oldest temple of nepal:swayambhunath

✪ 3 comments
Swayambhunath is an ancient religious complex atop a hill in the Kathmandu Valley, west of KathmanduMonkey Temple as there are holy monkeys living in parts of the temple in the north-west. The Tibetan name for the site means 'Sublime Trees', for the many varieties of trees found on the hill. However, Shing.kun may be a corruption of the local Newari name for the complex, Singgu, meaning 'self-sprung'.For the Buddhist Newars in whose mythological history and origin myth as well as day-to-day religious practice, Swayambhunath occupies a central position, it is probably the most sacred among Buddhist pilgrimage sites. For Tibetans and followers of Tibetan Buddhism, it second only to Boudhanath. city. It is also known as the
The Swayambhunath complex consists of a stupa, a variety of shrines and temples, some dating back to the Licchavi period. A Tibetan monastery, museum and library are more recent additions. The stupa has Buddha's eyes and eyebrows painted on. Between them, there is something painted which looks like the nose - but is the Nepali symbol of 'unity', in the main Nepali language dialect. There are also shops, restaurants and hostels. The site has two access points: a long stairway, claimed to have 365 steps, leading directly to the main platform of the temple, which is from the top of the hill to the east; and a car road around the hill from the south leading to the southwest entrance. The first sight on reaching the top of the stairway is the Vajra. Tsultrim Allione describes the experience:
We were breathless and sweating as we stumbled up the last steep steps and practically fell upon the biggest vajra (thunder-bolt scepter) that I have ever seen. Behind this vajra was the vast, round, white dome of the stupa, like a full solid skirt, at the top of which were two giant Buddha eyes wisely looking out over the peaceful valley which was just beginning to come alive.
Much of Swayambhunath's iconography comes from the Vajrayana tradition of Newar Buddhism. However, the complex is also an important site for Buddhists of many schools, and is also revered by Hindus.

Biggest Lake of Nepal:rara(mahendra lake)

✪ No comment yet
Rara Lake is the largest lake of Nepal, situated in Mugu district in the far western region of Nepal, near Gam Ghadi (district-headquarters of Mugu) and Talcha airstrip. It takes around 3 to 4 days of walking to reach Rara from Jumla.
The surface is around 8 square kilometer and the perimeter 9 kilometer. The length of the lake is 5 kilometers and it is 2 kilometers wide, the altitude around 3060 meter and the max. depth is 167 meter.
Rara is an unique spot in Nepal. The lake is situated in the Rara National Park and because of its remote location and the violence/threat of a revolutionary communist group (Maoists)  the lake has been visited by only few tourists in the past. Only in the second half of 2006 the situation improved and foreign visitors do not need to pay the high fee of around $100 per person to these Maoists anymore.

Biggest River of Nepal:Saptakoshi(28140sq.km)

✪ No comment yet
Saptakoshi River is an important river flowing into the Koshi River basin. It originates in the Tibetan mountains at an altitude of 5,646 metres. Fishing is an important enterprise on the river but the fishing resources are being depleted and the younger fishermen are leaving for other areas of work.
Sapta koshi is a large river in eastern Nepal. It flows into India to join the Ganges. The river name "Sapta" means "seven" in area languages, as seven rivers flow together out of the eastern himalaya to create the Sapta Koshi river. The seven rivers are the Indrawati, Bhote Koshi,Tama Koshi, Dudh Koshi, Liku, Arun, and Tamor. The Sapta Koshi river flow is controlled by a system of levees or embankments designed to control flooding and provide irrigation, and an adjustable dam at the Koshi Barrage at the Nepal-India border.
In August 2008, after very heavy rains, the Sapt Koshi broke through its eastern levee several miles north of the Nepal-India border. As the river changed course, it flooded a large swath across Sunsari District, Nepal, and Bihar, India, displacing millions of people.

