Formerly the Kingdom of Nepal, was recently made a republic by the latest elected government. Nepal is a small country (147,181 sq. kilometers/596 sq. miles) located between China and India. Nepal is exquisitely beautiful and teeming with life, color and diverse culture. There are three distinct regions which are Terai (south), Pahad (central) and Himal (north--the base of the mountains). Nepal has eight of the ten highest peaks in the world including Mt. Everest (29,028 ft./8,848 m.), Makalu (27,763 ft/8,461 m.), Kanchenjunga (28,169 ft./8,586 m.), Cho Oyu (26,906 ft./8,201 m.) and Annapurna (26,545 ft./8,091 m.) which are all part of the Himalayan mountain range. The total population in Nepal is 27 million which includes 60 ethnic groups and 70 spoken languages and several different religions. Nepali is the official language and Buddhism and Hinduism are the two main religions.
The Himalayan region is sparsely settled by people who speak languages of the Tibetan-Burman family and practice mainly Tibetan Buddhism. You may see a yaks and snow leopards now and then. The southern region (Terai) is an extension of the Gangetic plain of northern India and is populated with elephants, rhinoceros and tigers. Between these two regions lie hills and valleys where trekking is the main form of transportation. The settlers in Nepal were people fleeing invaders from all directions. They found solace in the remote valleys and eventually incorporated into several small kingdoms. Until one, Gorkha, led by Priyhvinarayan Shaw unified the country in the 1760s. For over 100 years, until 1951, Nepal was ruled by a sequence of hereditary prime ministers, the Ranas.
Because of the forbidding mountains in the north and a deadly malaria epidemic in the south, Nepal was never successfully invaded by a major power. Democracy was attempted in 1959, which threatened the status quo, political parties were outlawed. The country was said to be run by a system of councils but the real power was vested in the king and his chosen secretariat. In 1990, popular support for democracy surfaced which was led by students and the educated in the cities and never really had grassroots support. The Jana Andolan was able to overthrow the monarch and in November 1990 drafted a constitution and the king as a constitutional monarch. The main power was vested in the popularly elected parliament. Little was accomplished in the first 9 years of this government because of the past corruption that continued from the Rana rule. Unrest continues and the political mood of the people is regressing into frustration and cynicism.
Many of the Nepalese people are warm, friendly and very accommodating. They are often as curious to learn about your culture as you are about theirs. It is very interesting to experience with them their rituals, customs and ways of life that are very different from your own. Nepal is the land and birthplace of Lord Buddha. Only in the last 40 years have scholars, travelers and researchers discovered this as an area of interest. Nepal¹s beauty is surreal and is wonderful as the people who inhabit it and perfect for adventurers, photographers, anthropologists, mountaineers and explorers.
Participants must realize that they are traveling to a country that has different standards and practices; therefore flexibility for weather as well as flight delays are possible. We are not responsible for weather related delays or other unforeseeable cancellations that are out of our control; understanding this is key to everyone having the most pleasant experience possible. One should allow for a few days extra in case of unexpected circumstances of this sort.
Safety is most important to us which is why one of the guides on each tour/trek has medical and rescue training.
Please join our October 2008 Cultural Trek in SoloKumbu $2800
Nepal At A Glance
Population:
Approximately 23 million people
Capital:
Kathmandu
Area:
147,181 sq. km.
Currency:
Nepalese Rupee
Language:
Nepali is the national language. However Nepal has more than 61 ethnic groups and 70 different spoken languages.
Religion:
Nepal is distinct in being the only Hindu Kingdom in the world. However many religions are practiced in Nepal and it is home to a unique, harmonious blending of Hinduism and Buddhism.
Some Facts About Nepal
Although Nepal occupies only 0.1% of the earth's land area it is one of the most biodiverse countries in the world. It is home to:
> 2% of all the flowering plants in the world.
> 8% of the world's population of birds (More than 848 species)
> 4 % of mammals on earth
> 11% of the world's 15 families of butterflies (More than 500 species)
> 600 indigenous plant families
> 319 species of exotic orchids
The elevation of the country ranges from 60m above Sea Level to the highest point on earth, Mt. Everest at 8,848m, all within a distance of 150km resulting into climatic conditions from Sub-tropical to Arctic. Over 80% of the country is mountain.
Nepal has been described as a living museum. The Kathmandu Valley alone boasts seven of Nepal's eight World Cultural Heritage Sites. Nepal is also home to the Natural World Heritage Sites of Everest National Park and Chitwan National Park.
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