Nepal has the world's highest mountain, its deepest gorge and highest lake. Needless to say, it is a mountaineer's delight. Adventure-seekers will find enough in Nepal to sustain a lifetime's passion for the Great Outdoors. It's scenic splendor, wildlife, arts, crafts and people attract visitors from the furthest corners of the world, many of who end up staying for good. Perhaps one of its greatest advantages is that Nepal caters to travelers and tourists of every budget and varying interests. Nepal has something for everyone - backpacking budget travelers, shoppaholics, New Age Nirvana seekers.
Nepal 's wildly varying ecosystems support a vast range of vegetation and wildlife. This includes over 6,500 known species of trees, shrubs and wildflowers, more than 800 bird species (at nearly 10 per cent of the entire world's bird species, the figure is higher than that of Canada and the United States combined!), and a large number of reptiles and mammals.
There are several reasons for the tremendous diversity of plant and animal species found in Nepal . Its phenomenal topography contains ecological zones that in most other parts of the world, are separated by thousands of kilometres. Nepal 's geographical location, climate, altitude and aspect all combine to make it a nature lover's paradise.
Official Name:
Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal
Abbreviation
NP
Capital
Kathmandu
President
Ram Baran Yadav
Head of Government
Pushpa Kamal Dahal (Prachanda)
Population
23.52 Million (2007 estimate)
Area
147,181 sq. km. (54,633 sq. mi.)
Time Zone
5 hours 45 minutes ahead of GMT
Language
Nepali (official)
Religion
Hinduism and Buddhism
Unit of Currency
Rupee
National Emblems
The rhododendron; a white cow; a green pheasant; two Gurkha soldiers, one carrying a khukri and a bow and an arrow and the other a modern rifle; peaks of the Himalaya Mountains; the moon and the sun, both with faces showing Hindu caste marks, two crossed Nepali flags and khukris; the footprints of Gorakhnath, the guardian deity of the Gurkhas; and the royal headdress. At the base of the design a red scroll carries the national motto in Sanskrit: "The Motherland Is Worth More than the Kingdom of Heaven ."
National Anthem
"May Glory Crown Our Illustrious Sovereign"
National Calendar
The Nepali year begins in mid-April and is divided into 12 months: Baisakh, Jestha, Asadh, Shrawan, Bhadra, Aswin, Kartik, Marga, Poush, Phalgun, Chaitra. Saturday is the official weekly holiday.
Physical Quality of Life Index
36
Date of Unification
1768 (by Prithvi Narayan Shah)
Date of Constitution
November 9, 1990
Zoo -Biodiversity
184 Species Mamals
Avi - fauna
865 Birds Species
560 Species Butter flies
184 Reptiles - 154 snakes Species, Fish 171 Species
Weights and Measures
Traditional measures are commonly used. The most important of these are ropani = 0.05 ha.(0.8 ac.); bigha = 0.1 ha.,(1.67 ac.); murhi = 72 kg.(160 lb.).
Per capita income
$170 (FY92)
There are few places on the planet like Nepal , a country of such delightful contrasts and diversity, that most visitors are tempted to return to it again and again. The fact that it was remotely located and closed to the world until the 1950s lends it an added sense of mystery.
Nepal has the world's highest mountain, its deepest gorge and highest lake. Needless to say, it is a mountaineer's delight. Adventure-seekers will find enough in Nepal to sustain a lifetime's passion for the Great Outdoors. It's scenic splendor, wildlife, arts, crafts and people attract visitors from the furthest corners of the world, many of who end up staying for good. Perhaps one of its greatest advantages is that Nepal caters to travelers and tourists of every budget and varying interests. Nepal has something for everyone - backpacking budget travelers, shoppaholics, New Age Nirvana seekers, and business-tycoons….
In length and breadth, Nepal is just another small country, but in height, it's a world-beater. Not only does it possess the world's tallest mountains, including Everest and Annapurna , they're also the youngest - and still growing! Apart from its four mountain ranges - Chure Hills, Mahabharat Range, the Himalayas and the Tibetan Marginals - Nepal also has vast plains in the south, fertile valleys in the midlands and high-altitude deserts in the north.
Most of the land between the Terai and the Himalayas has been vigorously modified by human activity. As a result of agriculture and animal grazing, large tracts of forested land within the inhabited zone, particularly on the southern slopes, have been cut and cleared.
