Province 3
Bagmati Pradesh (Nepali: वाग्मती प्रदेश) is one of the seven provinces of Nepal established by the constitution of Nepal as of 20 September 2015. With Hetauda as its provincial headquarter, the province is the home to the country’s capital Kathmandu, is mostly hilly and mountainous, and hosts mountain peaks including Gaurishankar, Langtang, Jugal, and Ganesh. The province covers an area of 20,300 km2 – about 14% of the country’s total area and has an altitude low enough to support deciduous, coniferous, and alpine forests and woodlands. Temperature varies with altitude. Rainfall takes place mainly during the summer.
The Province borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China to the north, Province No. 1 to the east, Gandaki Pradesh to the west, and both Province No. 2 and the Indian state of Bihar to the south. Hetauda was declared as the permanent state capital on January 12, 2020. Being the most populous province of Nepal, it possesses rich cultural diversity with resident communities and castes including Newar, Tamang, Madhesis, Sherpa, Tharu, Chepang, Jirel, Brahmin, Chhetri, and more. It hosted the highest number of voters in the last election for the House of Representatives and Provincial Assembly, which took place in 2017.
