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Dozens of villages dot the land around Janakpur at regular intervals, each with its own mango grove and a sagar or two. Subsistence farming - livestock, grains, vegetables and fish - is virtually the only occupation here: you'll rarely see even the smallest shop. From Kuwa and the Janakpur Women's Development Center, a road heads east to Lohana and then south to Bahuarwa, Devdiha and, about 10km from Janakpur, larger and more prosperous Nagarain . There are two other ways to get between Janakpur and Nagarain, so you can make a loop - the better (less travelled) of the two is the road heading south from the bus park, which passes through Basahiya, Donauli and Bishnupur, and eventually wends its way eastwards to Nagarain via Phulgama (this entails a stream crossing). The third way to Nagarain is simply the main road south past Kuwa and the airport. This rather shadeless road, which is served by infrequent, claptrap buses, continues to the Indian border, 3km beyond Nagarain. Westwards from Ramanand Chowk, you can follow a dirt lane through the huts of Pidari, over the train tracks and through some nice shady groves, and finally to Khurta , a substantial community with grain mills and a Friday-afternoon market. A separate track heads west from near "Zero Mile" to Basbitti and Bhramarpura. North from Suba Chowk, the road to Dhanusha has been rendered a bit less interesting by being upgraded, but you can make a couple of nice detours where it bypasses the villages of Bhenga and Thumana. Dhanusha (Dhanushadham), 18km from Janakpur, is an important pilgrimage site. According to the Ramayan, it was here that King Janak staged an Arthurian contest for the hand of his daughter, Sita, declaring that the successful suitor would have to prove himself by lifting an impossibly heavy bow. After all others had given up, Ram picked up the bow with ease, and broke it in two for good measure. Villagers can point you to a walled compound encircling a volcanic rock that's said to be a piece of the bow. There are also several picturesque villages on either side of the main road that connects Janakpur to the Mahendra Highway. Loveliest is Kumrora , on the right about 4km north of Pidari Chowk, a tidy Brahman settlement of one- and two-storey houses and particularly expressive wall murals. To avoid the worst of the roadside grunge around Pidari Chowk, take a back way just to the east, via Rajaul, which joins the main road halfway. Other roads heading east go to the villages of Kapileshwar and Manharpur, but the options in this direction are limited by a major stream that's crossed only by the railway and a road running parallel to it. You might as well take the train.
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