Nepal is a country of great beauty and visual varieties. Its altitude varies from lowly 59 meters above sea level in the south and about 8848 meters height of Mt. Everest which is the highest peak in the world. Such a diversity in altitude has created a unique culture in Nepal. Also this is the country of shining mountains, beautiful green places with terraced farmlands and hilly foot trails. Forests are full of wildlife where the lordly tiger and one-horned rhino trundle at ease. Another remarkable feature of Nepal is the religious homogeneity. The exquisite art and architecture of Nepal shows the artistic ingenuity and the religious tradition of people. It is also known by the country of lakes and springs. Here, we found beautiful plants like orchids and rhododendrons.
History
In the ancient period, Nepal was the history of Kathmandu. The area of Nepal was shrunk and expanded. At that time Nepal has several states. After long decade its present boundaries are expanded.
In the course of history Kathmandu valley was once a great lake. A brilliant flame emanating from a lotus flower that rested in the middle of the lake. Manjushree broached the valley wall with a magical sword draining the water and creating the Kathmandu valley. When the valley was empty from water the Swayambhu appeared in the flaming spot. We know or perhaps it wasn’t Manjushree, he was after all, a Buddhist from China. The Hindus claim it was Krishna who performed the mighty deed, hurling a thunderbolt to create the Chobar gorge.
Scientists agree that the valley was submerged at one time and the rivers of the valley do indeed flow Southward through the narrow Chobar gorge.
Recorded history begins with the Kiratis, who had come from the eastern part of the country. The first known rulers of the Kathmandu valley were the Kiratis, Yalamber, the first of their king, is mentioned in the Hindu epic the Mahabharat. During the Kirati period that Buddhism first arrived in the country, Krakuchanda Buddha, Kanak Muni Buddha and Kashyapa Buddha visited the Kathmandu valley to worship Swaymbhunath. The Licchavis were the second ruler of 4th to 7th century. The temple of Changunarayan was built in the Licchavi period, which can be seen now a days.
The malla period was golden period of Kathmandu valley when great number of art, statues and temples were built. During the 17th century Malla’s rule the valley for the total period of 568 years. At that period this country was divided into small principalities and kingdoms of 24 groups in the eastern and 22 groups in far western. Kathmandu valley was divided into three states of Kantipur, Bhaktapur and Lalitpur.
From the tiny kingdom of Gorkha, halfway between Kathmandu and Pokhara the king of shah dynasty gradually strengthened and extended their power. In 1768 king Prithvi Narayan Shah defeated the Malla kings and Nepal has been ruled by Shah kings ever since. His Majesty King Bir Bikram Shah Dev is the 10th king in the Shah Dynasty.
In 1846 Jung Bahadur, prime minister of Nepal, took over real power, after the kot Massacre where his supporters managed to kill almost all his opponents. For over a century the hereditary family of Rana prime Minister ruled the country and did very little for development. For example the Ranas built several palaces in the Kathmandu Valley many of which have now been converted to government offices including the famous Singha Durbar the residence of Rana Prime Ministers which is now the central secretariat.
The revolution on November 1950 brought to an end of Rana regime who ruled the country for 104 years since 1846 A.D. In 1951 King Tribhuvan overthrew the Rana regime with support from India. In 1958 there were elections for the parliament and Nepali Congress party emerged victorious and BP Koirala became the first democratically elected prime Minister of Nepal.
Geography
Nepal a sovereign mountainous kingdom, located in southern of Asia. It is land locked country, situated between china to the north and India in the south East and West which are the two giant countries of Asia. The area of Nepal is 1,47,181 sq.km. in total which covers 0.3 % of Asia and 0.03% area of the world. It lies between the latitude of 26’22’’ and 30’27’’ north and the longitude of 80’4’’ and 88’12’’ East. The country is small and the East west distance is 885km whereas north south distance is 193 km.
The topography changes dramatically within a short lateral distance. There is a narrow strip of low lands in the south. Further north lie the Himalayan foot hills and ranges which run roughly east-west across the country and include eight of the highest peaks in the world each over 8000 m. Nepal is also remarkable in its variety of climate and vegetation.
Geographically, Nepal can be divided into three main regions:
1. Himalayan Region
2. Hilly Region
3. Terai Region
The mountainous region covers about 15 % of the total area and lies in the northern side of the country at the altitude of 3300m. to 8848m. In this region snow falls every season. So, we found here several mountains like Mt. Everest, kanchanjhunga, Lhotse, Choyu, etc. Another attraction of this region are the Kundas (Big lakes) and also several national parks and wildlife reserves such as Sagarmatha National park, Kanchanjhunga Conservation Area, Makalu Barun National park, etc. In this region, settlement of Sherpas can be found more. Snow bear and the footprints of YETI can be seen in this region.
