Information of Nepal

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Introduction

Known as the Land of Everest and being “The only Hindu Kingdom in the world”, the kingdom of Nepal is a land of sublime scenery, one of the world’s best and Archeologically very important temples, and some of the best walking trails on the Earth. Although the GDP of “The Land of Buddha” is very low, but it is rich in scenic splendour and cultural treasures.

The kingdom has long exerted a pull on the Western imagination and it's a difficult place to dislodge from your memory once you visit Nepal and return.
This is why so many travelers are forced to visit Nepal again and again with a greater appreciation of its natural and cultural complexity, a stout pair of walking boots and a desire for improved leg-definition.

　

Nepal

Name of the Country: Kingdom of Nepal
Area: 140,800 sq km
Population: 23 million
Capital city: Kathmandu
People: Hindus, Newars, Tibetans, Gurungs, Magars, Tamangs, Rais, Limbus, Sherpas
National Language: Nepali
Religion: Hindu,Buddhist,Muslim & Christian
Government: Parliamentary Democracy
Prime Minister: Girija Prasad Koirala
King: His Majesty Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev
GDP: US$27.4 billion
GDP per head: US$1100
Annual growth: 6%
Inflation: 2.1%
Major industries: Tourism, Handicraft, Agriculture and Water Resources

Geography

Location	The kingdom of Nepal lies between 80º 4' and 88º 12' east longitude and 26º 22' north latitude. It borders with China in the North and India in the South.
Area	1,47,181 sq. Kms.
Altitude	Varies from 70 to 8848 meters.
Capital	Kathmandu.
Population	18.5 million (as of 1993)
Language	Nepali, the national language is the common language in Nepal. However different ethnic groups have their own mother languages like Tamang, Gurung, Newari, Maithili, Sherpa, Bhojpuri, Rai Tharu etc.
Population Density	122 per sq. Kms.

RELIGION

Hinduism and Buddhism are two major religions of Nepal. Hindus and Buddhist are tolerant to each other and the both religious group worship each other’s deities and observe festivals, traditional customs and rites of both religious group in Nepal, followed by Muslims, Jains and Christians.

Nature

Himalayan Hilly Terai

Himalayan Region – 15 percent of the total land of the country are covered with snow capped mountains in the northern part and altitude ranges from 4,877 to 8,848 meters including 8 peaks above the 8,000 meters namely Mt Everest (8,848m), Kanchanjungha (8,586), Lhotse (8,516), Makalu (8,463m), Cho Oyu (8,201m), Dhaulagiri (8,167 m), Manaslu (8,163 m) and Annapurna I (8,091 m).

Hilly Region – 68 percent of the total land of the country are covered by the hills and mountains in the central part of Nepal. Altitude varies from 610 to 4,877 meters in this region.

Terai Region- In the southern part, the plain area of Terai region covers the 17 percent of the total land of the country.

People

People of Nepal can be divided into two distinct group, the Aryans and the Mongolians. And three are many different ethnic groups in Nepal living in different part of the country with their own unique cultures, languages and religions.
The ethnic group of Magars, Rais, Sunuwars and Gurungs live in the eastern mountains observing their own culture and speaking their own culture and speaking their own mother languages. By tradition, most Gurkha soldiers come from these ethnic groups and are famous for the bravery in the battles. Sherpas, inhabitants of the Northern Himalayan region are influenced with the Tibetan culture. The Sherpas are famous in the world for mountaineering.The Newars constitute the important ethnic group in the Kathmandu valley. The Newars are rich in culture and famous for their craftsmanship. There are many artistic pagodas, monuments and old palaces in the Kathmandu valley built by the Newars. The ethnic group of Tharus, Maithili, Bhojpuri Danuwar etc live in the Terai region.The Brahman and Chhetris also play an important role in Nepalese Society. These groups are originally from the west Nepal and now inhabit the most of all the parts of the country.Tamangs live outside the rim of the Kathmandu valley. The Thakalis inhabitant in the northwest part, upper the Kali Gandaki Rivers. The Thakalis were considered to be expert traders in the past.Apart from the above, there are still many other ethnic group in Nepal and all of these groups are tied up together by their common ideals of peace and nationalism.

CURRENCY – Currency of Nepal is known as Rupee which comes in notes of 1,2,5,10,20,25,50,100,500and 1000. Coins known as paisa comes in 5,10,25,50 and 100.Rupees coins are also used; 1,2,5,and 10.One Nepali Rupee is made up of 100 paisa. Foreign currencies must be exchanged only through the banks or authorized foreign exchange dealers.

