Nepal - a country
of amazing extremes, is the home of the world's
highest mountains, historic cities and the forested
plains where the lordly tigers and the great
one- horned rhinoceros trundle at ease. In fact
enchantment is everywhere- for anyone in search
of Shangrila! Nepal, a sovereign independent
Kingdom, is bounded, on the North by the Tibetan
Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of
China, the east-south and west by India.
For centuries the kingdom of Nepal remained
divided into many principalities. Kirats ruled
in the east, the Newars in the Kathmandu Valley,
While Gurungs and Magars occupied the mid-west.
The Kirats ruled from 300 BC and during their
reign, emperor Ashoka arrived from India to
build a pillar at Lumbini in memory of Lord
Buddha. The Lichchhavis whose descendants
today are believed to be the Newars of the
Kathmandu Valley followed the kirats. During
this period, art thrived in Nepal and many
of the beautiful woodcarving and sculptures
that are found in the country belong to this
era. With the end of the Lichchhavi dynasty,
malla kings came to power in 1200 AD and they
also contributed tremendously to Nepal's art
and culture. However, after almost 600 years
of rule, the kings were not united among themselves
and during the late 18th century, Prithvi
Narayan Shah, King of Gorkha, conquered Kathmandu
and united Nepal into one kingdom. Recognizing
the threat of the British Raj in India, he
dismissed European missionaries from the country
and for more than a century, Nepal remained
in isolation. During the mid-19th century
Jung Bahadur Rana became Nepal's first prime
minister to wield absolute power. He set up
and oligarchy and the Shah kings remained
figureheads. The Ranas were overthrown in
a democracy movement of the early 1950s. Today,
Nepal enjoys a multiparty democratic system
with a constitutional Monarch.
The new democratic constitution of the kingdom
was promulgated on November 9, 1990. Nepal
is one of the founder members of South Asian
Association for Regional Cooperation SAARC
of which the third summit was held in Kathmandu
in November 1987. Hinduism and Buddhism constitute
two major religions of Nepal. A remarkable
feature of Nepal is the religious homogeneity
what exists, particularly between the Hindu
and Buddhist Communities. Apart from the Hindus
and Buddhists, Muslim from the third largest
religious group. The exquisite medieval Art
& Architecture of the Katmandu Valley
vividly reflect the artistic ingenuity and
the religious tradition of the people.
General Information
about Nepal
Location : Between India
and Tibetan autonomous region of the People's
Republic of China.
Area : 147,181 Sq. Kms
Population : Around 25 Million
Latitude & Longitude :
26'12' and 30'27' North & 80 degree 4'
and 88 degree 12' East
Capital city : Kathmandu
People : Over 40 Ethnic
Groups & 70 Spoken Languages
Political-System : Multiparty
Democracy With Constitutional Monarchy
Topography : From the World's
Deepest gorge 'Kali-Gandaki' to the highest
point on earth, Mt. Everest at 8850m
Climate :
Climate ranges from sub-tropical in the low
lands to Arctic higher altitudes
Seasons : Winter (Dec -
Feb), Summer (Mar - May ), Monsoon (Jun -
Aug) & Autumn (Sep - Nov)
National Bird : Impean Pheasant
(Danfe)
National Flower : Rhododendron
Arboreum (Lali Gurans)
Flora and Founa : 840 different
species of wet-land, migratory and residential
bird, 8% of the world's population of birds
and home to endangered species
Like :
Royal Bengal Tiger, One horned rhino, Snow
- Leopard, Red Panda, Brown Bear, Assamese
Macaque, Gangetic Dolphin, Wolf, Wild Elephant,
Giant Horn - Bill, Swamp Deer, Wild Yak, Tibetan
Antelope, Black Buck, Four Horned antelope,
Musk Deer, Pigmy Hog, Haspid Hare, Pangolin,
Gharial, Indian Bustart, Saras Crane, Impean
Pheasant, Python etc.
A Living Cultural Heritage : Nepal's
Heritage is alive and dynamic. Shamanism,
Pan-animism & Witch-craft are still practiced
in remote regions. Temples, shrines, monuments
and monasteries are extremely active with
devotees burning butter-lamps, singing hymns,
chiming temple bells and playing drums. The
only country that has living goddess "Kumari".
