Asia's Little-Known Region Where 'The Guest Is God'

The Himalayas and Kathmandu may lure all the tourists, but Nepal's Terai lowlands are teeming with wildlife, national parks and an innovative homestay network.

"We'll barbecue the rat in a moment," said Shyam Chaudhary. "But first, I'll show you how to make spicy fruit pickle." Dressed in a scarlet sari fringed with colourful pompoms, Chaudhary set me to work in her kitchen. Together we chopped onions, chillies and starfruit, before tossing them into a searing wok with sugar, coriander and cumin, and frying the mixture for 20 minutes.

We were preparing a variety of foods for a special festival later that day – one I'd been invited to attend while lodging at Chaudhary's home in Bhada, a remote village in Nepal's southern Terai region near the border with India. Terai is also the homeland of the indigenous Tharu people.

A world away from the crowded trails of the Himalayas and the tourist hubs of the Kathmandu Valley, the Terai's lowland plains showcase a very different side to Nepal: wildlife-rich national parks, sweeping farmlands, and one of the world's most important pilgrimage sites: Lumbini, the sacred birthplace of the Buddha.

I'd arranged my stay through the Community Homestay Network, a nationwide initiative that helps travellers experience a more authentic, off-the-beaten-track side of Nepal, with the added benefit of putting money in the pockets of local families.

After a few enjoyable hours in Chaudhary's simple adobe kitchen – built from timber, mud, paddy stalks and goat hair – the rhythmic beating of madal (buffalo-skin drums) began rising from the surrounding fields. It was the cue to carry our trays of home-cooked dishes outside, where local farmers were erecting a towering bamboo cane strung with marigold garlands – the Tharu version of a scarecrow.

A crowd gathered around it, and soon a boisterous party was in full swing. The day-long festivities, called Auli, mark the end of the rice harvest, giving thanks to Mother Nature for her bounty. Eating of a sacrificed rice-field rat, fresh from the kitchen barbecue, is central to the ritual – a symbolic plea to the gods to keep pests from ravaging the seedlings, plants and grains of the coming year's crop.

- Author: Simon Urwin, BBC

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