About Nepal

Nepal is a landlocked country located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by China and Tibet, and to the south, east, and west by India. Kathmandu is the nation’s capital and the country’s largest metropolis.
Nepal has a rich geography; The mountainous north has eight of the world’s ten tallest mountains, including the highest point on Earth, Mount Everest. It contains more than 240 peaks over 20,000 ft above sea level. The dramatic differences in elevation found in Nepal result in a variety of biomes: Tropical savannas along the Indian border, subtropical broadleaf and coniferous forests in the Hill Region, temperate broadleaf and coniferous forests on the slopes of the Himalaya, and grasslands and shrublands rich with rock and ice at the highest elevations.
Nepal is as ethnically diverse as its terrain. The Nepalese are descendants of three major migrations from India, Tibet, and central Asia. The Kathmandu Valley, in the middle hill region, constitutes a small fraction of the nation’s area but is the most densely populated.

Total Area
Total: 147,181 sq. km
Land: 143, 151 sq. km
Water: 4,000 sq. km

Population
29.8 million (UN, 2010)?

Capital
Kathmandu?

Geographical Location
Nepal is a land-locked country bordering with the Tibet Autonomous Region of the People’s Republic of China in the north and surrounded by India in the east, south and west. Contains eight of world’s 10 highest peaks, including Mount Everest and Kanchenjunga – the world’s tallest and third tallest – on the borders with China and India respectively.

Language
Nepali is the national language of Nepal. Educated people understand and speak English as well. There are hundreds of local dialects spoken by people from various ethnic groups.

Climate
Nepal has four major seasons, namely,(1) Winter: December-February, (2) Spring: March-May, (3) Summer: June-August and (4) Autumn: September-November. Nepal can be visited all the year round.

People and Religion
Nepalese people are mainly divided into two distinct groups, the Indo-Aryans and the Mongoloids (the Kirats). Before 2007 AD, Nepal was regarded as the only Hindu Kingdom in the world. But after that, the Government of Nepal has already announced the country to be a secular country. The Hindu Temples and Buddhist Shrines are scattered all over the Kingdom. Nepal is the birthplace of Lord Buddha, Herald of Peace, the Light of Asia. Hindus, Buddhists, Muslims and Christians live together in harmony. And other nature worshippers, too, exist here.

Currency and Foreign exchange
Nepali Rupee notes come in Rs. 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 25, 50, 100, 500, 1000 denominations. Coins come in Rs. 1, 2 , 5 and 10 denominations.
Foreign currencies must be exchanged only through banks or authorised money exchangers. The receipts of such transaction are to be obtained and retained. Visitors can exchange foreign currency at the foreign exchange counter at the airport upon arrival. Visitors other than the Indian nationals have to make the payment in foreign currency (non-Indian currency) in hotel, trekking agencies or travel agencies and for air tickets.?