Sheep's terrace, then a highway town
The name Bhedetar is usually translated as sheep's terrace, from the Nepali bhedo, sheep, and tar, a flat shelf of land. Before the road, the ridge lay on the footpath between the plains and the eastern hills, with only a scattering of farms. Porters carrying loads between Dharan and Dhankuta climbed the same steep slope the highway now winds up, and the ridge top was a natural place to rest after the long climb out of the heat.
The main settlement grew after the road from Dharan to Dhankuta was completed in 1982. Shops and tea stalls opened to serve buses and trucks, and later hotels and restaurants for visitors coming up from the plains. A high-power transmitter of Nepal Television on the ridge carries signals across the region, and its tower is a landmark from below. Over the years the ridge has filled with houses, viewpoints and small resorts along the road.
Today Bhedetar is a weekend escape for people from Dharan, Itahari and Biratnagar, known for its views, sunset and sekuwa, grilled skewers of meat. On weekdays it is quiet, and the families who live here go back to their farms, shops and jobs in Dharan. For many people in the eastern Terai, a drive up to Bhedetar is the simplest way to feel the hills, and for many travellers it is the first taste of the Koshi hills beyond.
