Nepal is a landlocked country in South Asia lying on the southern side
of the Himalaya mountain range, bordered by China and India. Nepal is
about 800km long from nortwest to southeast and has a total area of
147181 sq. km. Its terrain is mostly mountaineous, with only the narrow
southern strip consisting of plains. The mountainous north contains
eight of the world's ten highest mountains, including the highest, Mount
Everest.
The Kathmandu valley has been settled for at least 9000 years. The first
recorded history dates back to 1000 BC, when a number of small kingdoms
and confederations of clans arose in the region. Much of Nepal was
first unified by the late 14th century, although for a short time only.
Nepal was unified again in 1768 and maintained its independence even
when the British colonised India. In 2008 Nepal became a parliamentary
republic. Nepal is an ethnically diverse country with almost 30 million
inhabitants and 92 spoken languages. With a GDP per capita of just USD
400 the economy is very underdeveloped. The impressive natural landscape
and the rich cultural heritage of Nepal give it a considerable tourism
potential, but the development in this sector has been hampered by the
years of civil war through which the country went. The capital of Nepal
is Kathmandu. View More
