Nepal is a tiny Himalayan country located between India and China. Among many things, this country's natural beauty, and people's tradition and culture are widely noted by Hundreds of Thousands of travelers who visit this land every year. Nepal also has Ten World Heritage Sites which are regarded as the Himalayan Spirit which Lives and Breathes! And some of the highest mountains in the world including Mount Everest lives in Nepal. Many other travel ingredients attract tourists to this land, and not to forget the friendliness and warmth of Nepali people.Nepal is one of the richest country in the world, in the terms of bio-diversity due to its unique geographical position and altitude variation. The elevation of the country ranges from 60m above sea level to the highest point on earth, Mt. Everest at 8848 m, all within a distance of 150 km resulting into climatic conditions from Sub-tropical to Arctic.
Location: Situated between Tibetan Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China in the north & India in the South, East & West.
Area: 147,181 Sq. Km.
Longitude: 80° 4' and 88°12' East.
Capital: Kathmandu
Population: 32 million according to last report 2013
People: Nepal has more than 101 ethnic groups and 92 spoken languages
Language: Nepali is the official language of Nepal. However, English is understood and spoken by majority of people in Kathmandu valley and other major cities.
Political-System: Republicn Deomratic
Time: 5 hours 45 minutes ahead of GMT and 15 minutes ahead of Indian Standard Time
National Bird: Impean Pheasant (Danfe)
National Flower: Rhododendron- Arboreum (Lali Gurans)
Religion: Main religion in Nepal is Hinduism. However Buddhism, Islam and Christian religions are followed by some people. All religions even in minority have co-existed amicably in Nepal for ages.
Vegetation: Most outstanding bio-diversity in the world, ranging from sub-tropical Rain-forests to Alpine deserts
Electricity: 220 Volts AC - 50 Cycles
Weather: Climate ranges from Tropical in the lowlands to arctic higher altitudes
Monsoon: June to August. However, most of the northern belts of Trans-Himalayan Zones are in the rain-shadow which provides rain free trekking.
Topography: From the worlds deepest gorge 'Kaligandaki to Mt. Everest, the highest point on earth.
Some of the Main Attractions of Nepal :
-The highest mountain peak in the world (Everest-8848m)
-The deepest river gorge in the world (Kali Gandaki River)
-The birthplace of Lord Buddha (Lumbini)
-The Living Goddess (Kumari) who is worshipped and taken in a chariot procession annually
-The non-rectangular flag
-The best place in the world to study Tibetan Buddhism
-The largest selection of books on the Himalayas and mountain climbing
-Kathmandu the capital city with as many idols as men and as many temples as houses
-A hotel in Everest National park at an altitude of 3870m, claimed to be the highest hotel in the world (Hotel Everest View)
Naturally Nepal
Is also one of the world's great trekking paradise and probably the finest country in the world for trekking.
Contains one of the ten best rivers in the world for rafting has such a concentration of art, culture and tradition in the Kathmandu valley which cannot be found anywhere else in the world
Is one of the few countries of the world where you can see one horned Rhinos
Contains Kathmandu, which is one of the best places to eat east of Bangkok and west of Istanbul. One guide book has called it 'budge eating capital of Asia
People and Religion
Nepalese people are mainly divided into two distinct groups the Indo-Aryans and the Mangoloids. Kathmandu Valley is the spiritual and cultural meeting point of all these groups. Nepal is the only Hindu Kingdom in the world. Hindu Temples and Buddhist shrines are scattered all over the kingdom. Nepal is the birthplace of Lord Buddha, the Light of Asia. There is a complex blending of Hinduism and Buddhism in Nepal.
what to Wear
Except in formal gathering informal clothes are acceptable mostly everywhere. Warm garments are required in October-March. An umbrella or a rain coat are must for the rainy season.
Currency and foreign exchange
Nepali Rupee notes come in Rs. 1, Rs. 2, Rs. 5, Rs. 10, Rs. 20, Rs. 50, Rs. 100, Rs. 500 and Rs. 1000 denominations. Coins come in 5p, 1 0p, 25p, Rs. 1 & Rs. 5 denominations. Foreign currencies must be exchanged only through the banks or authorized foreign exchange dealers. The receipts from such transactions are to be obtained and retained. Visitors can exchange foreign currency at the foreign exchange counter at the airport upon arrival. Visitor other than the Indian nationals have to make the payment in hotels, travel or trekking agencies and air tickets in foreign currency. Non-lndian visitors are not allowed to import or export Indian Currency. The approximate value of one US Dollar is equivalent to Rs. 100 as of January 2014.
