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| INTRODUCTION |
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| 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! |
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| GEOGRAPHY |
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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. The
length of the Kingdom is 885
kilometres east-west and its
breadth varies
from 145-241
kilometers north-south. The country can be divided into three main
geographical regions. |
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| (a) HIMALAYAN REGION |
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| The altitude of this region ranges
between 4877m. - 8848m. It
includes 8 of the highest 14
summits in the world which
exceed altitude of 8000
meters including, Annapurna, Dhaulagiri and
others. |
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| (b) MOUNTAIN REGIONS |
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| This region accounts for about 64 percent of total land area. It is formed by the Mahabharat range that soars up to 4877 meter and the lower churia range. |
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| (c) TERAI REGION. |
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| The low-land Terai oceupies
about 17 percent of the total
land area of the country. |
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There is no seasonal constraint on
travelling in and through Nepal.
Even in December and January,
when the winter is at its severest,
there are compensating bright sun
and brilliant views. |
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| HISTORY |
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| Nepal-a country with a long
historic tradition is an amalgamation
of a number of medieval principalities.
Before the campaign of national
integration launched by King Prithvi
Narayan Shah the Kathmandu Valley
was ruled by the Malla Kings, whose
contributions to art and culture are
indeed great and unique. In 1768 AD
the Shah dynasty ascended the
throne of the unified kingdom. His
Majesty King Birendra Bir Bikram
Shah Dev, is tenth King in the Shah
dynasty. |
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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. |
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| PEOPLE |
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Nepal has a population of
more than 18 million people made of
different races living in different
regions, with diverse culture,
languages and dialects. |
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The Gurungs and Magars live mainly in the west.
The Rais, Limbus and Sunuwars
inhabits the slopes and valleys of the
Eastern mid hills. The Sherpas live in
the Himalayan region. The Newars
constitute an important ethnic group
of the capital valley Kathmandu. |
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There are Tharus, Yadavas, Satar,
Rajvanshis and Dhimals in the Terai
region. The Brahmans, Chhetris and
Thakuris are spread generally over
all parts of the Kingdom. |
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| RELIGION & CULTURE |
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| 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 Kathmandu Valley vividly reflect the artistic ingenuity and the religious tradition of the people. |
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| LANGUAGE |
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| Nepali, serves the purpose of the kingdom's lingua franca in Nepal. The educated people speak and understand English as well. |
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| CLIMATE |
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| Nepal has four climatic
seasons |
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(a) Spring : March-May |
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(b) Summer : June-August |
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(c) Autumn : September-November |
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(d) Winter : December-February. |
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The average temperature and rainfall records in
Kathmandu are presented hereunder. |
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| Movies |
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| There's nothing like going to the movies. There are several cinema halls
in Kathmandu where you can sit back and enjoy the celluloid offerings of
Kathmandu and Bombay. Nepalese films as well as Hindi movies from
India are the most popular cinematic fare around here. You can know it's a
cinema hall by the huge colorful posters of the hero thrashing the villain
pasted outside. Tickets are not very
expensive and there are three shows everyday: 11:30 am,
2:30 pm and 5:30 pm (four shows on
Saturday). |
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