The Longest River of Nepal:Karnali(507km)

✪ No comment yet
The Karnali river is a perennial, torrential, turbulent and undisturbed river of the Himalayas, which is one of the three major rivers of Nepal, the other two being Gandaki or Narayani River and Sapta koshi River. It originates from Mansarover and Rakes lake and receives many snow fed rivers such as Mugu Karnali and Humla Karnali at Himalayan belt. The Karnali basin lies between the mountain ranges of Dhaulagiri and Nanda Devi, in the western part of Nepal. In the north, it lies in the rain shadow of the Himalayas. The Karnali river has its origin in the perpetually snow covered Himalayan mountains.
The Karnali river is the longest river in Nepal, 507 Km in length, forms several gorges with its swift currents. A 202 Km long, Seti River, its feeder stream, drains the western part of the catchment, and joins the Karnali River in Doti north of Dundras hill. Another feeder stream, 264 Km long Bheri river, drains the eastern part of the Catchment and meets the Karnali River near Kuineghat in Surkhet.
It makes a spectacular gorge near Chisapani which contains diverse kinds of trans -Himalayan and sub-Himalayan fish species.
The bottom of the Karnali River is mostly boulder-strewn at its upper reaches and sandy at its lower reaches and the river water is clean except in rainy season. Its depth ranges from 3-10 m but in deep gorges varies from 50 m-100m. Karnali fans divides into two main channels, first Geruwa on the left and Kauralia on the right near downstream Chisapani.

Lowest Point of Nepal:Kechana Kawal

✪ No comment yet
Kechana Kawal is located in Jhapa district, eastern Nepal.Which is around 60 meters above the sea level.

Highest Point of Nepal:Mt.Everest(Sagarmatha)

✪ 5 comments
 Mount Everest is one of the tallest mountains in the world. It is part of the Himalayan Mountains. They were formed in the last few million years. After the supercontinent of Laurasia broke up millions of years ago, India moved slowly north towards Asia and then crashed into it. The seabed between the two plates (the earth's crust is divided into large areas of land called plates) was crumbled and pushed up on the northern rim of India to form mountains. These two plates of the earth's crust are still moving, so the Himalayas are being pushed up higher.
The highest mountain on the planet, Mount Everest is growing two inches taller each year. Satellite technology says the mountain is currently 29,107 feet tall. First recognized as the highest peek in 1852, it got its western name ten years later in 1862. Mount Everest was named for Sir George Everest (1790-1866), a British surveyor. Surveyors don't agree on the height of Mount Everest. The British government in the 1800's thought the height was 29,002 feet. In 1954 the Indian government said it's 29,028 feet, but a widely used unofficial figure says it is 29,141 feet!
Mount Everest sits on the border between Nepal and Tibet.
People from the western hemisphere weren't allowed to climb Mount Everest until the early 1920's. The first known climb that made it to the top was made by a New Zealander named Edmund Hillary and a Napalese named Tenzing Norgay. They climbed the mountain in 1953. Since then Everest has been climbed by 400 people. Access is restricted by the Nepalese to prevent too much damage to the environment.
Mount Everest is 97 degrees below freezing, talk about cold!

Mount Everest is also called Chomolangma, meaning “Goddess Mother of Snows” in Tibetan and Sagarmatha, meaning "Mother of the Universe" in Nepalese. The mountain is sacred to the native people.

Development Regions of Nepal

✪ 2 comments

Introduction to 5 Development Regions

Nepal was dived into 4 development regions in the year 2029. Later on, in the year 2037, seperate Far Western Development Region comprising Mahakali and Seti Zones was created. In this way Nepal was divided into 5 development regions with a development center in each region.The biggest development region is MWDR with the area of 42,378 sq.km. and the smallest is FWDR with the area of 19,539 sq.km. The second biggest WDR with its area 29,398 is followed by EDR 28,456 and CDR 27,410.


Five development Regions of Nepal: 


1.Far-Western Development Region


Far-Western Region is one of Nepal's five development regions. It is located at the western end of the country with headquarters at Dipayal.It is comprises of two zones called "SETI" and "MAHAKALI".
The major cities in this region are Dhangadi Municipality which is located in Kailali district of SETI Zone,
Mahendranagar which is the headquarter of Kanchanpur District in Mahakali Zone. It is located on the Mahakali River, six km. north of the India border. Kanchanpur is inhabited by people of various races including the indegenous Tharu people.Dipayal-Silgadhi municipality is the headquarters of Doti District and the Far-Western Region. It is within trekking distance of Khaptad National Park. Dipayal is also the name of the scenic valley of Seti River.Amargadhi is headquarters of Dadeldhura District.


