Namaste! Welcome to a land you will never forget - a land of snow-capped mountains and quiet river valleys, of ancient preserved cities and towering pagoda temples, and friendly people. Nepal offers something for every one -the pilgrim, the casual visitor, the tourists and the traveler, trekkers, poets and those in search of a personal Shangri-La.

Within the borders of this small country is an astounding variety of animals, plants and geologic formations. The world's tallest mountain - Sagarmatha (Mt. Everest), commands the north, while the luxurious jungles of the Terai-filled with birds and beasts, command the south. In nearly a dozen wilderness parks and reserves you can find everything from the majestic Royal Bengal Tiger and Great One-horned rhinoceros to the nimble Musk deer and the elusive Snow leopard.

Nepal is a land for all seasons. There are a myriad places to go, people to meet and sites to see. To name a few, Kathmandu or Kirthipur, Patan or Lalitapur. Badgaon or Bhaktapur. Three ancient cities a few miles apart from each other with their temples, stupas, monasteries, Palaces, Durbar squares and markets. There are delightful and colourful festivals the year around.

For the adventurous there are exciting adventure activities in the form of trekking, white water rafting, biking, mountaineering and jungle safaris.

Nepal is a land where the arts culture are as well preserved as the valleys and forests. Temples enriched with woodcarving and bronzes, millennium-old statues standing along the wayside, songs and dances unchanged for centuries, and entire cities preserved in their medieval splendour. And it is a place where craft traditions are as vital as they were a thousand years ago, a place where one can buy woodcarvings, statues, gems and weavings similar to those of the ancient world.

Geography
Area:147,181 square kilometers

Tucked between India and China, south of the Himalayas, Nepal is a small country the size of Austria. Here you'll find the most drastic variations in altitude in the world. The country extends from the Terai (a flat humid region just 100 meters above sea level that forms the southern border) to the peak of the highest mountain in the world: Sagarmatha (Everest) which reaches 8848 m. Between these two zones are the Hills, an undulating region with deep valleys, steep slopes and worn peaks. The country also has some plains in the south, a fertile valley in the middle and high deserts in the north. The growing region situated between the Mahabharat chain and the Himalayas provides food for a large part of the population.

There are more than 6500 species of trees, shrubs and wild plants, from tropical vegetation to alpine vegetation (low brush). Wildlife is also very diversified by region: birds, tigers, snow leopards, rhinoceroses, elephants, bears and monkeys. In 1970 the Nepalese government established six national parks to protect endangered wildlife.

Capital
Kathmandu

Political system
Monarchy with parliamentary government

Language
There are about 22 million inhabitants, 14% of whom live in cities, particularly in the Kathmandu valley. The principal ethnic groups are the Newar, Tharu, Gurung, Magar, Thakali, Tamang, Rai, Limbu and Bhote (including Sherpas). The official language, Nepalese (fairly close to Hindi) is spoken by 58% of the population. The country has about 36 other languages and dialects. English is widely spoken in the Kathmandu valley.

Climate
Tropical, temperate or mountainous depending on the altitude