TIME – Nepal Time is 5 hour 45 minutes ahead of Greenwich Mean Time and 15 minutes ahead of Indian Standard Time.

WEEKEND – Saturday is the official holiday in Nepal.

ELECTRIC CURRENT – 220 Volts/50 cycles. Most of the villages, cities of the kingdom are accessed with electricity.

NEW YEAR STARTS : New year starts on April 13 , Because officially calender is Bickram era it is 57 years ahead than A.D.. Presently running year is 2064 .

Culture

The Himalayan Kingdom has the richest and most diverse culture landscapes anywhere. Nepal is the holy land of Lord Pashupatinath and Gautam Buddha where the Hindus and Buddhists have lived together in harmony for centuries. The Temple of Pashupatinath is Nepal/s most sacred Hindu shrine and one of the four most important cities in the world for Shiva worshippers. Lord Buddha, the light of Asia, was born in Lumbini in Nepal/s southern plains, which makes Nepal a scared pilgrimage destination for Buddhists as well.

The rich tapestry of the cultural heritage of Nepal is synthesized in the Kathmandu Valley. The three ancient cities of the Valley Patan, Kathmandu, Bhaktapur represent an epitome of harmony in urban design, elegant architecture and refined culture. These cities pack a concentration of religious monuments unequalled in the world. Don/t miss the seven monument zones named as World Heritage Sites by UNESCO all situated within the small confines of the Valley.

Adding dazzling color to Nepal/s myriad attractions are the many festivals that dot the calendar. Join in the numerous annual festivals that are celebrated throughout the year in traditional style highlighting enduring customs and beliefs. Go for village tours and visit the multi-ethnic groups to get first hand experience of their customs and lifestyles.

As eating is a special affair in Nepal, there is food for each and every occasion and festival. Kathmandu offers an incredible selection of dining opportunities. There are many restaurants that serve only authentic Nepali food complete with ethnic ambience.
　

Fairs & Festivals

Nepal's festive calendar is hectic. Dasain, celebrated nationwide in October, is the most important of all Nepalese celebrations and features the biggest animal sacrifice of the year. Running a close second is Tihar (November), but unlike Daisan, animals are honoured rather than slaughtered. Other festivals celebrated nationally include the water-tinged Holi (March) and Chaitra Daisan (April), which is yet another bad day for animals. Hindu festivals number the Haribodhini Ekadashi (November) and Maha Shivaratri (March), both celebrated in Pashupatinath, the Gai Jatra (August) in Kathmandu and the Krishna Jayanti (August/September) in Patan. Buddhist celebrations are just as thick on the ground, and include Mani Rimdu (November) in Solu Khumbu, Buddha Jayanti (May) in Kathmandu, and Losar (Tibetan New Year) (February) in Swayambhunath, Jawlakhel and highland communities

Customs Rules in Nepal
　

A visa is required to enter Nepal except for Indian nationals. One can get a visa at the Royal Nepalese Embassy or Consulate or at the airport upon arrival. Children under 10 years need not pay any visa fees. Two passport sized photos mandatory.

Single entry : US$ 30 for 60 days
Additional re – entry cost: US$ 25 – Single; US$ 20 – Double; US$ 60 – Multiple.
Visitors who intend to re – enter the country within 150 days after leaving the country during the same visa year, entry visa fee is US$ 50 for 30 days.
For the visitors intending to stay more than 60 days, tourist visa extension fee is equivalent of US$ 50 (in Nepalese currency) for 30 days from the Department of Immigration.
Business visa (with multiple entry) can be obtained from the Department of Immigration for the period of one year and five years upon the recommendation of the Ministry of Industry by paying the equivalent of US$ 100 and US$ 250 respectively in Nepalese currency for the foreign investors.

Visa Information on Nepal
　

All foreigners (except Indian nationals) require visas, which can be obtained in advance or on arrival. Single-entry tourist visas costing US$30 are issued for up to 60 days and can be extended for a maximum of three months (for an extra US$50). Double and multiple-entry visas are also available. Visas permit travel around the Kathmandu Valley, Pokhara and Chitwan National Park in the Terai. Trekking permits are required if you intend striking out from the main areas; they can be obtained from immigration offices in Kathmandu and Pokhara. For National park and conservation fees are Rs 2000 to enter the Annapurna Conservation area.

Health risks: Altitude sickness, hepatitis A, malaria (low-lying areas only), meningococcal Meningitis (Kathmandu Valley region) and typhoid

Time: GMT/UTC plus five hours 45 minutes

Electricity: 220V, 50 Hz

Weights & measures: Metric
　

Help Nepal & Its People....

