Nepal

Geography:

Location: Republic Federal Democracy of Nepal lies between 80.4' and 88 .12' east longitudes and 26. 22' north latitude.  It borders China in the North and India in the South.

Area: 1, 47,181 sq. KMS.

Capital: Kathmandu.

Population: 284 million 

Highest point: Mount Everest 8,848 m (29,029 ft)

Lowest point: Mukhiyapatti Musharniya, 59 m (194 ft)

Longest river: Karnali

Largest lake: Rara Lake

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

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

Geographic division:

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), Kanchenjunga (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 or Mountain Region: Between two regions (Himalayan and Terai) the land up and down is called hilly or mountain region. 68 percent of the total land of the country is 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 groups, the Aryans and the Mongolians. And there are many different ethnic groups in Nepal living in different parts 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 their bravery in the battles. Sherpas, inhabitants of the Northern Himalayan region, are influenced by 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 with the news. The ethnic group of Taurus, 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 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 inhabit in the northwest part, upper of 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 groups 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 pizza come 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 paisas. 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.