Nepal - "Landlocked Himalayan Kingdom"
Welcome to Nepal. A country that offers a lifetime experience for everyone from
around the globe. A holiday in Nepal offers romance and adventure from the spectacular
Himalayas to exotic wildlife safari, exhilarating white water rafting, mystifying
variety of flora and fauna, charismatic arts and cultures and some of the best walking
trails on earth combined with stirring adventurous bustles.
Nepal being embellished with gleaming Himalayan range in the north and adorned
with lowland greenery in the south, has always lingered in a class of its own as
a magical, mysterious and marvelous tourist destination and remains evermore.
This Himalayan Kingdom, precisely known as the “Land of Mount Everest” and the “Land
of Living Goddess-Kumari” is dignified by the heroism of its brave warrior ancestors-the
“Gurkhas”.
Nepal is a landlocked Himalayan kingdom in south Asia bordering India in the west,
south & east, and China in the north. Covering 147,181 square kilometers, it occupies
0.3 % of total land of Asia and 0.03 % of total land of the world. It is the country
with diversity not only geographically but culturally too.
It is the second richest country in the world in terms of water resources. The Himalayan
Range in the north, which is almost 800 kilometers in length & 50 kilometers in
width, is the home for eight mountains out of fourteen in the world which are over
8,000 meters, including Mt. Everest- the highest mountain in the world. The Himalaya
is the source for more than 6,000 big and small rivers running north to south. There
are various places for the magnificent views of sunrise and sunset ranging from
eastern to the western Nepal. One can enjoy the flora and fauna of all the three
regions: the Himalayan, Hilly and the Terai. It is a paradise for birds as it is
the home for hundreds of species.
Nepal has more than 60 ethnic groups with their own unique culture. The land of
"Living Goddess - Kumari" has special attraction to those who have a keen eye on
culture. It is said that you can find as many temples as houses & as many idols
as heads of people in Kathmandu. Pashupatinath Temple, one of the Hindus' holiest
shrines in the world is a pilgrimage destination for the people from the Hindu world.
Boudhanath, one of the biggest Stupa in the world, resides towards the north of
Pashupatinath. These two figures stand side by side showing religious harmony. Lumbini,
the birthplace of Gautam Buddha, a pioneer of peace through Buddhism, is in Nepal.
Nepal at a Glance
|
Area : |
147,181 square kilometers |
|
Geography : |
Situated between China to the North and India to its South, East and West. |
|
Capital : |
Kathmandu. |
|
Language : |
Nepali is the national language. |
|
People : |
Nepal has more than 61 ethnic groups and 70 languages. |
|
Currency: |
Nepali Rupees, (As per the Central Bank of Nepal Nrs. 70.61 = US$ 1.00 approx.). |
|
Time : |
Nepal's standard time is 5 hour and 45 minutes ahead of GMT & 15 minutes ahead of
the Indian Standard Time. |
The climate of Nepal varies from place to place depending upon the altitude of the
place. A visit to Nepal is possible all the year round, activities like trekking,
rafting, mountaineering, Jungle safari is best from October until May.
There are four seasons in Nepal
(1) Winter - December to February
(2) Spring - March to May
(3) Summer - June to August
(4) Autumn - September to November.
Nepal occupies only 0.03% of the earth - is home to:
- 8 of the mountains above 8000 meters.
- 2% of all the flowering plants in
the world.
- 8% of the world's population of birds (more than 848 species).
-
4% of mammals on earth.
- 11 of the 15 families of butterflies (more than 500
species).
- 600 indigenous plant families.
- 319 species of exotic orchids.
Please consult your doctor before you leave for Nepal for advice on common South
Asian diseases and health problems, including mountain sickness and malaria etc.
You may need some vaccines such as meningitis, typhoid and gamma globulin (Hepatitis
A & B). Altitude sickness, which can strike anyone, including the strong and healthy.
Oxygen at the highest elevation is only half the concentration of that at the lowlands.