2.Mid-Western Development Region


Mid Western Region is one of Nepal's five development regions. Westward from the Central region surrounding Kathmandu are the Western, Mid-Western and finally Far-Western regions. Counter-intuitively, Mid-Western lies west of Western.This development comprises of three zones called KARNALI,VHERI and RAPTI.




3.Western  Development Region (Pashchimanchal)
Western Development Region is also one of Nepal's five development regions. It is located in the west-central part of the country with headquarters in Pokhara.
It comprises three zones which are DHAWALAGIRI,LUMBINI and GANDAKI.


4.Central Development Region(Madhyamanchal)
Central Region is one of Nepal's five development regions. It is located in the east-central part of the country with headquarters at Kathmandu, the country's capital.
It comprises three zones which are BAGMATI,JANAKPUR and NARAYANI.


5.Eastern Region is one of Nepal's five development regions. It is located at the eastern end of the country with headquarters at Dhankuta.
It comprises three zones which areSAGARMATHA,MECHI and KOSHI.
The major cities of this region are Biratnagar, Rajbiraj, Dharan and Dhankuta. Another notable place is Namche Bazaar, the town near the base camp of Mt. Everest, Gaighat, which is located in a valley made by rivers Baruwa and Triyuga that meet up at Koshi, Lahan, the junction trade city, Itahari, Birtamod, and other locations.

Location of Nepal in the World

✪ No comment yet
The main latitude and longitude of Nepal is 28 o North and 84 o East. The total area of 147,181 square kilometer falls within the first and last latitude and longitude of Nepal . This small Asian country falls within the Tropic of Cancer and the Arctic Circle. The latitudes of Nepal proof its vicinity to the Tropic of Cancer. The climatic condition of Nepal is not typically a temperate one as the country is located at the foothills of the Himalayas.
The latitude and longitude of the capital of Nepal , Katmandu, is 27 o 43'North and 85 o 19'East. As the longitude of Nepal falls in the east of the Prime Meridian the standard time is five hours and forty five minutes more than the Greenwich Mean Time. There is only one time zone in Nepal as it is a very small country. The time difference with Washington DC is ten hours and forty five minutes.


Latitude and Longitude of some major places of Nepal
Locations Latitude Longitude
Annapurna28°34'N83°50'E
Arun26°55'N87°10'E
Baitadi29°35'N80°25'E
Bhaktapur27°38'N85°24'E
Birantnagar26°27'N87°17'E
Chisapani Garhi27°30'N84°02'E
Dandeldhura29°20'N80°35'E
Dhangarhi28°55'N80°40'E
Dhankuta26°55'N87°40'E
Dhaulagiri28°39'N83°28'E
Everest, Mt.28°05'N86°58'E
Gurkha28°05'N84°40'E
Ilam26°58'N87°58'E
Jaleswar26°38'N85°48'E
Jumla29°15'N82°13'E
Kanchenjunga27°50'N88°10'E
Karnali28°45'N81°16'E
Kathmandu/Katmandu27°45'N85°20'E
Katmandu27°45'N85°20'E
Lalitapur27°40'N85°20'E
Mahabharat Lekh28°30'N82°0'E
Manaslu28°33'N84°33'E
Mugu29°45'N82°30'E
Mustang 29°10'N83°55'E
Namche Bazar27°51'N86°47'E
Nawakot27°55'N85°10'E
Nepalganj28°05'N81°40'E
Nuwakot28°10'N83°55'E
Patan/Lalitapur27°40'N85°20'E
Pokhara28°14'N83°58'E
Ramechhap27°25'N86°10'E
Silgarhi Doti29°15'N81°0'E
Smimikot30°0'N81°50'E
Siwalik Range28°0'N83°0'E
Udaipur Garhi27°0'N86°34'E

