Nepal: An Overview

Nepal is full of surprises.  It is a land of ancient history, medieval architecture, vibrant cultures, people, bio-diversity and pristine landscapes. Located between China and India, Nepal boasts a fantastic array of attractions for tourists. It is a land of geographical extremes.  Lord Buddha was born in the 6th century B.C, in this land of Mount Everest. The recorded history of Nepal begins with the Lichhavis who came to power in 400 AD. With them, the nation began to prosper in art, culture, painting, architecture, and sculptures. The Mallas who succeeded them gave a new turn to this prosperity by transforming the small Kingdoms of Kathmandu, Patan, and Bhaktapur into "Open Air Museum of Art and Architecture". Endowed with bountiful of natural beauties, high Mountains, fauna and flora and myriad bio-diversity, Nepal is probably among one of those places on earth where seven heritage sites are located within the radius of twenty kilometers.  Whether it’s adventure, wildlife or cultural, tourism coexists everywhere from the unknown village in the fringe of Nepal-Tibet border to a small village in the national park bordering India where Royal Bengal tigers and wild elephants travel freely between two countries. The elevation of Nepal ranges from 60 meters above sea level to the highest point on earth, Mt. Everest at 8,848 meters, all within a distance of 500 km with climatic conditions ranging from subtropical to arctic. In fact, 8 out of world’s 14 tallest mountains above 8,000 meter lie in Nepal including the world’s tallest point- the summit of Mt. Everest ( 8848 m). In over dozen of National Parks and protected areas you can find everything from snow leopard to Royal Bengal tiger and Great One-horned rhinoceros.

Nepal is a land for all seasons and for all reasons. If it rains heavily in Pokhara, Annapurna is rain shadow area where you can make trekking even during the rainy season. Round the year the exciting adventure activities ranging from mountaineering to trekking, white water rafting, jungle safaris, biking, hot air ballooning, paragliding take place in Nepal. And, delightful and colorful festivals never cease to amuse people throughout the year.