About Nepal
Where on earth Nepal is?
Nepal is a Himalayan Kingdom which lies in South-Asia between Tibet, an autonomous region of China to the north and India to the south. The country is rectangular in shape having 885 kms in length from east to west and its breadth varies from 145 to 241 km north to south. The elevation of the country ranges from 70m above sea level to the highest point on earth, Mt. Everest at 8848m all within a distance of 150 km with climatic variations ranging from sub-tropical to arctic. The country is popularly known in the world for an incredible variety of ecosystems, the greatest mountain range, thick tropical jungles teeming with a wealth of wildlife, thundering rivers, forested hills and frozen valleys.
Nepal offers an astonishing diversity of adventure opportunities and cultural sightseeing attractions found nowhere else on earth.
Glimpses of Nepal
Continent : Asia
Region : South Asia
Area : 147,181 sq.km.
Latitude : 26022? and 30027? North
Longitude : 8004 and 88012? East.
Capital : Kathmandu
Population : 23.4 million (Approx.)
People : 70 ethnic groups and over 100 spoken languages .
Altitude : It varies from 70m above sea level to the highest point on earth, Mt. Everest.
Topography : From the world?s deepest gorge ?Kali Gandaki? to the highest point on earth ?Mt. Everest?
Vegetation : Nepal posses a wide range of vegetation due to its topographical variation.
Weather : Climate ranges from Tropical in the low lands to Arctic in higher altitudes.
Seasons: Winter (Dec-Feb)
Summer (March-May)
Monsoon (June-Aug)
Autumn (Sept-Nov)
Time: Nepal Standard Time is 5 hrs 45 min ahead of GMT and 15 min ahead of Indian Standard Time.
People
The total population of Nepal is about 23.4 million comprising people of different races and tribes, living in different religions, speaking different languages, celebrating different festivals and wearing different dresses.
The Gurungs and Magars mainly live in west and southern slopes of Annapurna. The Gurungs, Magars, Rais, Limbus, Sunuwars live in eastern Mountain region and the Sherpas live in Himalayan Region. Newars are the very ancient inhabitants of Kathmandu valley. The Tharus, Yadavs, Dhimals, Satars, Rajvanshi live in terai region. The Brahmins, Chetris, Thakuris inhabit the most part of the Kingdom. All these races and tribes are tied up together by their common ideals of peace, democracy and nationalism. The people of Nepal are friendly, hospitable and religious minded following different religions and cultural traditions.
Religion
About 90% of the Nepalese are Hindus and about 6% of them are Buddhist but live together in religious harmony and worshipping each other?s deities and celebrating the festivals of both religions.
Apart from Hindus and Buddhist about 3% are Muslims and 1% are Christians, Jains and others.
Regions:
Nepal is divided into three physical regions.
1) Himalayan Region: This region comprises about 15% of the total land area. The altitude of this region is above 5000m. The region encompasses eight of the 14 high summits of the world crossing over an altitude of 8000m. including Everest, Annapurna, Dhaulagiri and so on.
2) Hilly Region: This region accounts for about 68% of the total land area. The region lies between the Himalayan and Terai regions soaring up to 4877m.
3) Terai Region: The low land that occupies about 17% of the total land of the country. It?s elevation ranges from 70 to 200m. with sub-tropical climate. It extends from the Nepal-India border in the south to the base of Siwalik Hills (Churia) in the North.
Travelers? Information
Visa: Available at Royal Nepalese Embassies and Royal Nepalese consulates abroad or on arrival at Tribhuwan International Airport in Kathmandu. More on Visa>>
Access to Nepal
By Air: The Royal Nepal Airlines (RNA) is the National flag carrier of Nepal with flights from. ????????Cosmic Air ???.. Air Nepal?????..
Other International Airlines operating from/ to Kathmandu are Martin Air (Holland), Gulf Air (Abu Dhabi), Condor (Munich), Air China (Lhasa), Qatar Airways (Doha), Thai International (Bangkok), Indian Airlines (Delhi, Calcutta, Varanasi), Biman Banglades (Dhaka), Austrian Air (Vienna).
By Land: All visitors entering Nepal by Land must use entry points at Biratnagar, Kakarbhitta, Birgunj, Sunauli, Nepalgunj, Dhading, Mahendranagar on the Nepal-India border and Kodari on the Nepal-China border.
Accomodation: Nepal has every category of accommodation facilities. These range from the International Standard Star hotels to Budget hotels and Lodges across the country.
Shopping: Nepal has many fine handicrafts to offer to visitors such as hand- knotted woolen carpets, jewellery, pashmina shawls, woolen knit wears, embroidery, thangka paintings, mithila paintings, wood carving, metal works, ceramics and pottery, rice paper and stationery.
Credit Card: Most of the big organizations, travel agencies, departmental stores, restaurants etc accept Credit cards like Visa, Master and other cards.
Foreign Exchange: Foreign currencies must be exchanged only through the banks or authorized foreign exchange dealers. The receipt from such transaction is to be obtained and retained. Visitors can exchange money at the foreign exchange counter at the Airport upon arrival also.
Airport tax: Rs. 770 per person for departure to SAARC (South Asian) countries and Rs. 1100 for other international destinations.
Tourist Police: A special unit of the Nepal Police called Tourist Police deals with Problems related to tourist. To avail the services of Tourist Police one can contact at Tourist Service center, Bhrikuti Mandap tel. No. 247041.
Customs Formalities: All baggage must be declared & cleared through customs on arrival and departure. Goods which are prohibited by the government cannot be brought or taken out of Nepal.
Electricity: 220V/ 5Hz
What to wear:
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Lightweight clothing is recommended for May through October, warm garments are required from October to March.
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An umbrella or raincoat is a must for the rainy seasons. |