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Help Nepal & Its People ...

Help Nepal & People to Developed the Country

Nepal is among the poorest countries in the world like Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, Ethiopia, Gambia, Haiti, Uganda, Tanzania, Vanuatu, Yemen, and Zambia. Nepal's annual economic growth rate is less than 2 percent. According to CIA World Fact book, March 2005, Nepal is the 48th poorest country in the world.

Nepal borders China (Tibet) to the north and is surrounded by India on its other borders. Only 21% of the country is under cultivation. Nepal is a land-locked country located more than 1000 km from Calcutta, India, its most important port.

Nepal’s population in terms of race and language can be divided into two main groups: the Aryans, an Indo-European speaking group, and the Mongolian Tibetan-Burmese speaking ethnic groups. Nepali, a language originating from Sanskrit, is the mother tongue of about 60% of the population. About one quarter speak Newari and the remainder speak other other languages such as Hindi, Urdu and Maithili. The majority of the population is Hindu, the state religion.

Other denominations include Buddhists. Nepal’s population is estimated at approximately 24 million with an annual growth rate of about 2.2%. At least 40% of the population are under the age of 15. Even with a declining population growth rate, it is estimated that Nepal’s population will reach 30 million by 2010.

Nepal is one of the group of countries classified by the UN as least developed. With a GNP per inhabitant of US $210, Nepal is one of the world’s poorest countries. No clear documentation on absolute poverty in Nepal is available and figures vary, depending on calculation methodology, from 40-71% of the population. Social development remains at a very low level.

Infant mortality is 96 per 1000 live births and average life expectancy is 55 years of age for men and 54 years of age for women. Only 30-40% of the population can read and write (40-50% of men and 15-20% of women).

Nepal's half the population live below the poverty line, and about one third of the population lives without clear water. These are people who do not have access to basic needs such as food, health and education. Half the children are malnourished and under weight. Half the people are jobless in Nepal.

Average income of Nepal is less than $200 a year. About 15% of the Nepalese have access to health services. Nearly half the children's in Nepal are under weight. Nepal's most of the poor people live in rural areas yet still a huge percentage of poor people struggle in cities trying to make ends meet. About 80% of Nepalese are farmers.

Life in Villages: Youth have left their homes or have joined the rebels or have been killed in the civil war between the rebels and the government. Most villages are empty, what ever they have are the old and sick parents unable to make it to the city, and trying to survive the best they can. Kids spend most of their daily life doing house-hold works. Because of the civil war, Nepal's beautiful villages with magnificent mountains and landscape are as empty as ghost town.

Life in cities : Those flocked to the cities without financial support end up begging on the streets or find job as a servant taking upon house-hold works of a family in return for food and a shelter. Most poor people including kids in cities work as a servant, dishwasher, bus conductor, porter, painter, waiter/server, and helper in many construction works such as house construction. Those with a little bit of financial support from parents will try to get a job while going to a government college. Most students living in cities like Kathmandu work while they study. In city, living cost is extremely high, and poor to mid-class family struggle to pay off bills such as house rent, food, transportation, phone, water, and electricity. The most popular business in city is opening a convenient shop, easy to start - rent a room, pack it with groceries, and open it. The second most popular business is building a house with lots of rooms for rent - in fact people build their houses with extra rooms for others to rent.

Nepal Poverty Facts:

Most Nepalese live on a $1 day or less!
Nepal is the poorest country in Asia. Country's 10% of the population takes 50% of the wealth, the bottom 40% takes 10%
85% of Nepalese don't have health access
World's 48th poorest country is Nepal
Total Debt of the country * External $2.55 Billion, about $97 per person
Nepalese rural people are poor due to lack of access to resources, low-productivity land, roads to obtain agriculture inputs and to sell agriculture produce
Nepal's many of the social indicators are the lowest in South Asia
Nepal's population will be 48 million by 2030
Did you know that? Rain is very important to Nepal's economy. Country's 80% of people are into agriculture. Often when there is no rain farmers worship the Lord Indra - the mythical Hindu god of rain.
Bandhs have kept much of Nepal’s countryside paralyzed, causing severe poverty and hardship.

