Nepal Information

Nepal, a sovereign independent Hindu Kingdom, lies between 80°4' and 88°12' east longitude, 26°22' and 30°27' north latitude. It is bound on the north by Tibet Region of the People's Republic of China; on the east by Sikkim and West Bengal, on the south by Bihar and Uttar Pradesh and on the west by Uttaranchal Pradesh of India alone. The length of the Kingdom is 886 km East to West and its breadth various from 145 to 241 km. North to South. It lies in the Temperate Zone with the added advantage of altitude. Except for the Terai in the south, even the valleys with some exception, is seldom less than, 1,220 m. above sea levels. Nepal has an area of 147,181-sq. km., with Hindu, Buddhist and other religious peoples. Its national language is Nepali. Nepal has about 20 million people according to the census of 2001. It has a standard time, which is 5 hours 45 minutes ahead of GMT.

The capital city is Kathmandu. The elevation of Nepal varies from 70 m. to 8,848 m, the highest in the world - Mt. Everest. Nepal has four major seasons, namely; Winter: (December to February), Spring: (March to May); Summer; (June to August); and Autumn: (September to November). It has following attraction points: Himalayas, Heritage sites, Wildlife, Water sports, Festivals, Folk culture, Nepalese typical people, and Himalayan expedition. Nepal can be visited throughout the year. Dresses except in formal gathering informal clothes are acceptable mostly everywhere. Light casual wears are preferable for traveling, warm garments are requires in Oct. - Mar. An umbrella or raincoat is a must for the rainy season. Nepal has power supply of electricity of 220 V/50Hz. Its population is made of different races and tribes, living in different regions wearing different costumes, following different religious practices and speaking different languages and dialects. To name few the Gurungs and Magars live mainly in the west and slopes of Annapurna, Himalchuli and Ganesh Himal Mountains, The Sherpas, Rais, Limbus and Sunuwars inhabit the slopes and valley or the eastern mid hills, rests are Brahmins and Chhetries.

Hinduism and Buddhism constitute two major religions of Nepal sharing between them some 89.5 % and 5.3 % of the total population respectively. Both these co - religionists are bound together by a sense of fellow feeling and bonhomie particularly displayed in their worship of common deities and joint celebration of many festivals belonging to either religious cult. Kumari, the virgin Hindu Goddess, for instance, is selected from a Buddhist clan. A remarkable feature of Nepal is just the religious homogeneity that exists, particularly between the Hindu and Buddhist communities.

Geographical Region:

Nepal has been divided into three main geographical regions:
a) Himalayan
b) Mountainous and
c) Terai region.

Himalayan region: It ranges between 4,877 and 8,848 meters high in altitude and is very cold as the snow remains year - round.

Mountainous region: It ranges up to 4,877 meters of Mahabharat range and the Churiya range in the south of Mahabharat with the altitude that varies from 616 to 1,524 meters. This mountain region covers about 64 % of the total land. The climate in this region is moderate.

Terai region: It lies in the South of Churiya range and is very hot in summer, which covers about 17% of the total land. The altitude in this region is 70 to 315 meters from the sea level and is 26 to 32 km. in width.

Approximate Temperature:

Particulars	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Min. Temp. in °C	2.7	2.2	6.9	8.6	15.6	18.9	19.5	19.2	18.6	13.3	6.0	1.9
Max. temp. in °C	17.5	21.6	25.5	30.0	29.7	29.4	28.1	.29.5	28.6	28.6	23.7	20.7
Rainfall (in ml.)	4.7	11	15	5	146	135	327	206	199	42	0	1

Currency:
Nepali Rupee notes come in Re. 1,2, 5, 10, 20, 25, 50, 100, 250, 500 and 1000 denominations. Coins come in 5, 10, 25, 50 Paisa and Re. 1, 2, 5 etc. Foreign currencies must be exchanged only through the banks or authorized foreign exchange dealers. The receipts from such transactions are to be obtained and retained. Visitors can exchange foreign currency at the foreign exchange counter at the airport upon arrival. Only 15 % of the currency exchanged can be reconverted into U S Dollar at the time of departure. Visitors other than Indian nationals have to make payments in hotels, travel or trekking agencies and air tickets in foreign currency. Amount exceeding U S $ 2,000 has to be declared at the entry point. Non - Indian visitors are not allowed to import or export Indian currency. The approximate value of one Dollar is equivalent to RS. 70.35 as on June 2005. Most of the big organizations, shops, hotels, and restaurants accept credit cards like Visa Card and MasterCard etc. For American express you have to visit American Express office at Kantipah, Jamal.

Entry Points:
By air; Tribhuwan International airport, Kathmandu. By land: Kakarvitta, Birgunj, Sunauli, Dhangadi and Mahendranagar in Nepal - India border and Kodari in Nepal - China border. The overland tourists entering the Kingdom with their vehicles must possess an international carnet.

Travel route:
Royal Nepal Airlines, the national flag carrier of Nepal and other international Airlines also operated scheduled flight to Kathmandu from Bangkok, Banglore, Bombay (Mumbai), Calcutta (Kolkatta), Delhi, Dhaka, Dubai, Hong Kong, Karachi, Lhasa, London, Moscow, Paro (Bhutan), Paris, Singapore and Varanasi. The International Airlines operating their flights to Kathmandu include Biman Bangladesh, Air China, Druk Air, Indian Airlines, Pakistan International Airlines, Qatar Airways, Gulf Air and Thai Airways.
Martin Air and Austrian Airways operate their flights to Kathmandu seasonally.