesses and congregations of people, the best option is to watch the tropical sky from a terrace and have some food and drinks while the cities and villages close down for the night.

Dress Code: Dress against mosquitos....

The only viable airport is Bhadrapur (code BDR). Four airlines fly here from Kathmandu. There are no international links or regional links. For links into the hills you need to move on to Biratnagar...

The Terai in general and apparently Jhapa in particular seems to be the base of numerous squadrons of mosquitoes, many of them carrying malaria... Just be forwarned. If you are transiting Bhadrapur and will head into the hills, do take care to cover up. If staying for any amount of time during rains or other humid conditions, do take malaria prophylaxis.