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Nepal Economy

Nepal Economy:
Help Nepal & People to Developed the Country

Nepal is one of the poorest countries in the world and was listed as the eleventh poorest among 121 countries in 1989. Estimates of its per capita income for 1988 ranged from US$158 to US$180. Various factors contributed to the economic underdevelopment--including terrain, lack of resource endowment, landlocked position, lack of institutions for modernization, weak infrastructure, and a lack of policies conducive to development .... more details

Access to Financial Services in Nepal Declining
Help Nepal & People to Developed the Country

Access to financial services remains limited for most people in Nepal and has declined in recent years, according to the World Bank and DFID’s 2006 Access to Financial Services Survey report launched today. The report examines the country’s supply of and demand for financial services, constraints to increasing access, and offers recommendations for making the financial sector work for all Nepalese, especially the poor. The report finds .....more details

Streamlining The Microfinance Industry
Help Nepal & People

The Nepalese rural sector, during the period of about a decade and a half, has witnessed tremendous growth in microfinance institutions (MFIs). The MFIs comprise Micro Credit Development Banks, Saving and Credit Cooperatives (SCCos), Financial Intermediary Non-Governmental Organization (FI-NGOs), Small Farmer Cooperatives and others, which offer a variety of microfinance products/services according to the .... more details

Micro Finance in Nepal

Nepal is one of the poorest country in the world and the poorest in the South Asia region. Its poverty reduction rate is low. The main reasons for this low poverty reduction rate are: (i) low per capital income, (ii) concentrated urban growth, and (iii) high population growth rate. Out of a population of 23 million, 38% are in below the poverty line. Most of the poor people live in rural areas and have little opportunity. Micro-finance could help poor .... more details

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Nepal is a landlocked and largely undeveloped country nestled in the heart of the majestic Himalayan Mountains, with China to the north and India to the south. Currently struggling with abject poverty, political upheaval, economic uncertainty and gender inequality, children there find themselves orphaned due to disease, natural disasters, and lack of access to medical facilities. On the other hand, Nepal has an astonishing diversity of geography and richness of culture for such a small country. On the same day, one can brush against the world's highest peaks on a mountain flight, browse World Heritage Site temples and ride through grasslands and jungles atop an elephant.

          Nepal is 885 km (533 miles) long and 90-220 km (60-137 miles) wide with a total area of 147,181 sq. km. Here you find the eight highest mountains of the world including world famous Mount Everest (29,028 ft). Entirely mountainous except for the narrow strip of low-lying plains known as the Terai, its climate ranges from the tropical heat of the Terai to alpine, arctic and even Mediterranean.

        Nepalese culture is a tossed salad of mountain peoples and customs, blending Indo-Aryan, Tibeto-Burmese and Mongolian elements in a colorful ethnic mix. It continues to grapple with keeping its heritage architecture, art and culture intact in the face of unbridled development.

            The economic structure of the Nepalese economy is mixed, with agriculture as the backbone. Eighty percent of the country痴 total production is dependent on the agriculture sector, which contributes more than 40% to Nepal痴 GDP. While Nepal has some of the most fertile land in the world, this land makes up only 17% of Nepal痴 total area. The gross domestic product of Nepal fluctuates between 2 to 3.9 %. The average per capita income is US $ 220.

While many children here live in poverty, they are much more fortunate than the orphans and homeless children who live on the streets. A UN report states that there are over 5000 orphans in Nepal. In the most recent CWIN (Child Welfare In Nepal) report it is noted that more than 3000 children have been displaced and over 1500 orphaned due to the violent political conflict in this country. The current political situation has made everyday life a struggle; prices have risen from countrywide blockades, tourism is down, and many young adults have fled the country or been injured or killed as a result of the political tensions. The orphans and street children of Nepal, marginalized by society, are vulnerable to various abuses: they are bought into indentured servitude, sold into the sex trade industry etc. More often than not they are also introduced to the street life culture of drugs and crime.

There are few government programs or social safety nets that deal with the orphan's issues. Little is done at the municipal level to ensure the safety of these children. The solution for these children, as we see it, is to place them in a home-style orphanage where they can benefit from safety, love, good health and education, and can grow up to become capable citizens. One long-term goal of Namaste Children House is to effect economic changes by means of raising qualified and well-informed men and women.

Geographical Information: Nepal, a sovereign Independent Kingdom, lies between 80 degree 12' east longitude and 26 degree 22' and 30 degree 27' north latitude. It is bounded on the north by the Tibet Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China; on the east by Sikkim and West Bengal of the Indian Union on the south by Indian States of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh and on the west by Uttar Pradesh of Indian Union. The length of the Kingdom is 885 kilometers east-west and its breath varies from 145 to 241 kilometers north-south. Climatically, it lies in the temperate zone with the added advantage of altitude.

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