
Nepal is a magical Himalayan country where legend holds the truth and heaven meets the earth!
Nepal is a destination of infinite charm and diversity. Within a single day one can fly past Everest and its neighboring peaks, pause amidst the palaces & temples of Kathmandu, then descend through the terraces of the Middle Hills to the plains and ride elephants through tropical jungles, inhabited by several species of migratory and native birds and wild animals including the great Asian One-Horned Rhinoceros and the ever elusive Royal Bengal Tiger.
For the adventurous of spirit, there could be no better place on earth than this tiny country for a really fulfilling holiday. Nepal is one of the world's most incredible countries; home of some 27 million Nepalese, their languages and customs as diverse as the terrain and climate itself.
Nepal, the roof of the world, covers an area of 147,181 sq. kms and stretches 145 - 241 kms. north to south & 800 - 850 kms. west to east. Nepal is totally landlocked and precariously positioned between two Asian giants; China in the north and India to the east, west & south. At latitudes 26 & 30 degrees north & longitudes 80 & 88 degrees east, Nepal is topographically divided into three regions: the Himalaya to the north, the hills consisting of Mahabharata range & Churia hills in the middle, and the Terai plains to the south. Elevations are varied in the kingdom. The highest point is Mt. Everest (8850m) and the lowest point at Jhapa district (67m). Altitude generally increases as one travels south to north.
Nepal is 5 hours 45 minutes ahead of GMT & 15 minutes ahead of Indian Standard Time.
Nepal has a rich and a most diverse culture because of its unique location between the world’s two largest and ancient civilizations. Nepal is the Holy Land of Lord Pashupatinath & Gautam Buddha, where the Hindus & Buddhists have coexisted for centuries in total harmony. Lord Buddha, the ‘light of Asia’, was born in Lumbini in Nepal’s southern plains, which makes Nepal a scared pilgrimage destination for all Buddhists. The Temple of Pashupatinath is Nepal’s most scared Hindu shrine and one of the four most important sites in the world for Shiva worshippers. The three ancient cities of the Valley - Kathmandu, Patan, and Bhaktapur represent an epitome of harmony in urban design, elegant architecture and refined culture.
Because of its geo-diversity, Nepal offers an astonishing variety of holiday activities and adventure opportunities found nowhere else. Adventure tourism in Nepal dates back to the early attempts to scale the world’s highest peaks. While trekking, mountaineering, and game watching have long been popular, an entire range of other possibilities has been explored in the recent years: hot-air ballooning, mountain flight excursion, whitewater rafting, canoeing, mountain-biking, motor-biking, fishing, rock climbing, paragliding, ultra-light aircraft flights, pony treks & bungy-jumping etc. The varied landscape offers some of the best sites for such exciting activities: raging rivers to run, mountains to scale, clear blue skies to glide through, beautiful lakes to swim in, fascinating villages to explore, unpolluted rivers to fish in or raft down, and a wild terrain to travel through.
World Heritage Sites of Nepal (cultural) :
Kathmandu Durbar Square
Patan Durbar Square
Bhaktapur Durbar Square
Swayambhunath Stupa
Boudhnath Stupa
Changunarayan Temple
Pashupatinath Temple
Lumbini Garden - Birth place of Lord Buddha
World Heritage Sites of Nepal (natural) :
Everest National Park (1,148 sq. kms)
Chitwan National Park (932 sq. kms)
Other Nepal National Parks:
Rara National Park (106 sq. kms)
Bardiya National Park (968 sq. kms)
Langtang National Park (1,710 sq. kms)
Shey - Phoksundo National Park (3,555 sq. kms)
Khaptad National Park (225 sq. kms)
Makalu-Barun National Park & Conservation Area (2,330 sq. kms)
Conservation Areas in Nepal :
Annapurna Conservation Area Project ACAP (2,600 sq. km)
Manaslu Conservation Area (1,663 sq. kms)
Kanchanjunga Conservation Area (2,035 sq. kms)
Wildlife Reserves of Nepal
Parsa Reserve (499 sq. kms)
Koshi -Tappu Reserve (175 sq. kms)
Shivapuri Watershed & Wildlife Reserve
Sukla Phanta Reserve (305 sq. kms)
Hunting Reserve in Nepal
Dhorpatan (1325 sq. kms) Hunting Reserve , West Nepal