The Mahabharat Range (Nepali: महाभारत श्रृंखला mahābhārat shrinkhalā) – also called the Lesser Himalaya – is a major east-west mountain range with elevations 1,500 to 2,700 meters (5,000 to 9,000 feet) along the crest, paralleling the much higher Great Himalaya range from the Indus River in Pakistan across northern India, Nepal, Sikkim and Bhutan but then the two ranges become increasingly difficult to differentiate east of Bhutan as the ranges approach the Brahmaputra River. The Mahabharat range also parallels the lower Siwalik or Churia Range (Outer Himalaya) to the south.

Southern slopes of the Mahabharat Range are steep and nearly uninhabited due to a major fault system called the 'Main Boundary Thrust". The crest and northern slopes slope gently enough to support upland pastures and terraced fields. Nepal's densely populated Middle Hills begin along the crest, extending north through lower valleys and other "hills" until population thins out above 2,000 meters and cereal-based agriculture increasingly gives way to seasonal herding and cold-tolerant crops such as potatoes.