Portal:Nepal

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Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China to the north, and India to the south, east, and west, while it is narrowly separated from Bangladesh by the Siliguri Corridor, and from Bhutan by the Indian state of Sikkim. Nepal has a diverse geography, including fertile plains, subalpine forested hills, and eight of the world's ten tallest mountains, including Mount Everest, the highest point on Earth. Kathmandu is the nation's capital and the largest city. Nepal is a multi-ethnic, multi-lingual, multi-religious and multi-cultural state, with Nepali as the official language.

The name "Nepal" is first recorded in texts from the Vedic period of the Indian subcontinent, the era in ancient Nepal when Hinduism was founded, the predominant religion of the country. In the middle of the first millennium BC, Gautama Buddha, the founder of Buddhism, was born in Lumbini in southern Nepal. Parts of northern Nepal were intertwined with the culture of Tibet. The centrally located Kathmandu Valley is intertwined with the culture of Indo-Aryans, and was the seat of the prosperous Newar confederacy known as Nepal Mandala. The Himalayan branch of the ancient Silk Road was dominated by the valley's traders. The cosmopolitan region developed distinct traditional art and architecture. By the 18th century, the Gorkha Kingdom achieved the unification of Nepal. The Shah dynasty established the Kingdom of Nepal and later formed an alliance with the British Empire, under its Rana dynasty of premiers. The country was never colonised but served as a buffer state between Imperial China and British India. Parliamentary democracy was introduced in 1951 but was twice suspended by Nepalese monarchs, in 1960 and 2005. The Nepalese Civil War in the 1990s and early 2000s resulted in the establishment of a secular republic in 2008, ending the world's last Hindu monarchy.

The Constitution of Nepal, adopted in 2015, affirms the country as a secular federal parliamentary republic divided into seven provinces. Nepal was admitted to the United Nations in 1955, and friendship treaties were signed with India in 1950 and China in 1960. Nepal hosts the permanent secretariat of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), of which it is a founding member. Nepal is also a member of the Non-Aligned Movement and the Bay of Bengal Initiative. The Nepalese Armed Forces are the fifth-largest in South Asia; and are notable for their Gurkha history, particularly during the world wars, and has been a significant contributor to United Nations peacekeeping operations. (Full article...)

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Kathmandu valley seen from the space by the NASA Earth Observatory

The Kathmandu Valley (Nepali: काठमाडौं उपत्यका), also known as the Nepal Valley or Nepa Valley (Nepali: नेपाः उपत्यका, Nepal Bhasa: 𑐣𑐾𑐥𑐵𑑅 𑐐𑐵𑑅, नेपाः गाः), National Capital Area, is a bowl-shaped valley located in the Himalayan mountains of Nepal. It lies at the crossroads of ancient civilizations of the Indian subcontinent and the broader Asian continent, and has at least 130 important monuments, including several pilgrimage sites for Hindus and Buddhists. There are seven World Heritage Sites within the valley.

The Kathmandu Valley is the most developed and the largest urban agglomeration in Nepal with a population of about 5 million people. The urban agglomeration of Kathmandu Valley includes the cities of Kathmandu, Lalitpur, Bhaktapur, Changunarayan, Budhanilkantha, Tarakeshwar, Gokarneshwar, Suryabinayak, Tokha, Kirtipur, Madhyapur Thimi, and others. The majority of offices and headquarters are located in the valley, making it the economic hub of Nepal. It is popular with tourists for its unique architecture, and rich culture which includes the highest number of jatras (festivals) in Nepal. Kathmandu valley itself was referred to as "Nepal Proper" by British historians. As per the World Bank, the Kathmandu Valley was one of the fastest growing metropolitan areas in South Asia with 2.5 million population by 2010 and an annual growth rate of 4%. (Full article...)

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Nepal sent a delegation to compete at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 7–18 September 2016. This was the fourth time the nation had taken part in a Paralympic Games following its first appearance at the 2004 Summer Paralympics. Nepal was represented by two athletes in Rio de Janeiro: sprinter Bikram Rana and short-distance swimmer Laxmi Kunwar, who both qualified for the Paralympics by using wild card spots for their respective sports. Neither athlete advanced beyond the first round of their respective events as they both finished 17th overall in their competitions. (Full article...)

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The Ganges, is a trans-boundary river of Asia which flows through India and Bangladesh. The 2,525 km (1,569 mi) river rises in the western Himalayas in the Indian state of Uttarakhand, and flows south and east through the Gangetic Plain of North India into Bangladesh, where it empties into the Bay of Bengal. It is the third largest river by discharge.


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Statue of Araniko at the Miaoying Temple, Beijing

Aniko, Anige or Araniko (Nepali: अरनिको, Chinese: 阿尼哥; 1245–1306) was one of the key figures in the arts of Nepal and the Yuan dynasty of China, and the artistic exchanges in these areas. He was born in Kathmandu Valley during the reign of Abhaya Malla. He is known for building the White Stupa at the Miaoying Temple in Beijing. During the reign of Jayabhimadeva, he was sent on a project to build a golden stupa in Tibet, where he also initiated into monkhood. From Tibet he was sent further to northern China to work in the court of the emperor Kublai Khan, the founder of the Yuan dynasty, where he brought the trans-Himalayan artistic tradition to China. Araniko led a team of 80 artists to China proper and Tibet to make a number of pagoda-style buildings. In his later life, he renounced monkhood and started a family.

To some confusion in translation, his name is variously written as Arniko or Araniko in old texts. A mistake made by Baburam Acharya ascribed his Sanskrit name as Balabahu. However, later he contends that Aniko might possibly be the Chinese pronunciation for the Sanskrit name Aneka. It is also plausible that his name could mean AA Ni Ka, meaning "respectable brother from Nepal". (Full article...)

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Newa cuisine (also referred to as Newar cuisine) is a subset of Nepalese cuisine that has developed over centuries among the Newars of Kathmandu (Kathmandu is called Yen in Nepal Bhasa) in Nepal. Newa cuisine is the most celebrated food variety in the country that consists of over 200 dishes. It is more elaborate than most Nepalese cuisines because the Kathmandu Valley has exceptionally fertile alluvial soil and enough wealthy households to make growing produce more profitable than cultivating rice and other staples.

Food is the integral part of Newar culture. Different kind of foods are prepared for different occasions, considering the climate and nutritional needs for body. Newars are renowned for their sumptuous feasting. Dishes served during feasts and festivals have symbolic significance. (Full article...)

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  • Himalayan rivers are older than the Himalayan peaks?
  • In Nepal there are 8 of the world’s 14 highest mountains above 8000 meters, including Mount Everest?
  • Nepal has 8% of the total species of birds found in the world?

Wiki Loves Nepal

The following pages at Wikimedia Commons contain a plethora of images taken in Nepal.
Suspension bridge over he Kali Gandaki river near Tatopani.: Wiki Loves Earth 2017 3rd Price Winner Gokyo Lakes This image won the 2nd prize in the national contest of Nepal in Wiki Loves Earth 2017: Sunrise near Samagauon village – Manaslu trek area.

Wiki Loves Earth is an international photographic competition to promote natural heritage sites around the World through Wikimedia projects (mainly Wikipedia and Wikimedia Commons).


Wiki Loves Monuments is an international photographic competition to promote cultural monuments around the World through Wikimedia projects (mainly Wikipedia and Wikimedia Commons.

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Below is a clickable map of Nepal's Provinces

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