Entry procedures
All visitors except the Indian nationals must hold a passport and
a valid visa. The visas can be obtained at the Nepalese Diplomatic
Missions and Consuls abroad and entry points issue visa for a 15 days.
The visa will be extended at the Department of Immigration, Kalika
Marg, Dillibazar, Tel: 444600/4223590. The Department also issues
multi entry visa for the visitors.
Entry points:
By Air: Tribhuvan Internaitonal Airport, Kathmandu. By Land: (1) Kakarbhitta
Eastern side (2) Birgunj Middle south (3) Belhiya (Bhairahawa) Mid
Western (4) Nepalgunj Western part (5) Dhangadi Far Western (6) Jogbani
(Biratnagar) Eastern and (7) Mahendra Nagar in Nepal-lndia border
and Kodari in Nepal-China Nrothen border. The overland tourists entering
the Kingdom with their vehicles must possess an international carnet.
Customs
All baggage is subject to customs' check at the point of entry. Visitors are allowed to bring in the consumable articles such as liquor one bottle up 1.15 litres, 200 sticks of cigarette, 15 rolls of photo film and 12 rolls of movie camera film. Visitors are also allowed to carry one binocular, one camera, one movie camera, one video camera, one radio, one tape recorder, one bicycle, one wrist watch, one set of fountain pen, one perambulator, 15 radio cassettes & 10 disk records into the country on the condition that they are declared and are to be taken back on return. Carrying narcotics, arms and ammunitions are strictly prohibited. Visitors can export souvenirs to their respective countries. The export of antiuques requires special certificate from the Department of Archaeology, National Archive Building, Ram Shah Path, Kathmandu (Tel: 215358), Gold, silver, precious stones, wild animals and their skins, horns, etc, all drugs whether processed or in their natural state, are prohibited to export. Top
Travel route
Nepal Airlines the national flag carrier of Nepal and other International
airlines operate scheduled flights to Kathmandu from Bangkok, Bombay,
Calcutta, Delhi, Dubai, Dhaka, Paro, Varanasi, Frankfurt, Paris, Hongkong,
Karachi, London, Moscow, Singapore, Lhasa, Dubai, Doha, Malasiya and
Singapoore. International Airlines operating their flights to Kathmandu
include Aeroflot, Biman Bangladesh Airlines, China South West Airlines,
Druk Air, Indian Airlines, Qatar Air, Ethiad Airline, Jet Airwaya,
Kingfisher, fly Dubai, Air Asia, Dragon Air, Indigo and Pakistan International
Airlines, Singapore Airlines and Thai International.
Airport tax
Rs. 600 per person for departure to SAARC (South Asian) Countries
and Rs. 700 for departure to other international destinations. But,
now all included in Flight ticket you
dont need to pay. Even domestic flight and Mountain flight also all taxes are included in Ticket.
Internal Domestic transport
Nepal Arilines has an extensive network of air services in the interior
of Nepal. This include Taplejung, Bhadrapur, Rajbiraj, Bhojpur, Phapl,
Lukla, Lamidanda Tumlingtar, Rumjatar, and Biratnagar in the East;
Nepalgunj, Chaurjhari, Surkhet, Dang, Rolpa and Jumla, in the Mid-West,
and kolti, Mahendranagar, Dhangadi, Silgadi (Doti), Tikapur, Sanphebagar,
Baitadi, and Darchula in the Far Western Region. Besides Nepal Airlines,
the other domestic airlines such as Buddha Air, Yeti Arilines, Tara
Air, Buna Air, Agni Air, Sita Air, Asian Airlines Helicopter, Fishtail
Air Helli Service, Mountain Heli Service, Air Dyansty provide regular
and charter services to different popular domestic destinations.
Mountain flight
Buddha Air, Yeti air, Simrik Air and operate breathtaking
mountain flights to Mt. Everest Circuit from Kathmandu Every Morning
for the tourists round the year.
Airport transportation
In addition to metered taxis, limousine service is also available at the airport for transport to major hotels in the city.
