20 interesting facts about Nepal

Mt Everest

• Possessing 8 of the 10 highest mountains in the world, Nepal is a hotspot destination for mountaineers, rock climbers and people seeking adventures.

• Everest is actually called Sagarmatha. The Nepali translation for this word is “Forehead of the Sky.” In the local Sherpa language, Everest is called Chomolungma, which means “Goddess Mother of the World.” The word Everest comes from George Everest, a British surveyor general of the Himalayas.

• Nepal boasts few of the world’s most popular trekking trails such as Annapurna Circuit trekking and Everest Base Camp Trek.

A Buddhist monastery in Lumbini

• The world heritage site Lumbini, birthplace of Gautama Buddha, is located in southern Nepal.

• Pashupatinath Temple, the world's largest temple of Shiva which is located in Kathmandu.

• 123 languages are spoken in Nepal, of which Nepali, written in Devanagari script, is the official national language.

Receving tika on Dashain

• Many festivals are celebrated in Nepal, mostly religious among which Dashain is the longest and the most important festival of Nepal.

• Nepal’s flag is the only national flag in the world that is not rectangular in shape

• The staple Nepalese meal is Dal Bhat. Dal is a spicy lentil soup, served over bhat (boiled rice), and served with tarkari (curried vegetables) together with achar (pickles) or chutni (spicy condiment made from fresh ingredients).

Tilicho lake-highest lake in the world

• Nepal boasts the most extreme places on the earth such as the highest lake on the earth (Tilicho 4800 meters), the deepest gorge (1200 meter) in Kaligandaki, the highest valley on earth (Arun valley) and the tallest grassland in the world in Chitwan.

• Nepal is the only country with altitudinal variation that ranges from 70 meters to 8848 meters.

• Nepal is a five season destination: summer, spring, monsoon, autumn and winter.

Boudhanath Stupa-World Heritage Site

• Nepal has the densest concentration of World Heritage Sites. Kathmandu valley alone has 7 World Heritage Cultural sites within a radius of 15 kilometers.

• Nepal was never under any foreign invasion. Thus Nepal does not have an independent day because Nepal was never colonized. Nepal is also the oldest country in South Asia.

• Cows are sacred in Nepal. Recently turned secular, Nepal still has the highest proportion of Hindus in the world. Cow is considered the national animal of the country.

Kumari-The living Goddess

• Nepal has the only living goddess in the world called Kumari. Kumari literally means virgin in Nepali.

• Elephant polo game was originated in Meghauli, Nepal. Tiger Tops in Nepal is the headquarters of elephant polo and the site of the World Elephant Polo Championships.

• Over nineteen percent of the total country’s landmass is protected under National Park and Protected Area in Nepal.

White-water rafting

• Nepal is one of the best arenas for Extreme & Adventure Sport tourism such as mountaineering, cannoning, paragliding, mountain biking, kayaking, rafting, bungee jumping, high altitude marathon etc.

• Shivapuri National Park at Budhanilkantha in Kathmandu is the only World’s National Park close to the capital and international airport.