Geography:
Nepal is a country of diversity from tropical forests to eight of the highest mountains on earth stretching 147,181 square kilometres. It is a land of amazing extremes, and is the home of the world’s highest Mountains with about thirty-six ethnic groups, warm and hospitable people, and resplendent art and architecture. His or her unique floral and faunal endowment brings warm hospitality for anyone in search for Shangri-La. In the terms of bio diversity due to its unique geographical position and altitudinal variation it’s elevation, the country ranges from 60m at sea level to the highest point on earth. Nepal is situated between China in the north and India in the east, west and South. The population is the country is approximately 27 million. The capital city of Nepal is Kathmandu.
Situated in the lap of the Himalayas, Nepal is located between the latitude 26*22′ to 30*27′ North and longitude 80*4′ E to 88*12′ East, and elevation ranges from 90 to 8848 meters. The average length being 885 km east to west and the average breadth is 193 km from north to south. The country is bordering between the two most populous countries in the world, India in the East, west and South, and China in the North. Nepal is a land locked country and home place of natural beauty with traces of artefacts.
The Northern range (Himalayas) is covered with snow all over the year where the highest peak of the world, the Mount Everest, stands.
The middle range (Hill) is captured by gorgeous mountains, high peaks, hills, valleys and lakes.
Southern range (Terai) is the gigantic plain of alluvial soil and consist of dense forest area, national parks, wildlife reserves and conservation areas.
The country can be divided into three main geographical regions.
Himalayan Region: –
The altitude of this region ranges between 4,877 m – 8,848 m. It includes eight of the 14 highest summits in the world, which exceed an altitude of 8,000 including Everest, Annapurna, Dhaulagiri and others.
Mountain or Hill Region: –
This region accounts for about 68% of the total land area. The Mahabharat range that soars up to 4,877 m and the lower Churia range form it.
Terai Region: –
The low -land Terai occupies about 17% of the total land area of the country.
The temperature and rainfall differ from place to place. In the geographic diversity and varied climatic conditions 27 million people of more than 60 caste/ethnic groups are accommodated in the country. Nepal presents an example of being united in diversity over the history and has maintained it’s pride as being an independent sovereign state. The executive, legislative and judiciary bodies function and exercise their rights independently. There was two tier system of legislation, the upper house, called the Rastriya Sabha (National Assembly), consists of 60 members and the Lower House, called the Pratinidhi Sabha (House of Representative) which members are elected from 205 electoral constituencies distributed in 75 districts of the country. The elected Prime Minister heads the government. Presently we have Constituent Assembly of 601 Member ( 240 member are directly elected, 335 member from the Proportionate system of election and 26 members are nominated by the Government from various walk of life who have made significant contribution to the nation) which is drafting the new constitution for the new Nepal.
Climate
Nepal has four major seasons, namely, Winter: December- February. Spring: March- May. Summer: June – August and Autumn: September to November. Nepal can be visited whole year around.
There are 5 development regions and 75 administrative districts. Districts are further divided into smaller units, called Village Development committee (VDC) and Municipalities.
Currently, there are 3914 VDCs and 58 Municipalities in the country. Each VDC is composed of 9 wards, Municipality ward ranges from 9 to 35. Kathmandu is the capital city. There are number of peaks, rivers and lakes in the country.
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Religion & Culture
Hinduism and Buddhism are two predominant religions of Nepal. Hinduism occupies highest status and secondly the Buddhist then partly the other religions. Nepalese people are traditionally religious. All have faith on good’s deeds and it is the traditional custom of people rooted in their religious faith. They pay respect to superiors and guests. Guests are considered as Gods. The festivals dedicated to Gods and Goddesses are celebrated in the country through out the year. In Nepal, parents with the mutual consent of the boys and girls generally settle marriage.
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Himalayan and Mountain region
The Himalayan region of Nepal ranges in the altitude between 3,000 m and 8848 m. It houses eight of the fourteen highest mountains on earth. The mountain region occupies 64% of the countries total land. This region is formed by the Mahabarat Range soaring up to 4877m. To the South lies the Churia range which altitude varies from 610m to 1524 m.
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Nepal is the member of the United Nations and has established diplomatic relation with many countries of the world. Major export commodities are paste, Pulses, oil Cake, Catechu, Jute good Sacking, Twins, Carpets (Hand knitted woolen), Readymade garments, handicrafts, ginger.
Economic growth of the country has not improved markedly over time to over take population growth. As the country estimated population growth is 2.3 per annum, growing population has concealed the gain achieved by developmental activities. Little over half (57%)of the population of working age reported economically active in 1991 and among them 81% were engaged in agricultural activities. Contributions of non-agricultural activities are gradually increasing in the GDP. Per capita GDP is estimated in the order of US $ 240 (preliminary estimate) for 2000/01. The currency is Nepalese Rupee.