The hilly region covers about 68 % of the total area of Nepal. It ranges from 610m to 3300m. In winter snow may fall in the high hills of this region. This region is formed by beautiful valleys like Kathmandu and Pokhara. The are many famous and fascinating lakes in Pokhara like Phewa, Rupa and Begnas. Tilicho lake in the Manang District, which is situated in the top level of the world. The three major rivers Karnali, Koshi and Gandaki comes out from the Himalayan region and flows through this region. Additional attractions of this region are Nagarkot and Dhulikhel where the rising sun can be viewed. Most of the snow covered mountains can be observed from Nagarkot, Pokhara and Phulchoki.
The Terai region covers about 17 % of the total area of Nepal. This is the plain land area of Nepal which ranges from 60m to 610m. This is the region with religious places and national parks and wildlife reserves. The famous religious places are Janakpur, Lumbini and Baraha Chetra. Lumbini is famous for the birthplace of lord Buddha who is the activator of world peace. Chitwan National park, Koshi Tapu Wildlife Reserve, Bardiya National Park etc. are the popular protected areas of this region. Bengal tiger and One-Horned Rhino are the major attractions of tourist in the Chitwan National park.
Culture and Customs
Nepal is the meeting place of two different religions. Hinduism and Buddhism, two races, Caucasoid and Mongolian and two civilization Indic and Sinic. The population has a variety of ethnic groups each with its distinct identity. Polygamy is stilled practiced in some areas of the country although legislation banned it in the sixties.
When entering into the rooms in Nepalese home it is polite to remove shoes. While some westernized Nepalese might not be doing it, the best thing is to watch what other are doing. Many Hindu temples do not permit westerners to enter but they are quite free to watch from outside. Always walk clockwise in the Buddhist stupas, chortens ar mani walls. Everybody remove their shoes and any items made from leather such as belt and bag before entering a Buddhist or hindu temple.
Public displays of affection are not good manners and nor should one swim naked in rivers and lakes. In the northern hill areas, polyandry, the custom of wife having more than one husband, was also practiced till recently. On the other hand, the Gurung group has an institution called Rodhighar intended to bring people together before they contemplate marriage. Widow re-marriage was not socially acceptable in some groups. Ethnic groups such as Brahmins were prohibited from drinking alcohol and sometimes follow vegetarian restrains and amongst Brahmin families a man first met his wife on the day he got married. The Sherpas have a remarkably free and easy moral code.
Religion
Hinduism and Buddhism constitute two major religions of Nepal sharing between them some 86.5 and 7.8 percent of the total population respectively. Both these co-religionists are bound together by a sense of fellow-feeling and bonhomine particularly displayed in their worship of common deities and joint celebration of many festivals belonging to either religion culture. Buddhism was introduced in Kathmandu valley by emperor Ashoka of India around 250 BC. Later, around 8th century AD, the ancestors of Sherpas emigrated from Tibet bringing with them a form of Buddhism known as Ningmapa gurungs, Tamangs, Sherpas and Newars in Kathmandu valley also follow Mahayana Buddhism ans the famous temple of Swaymbhu in Kathmandu and the “Golden Temple” or the Hiranya Varna Mahabihar in Patan are visited mainly by Buddhist Newars.
A few people have adopted a complex blend of both Hinduism and Buddhism known as Bajrayana which is mainly practiced in Kathmandu valley. A remarkable feature of Nepal is thus the religious homogeneity that exists, particularly between the Hindu and Buddhist communities. Apart from Hindu and Buddhists, Muslim form the third largest religious group. There
People
Ne alphas the [population about 3 crore made of different races and tribes, living in different regions waearing different costumes and speaking different languages and dialects. The Sherpas live mainly in the mountains of eastern and central Nepal, in particular in the Solukhumbu district at the foot of Mt. Everest. The Sherpas are probably the best known Nepalese ethnic group originally from Tibet, they settled in the area about 500 years ago. The Sherpas are known as the tigers of snow. Brahmin and Chhetris are simply the two largest groups of people living in the hilly region of Nepal. Kathmandu valet is mostly populated by the Newars. Tharu, Yadav, satar, Dhimals are apread in the Terai region of Nepal.
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