admin August 11th, 2007

Introduction to Nepal

Nepal, the small and hospitable country, is an exceptionally popular destination for travelers, especially for those who are in search of climbing challenges or spiritual enlightenment. It is the country of Mount Everest, the birth place of Lord Buddha and historic pagoda style temples. It is dominated by the world’s most imposing mountains. The country is relatively small (147,181 square kilometers) but its major territory is occupied by the dramatic peaks of the Himalayas.

Geographically Nepal is divided into three regions: The Himalayas, Hilly region and the Terai.

The Himalayas stretch across the northern section of Nepal. Eight of the ten highest peaks in the world are located here, and most are covered with permanent snowfields.

Hilly region, the central section of Nepal is formed by the Mahabharat Chain, a range of mountains that reach modest altitudes of 2,000-3,000 meters. Farming is the important activity in the area; terraced farms produce rice, corn and wheat. The Kathmandu Valley, a stretch of green in the middle of the Mahabharat, is home to Nepal’s capital and other historic cities.

Terai, the southernmost strip of land, is bordered to the north by Himalayan foothills and to the south by the Ganges River. The Terai is the breadbasket of Nepal and is covered with farms and agricultural land.

Nepal has population of around twenty-six million, made up of 40 different races and tribes, living in different regions, wearing different costumes and speaking different languages and dialects. In other words, she offers such diversity that the visitors experience lifestyle from stone-age to modern jet age. Religion-wise most people in Nepal are Hindus, which covers 90% of the population, and Buddhists, the second major religion. But Buddhism has a special connection to Nepal as Siddhartha Gautama, later revered as the Buddha, was born in the Nepal in 543 BC.

The climate varies considerably in Nepal with elevation but the weather is generally predictable and pleasant. There are four climatic seasons: March–May (spring), June–August (summer), September–November (autumn) and December–February (winter). The monsoon is approximately from the end of June to the middle of September. March and April are good months for mountain treks.

Some of the Nepal highlights…

Mount Everest
The peak of Mount Everest behind the Nuptse-Lhotse ridge is the world’s highest mountain which straddles the border between Nepal and Tibet.  Mount Everest is known by the Nepalese’ as Sagarmatha (”Head of the Sky”) and Chomolungma (’Mother Goddess of the World’) by the Sherpas.

Lord Buddha
The Buddha was born as Siddhartha Gautama, a prince of the Sakya tribe of Nepal, in approximately 566 BC. When he was twenty-nine years old, he left the comforts of his home to seek the meaning of the suffering he saw around him. After six years of arduous yogic training, he abandoned the way of self-mortification and instead sat in mindful meditation beneath a bodhi tree. On the full moon of May, with the rising of the morning star, Siddhartha Gautama became the Buddha, the enlightened one.
The Buddha wandered the plains of northeastern India for 45 years more, teaching the path or Dharma he had realized in that moment. Around him developed a community or Sangha of monks and, later, nuns, drawn from every tribe and caste, devoted to practicing this path. In approximately 486 BC, at the age of 80, the Buddha died but the path he showed is always alive.

Pashupatinath
The temple of Pashupatinath stands on the banks of the sacred Bagmati River.  The temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva, the destroyer and creator of the Hindu pantheon; it is the most important Hindu site in Nepal and is always alive with activity.  People from all over the world come to visit this holy site.

Historic Temples
Nepal is a country of cultural diversity. The historic center of Nepal is in the Kathmandu Valley.  Two of the world’s great religions, Hinduism and Buddhism, mingle here in jumbled and busy towns. The old parts of the towns of the Kathmandu Valley are packed with extraordinary temples and shrines that reflect this complex system of religious beliefs. These ageing buildings and monuments are dedicated to a plethora of gods and goddesses. They are still used by the many people of the Kathmandu Valley towns who worship as part of their everyday lives. The finest buildings were constructed during a golden age of religious architecture that lasted for five hundred years after the Malla Kings came to power in the thirteenth century.

The great Himalayas
In dramatic contrast to the valleys and plains are the high mountains of the Himalaya that rise in the north of Nepal.  Despite an inhospitable landscape of towering icy peaks, the Nepal Himalaya harbors remote Buddhist shrines and monasteries.  These are revered by people who live by their culture and faiths in this harsh but pious region.

Buddhist stupas
Stupa is the sacred Buddhist shrine. Boudhanath and Swoyambhunath are the two major centuries-old stupas in the Kathmandu Valley.  Stupas are built to a structure that symbolizes Buddhist beliefs.  Pilgrims walk clockwise around the stupa while spinning the prayer wheels that are set at its base.

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