Income of Nepal

✪ No comment yet
The US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) reports that in 2001 Nepal's gross domestic product (GDP) was estimated at $35.6 billion. The per capita GDP was estimated at $1,400. The annual growth rate of GDP was estimated at 2.6%. The average inflation rate was 2.1%. The CIA defines GDP as the value of all final goods and services produced within a nation in a given year and computed on the basis of purchasing power parity (PPP) rather than value as measured on the basis of the rate of exchange. It was estimated that agriculture accounted for 41% of GDP, industry 22%, and services 37%.
According to the United Nations, in 2000 remittances from citizens working abroad totaled $300 million or about $5 per capita and accounted for approximately 2.1% of GDP. Worker remittances in 2001 totaled $409 million. Foreign aid receipts amounted to about $16 per capita and accounted for approximately 7% of the gross national income (GNI).
Approximately 44% of household consumption was spent on food, 7% on fuel, 5% on health care, and 14% on education. Household consumption includes expenditures of individuals, households, and nongovernmental organizations on goods and services, excluding purchases of dwellings. The richest 10% of the population accounted for approximately 29.8% of household consumption and the poorest 10% approximately 3.2%. It was estimated that in 1996 about 42% of the population had incomes below the poverty line.

Population in Nepal

✪ No comment yet
The population of Nepal was estimated at just over 28,000,000 in July 2006. When the population in Nepal was surveyed in 1981, the population was only 15,000,000.  The increase in population has therefore been extremely rapid and the government in Nepal are seeking to slow down the rate through economic and social reforms.
 
58% of the population in Nepal fall primarily into the 15 – 64 year bracket, with 38% in the 0 – 14 year old bracket and only 4% in the 64 years or over category.  The median age of the population in Nepal is 20 years and the life expectancy for the Nepalese population is 60 years for both genders.  The latter statistic is a significant change from a survey carried out on the population of Nepal in 1981, which concluded that the average life expectancy in Nepal to be 50 years. It is also worth noting that men in Nepal are expected to live slightly longer than women (differing by a decimal point only).  This population statistic is an anomaly and hence Nepal is an exceptional case.  This situation may be due to a number of reasons, but likely factors include a traditional preference for male to female offspring in Nepalese society, nutritional deprivation and socio norms and values.
The Nepalese population is growing at a rate of 2.17%


.
Three groups - Brahmans and Chhetris, Dalits, and Janajatis - are further divided by geographic region. About 49 percent of the population of Nepal live in the southern tarai or terai region, the most fertile area of Nepal. 44 percent of the population live in the central hill zone that includes the capital Kathmandu. The mountain region of northern Nepal is home to only 7 percent of the population.


The composition of the population of Nepal by simplified caste and ethnic group, according to the 2001 census, is shown in Figure 1. Hill Brahman and Chhetri account for 30.9 percent of the population. The second largest group are Hill Janajatis, with 23.0 percent of the population. 12.9 percent of the population are in Tarai Middle Castes. Each of the remaining seven caste and ethnic groups account for less than 10 percent of the population.Since Nepal is the only official Hindu state in the world, the majority of the population in Nepal practice the Hindu religion (86% of the population), whilst the remaining religions are represented by Buddhists (8%), Muslims (4%) and ‘other’ (2%).


According to the census year 2001A.D.total male population is 11,563.921 and female population is 11,587,502.
The population of Nepal is fairly poor with a GNP per head of household of $220. The population is also ageing and since the economic and social reforms referred to earlier in this document are effective then this has further heightened the increasing proportion of elderly people in the Nepalese population.

Capital:Kathmandu

✪ No comment yet
Kathmandu is the capital and, with close to one million inhabitants, the largest metropolitan city of Nepal. The city is the urban core of the Kathmandu Valley in the Himalayas, which contains two sister cities: Lalitpur (Patan), 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) to its south and Bhaktapur or Bhadgaon, 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) to its east, and a number of smaller towns. It is also acronymed as 'KTM' and named 'tri-city'. In the last census (2001), the city of Kathmandu had 671,846 inhabitants. Population estimates for 2005 were 790,612 and for 2010 they stood at 989,273. The municipal area is (50.67 square kilometres (19.56 sq mi)) and the population density is 19,500 per km².
The city stands at an elevation of approximately 1,400 metres (4,600 ft) in the bowl-shaped valley in central Nepal surrounded by four major mountains, namely: Shivapuri, Phulchowki, Nagarjun and Chandragiri. Kathmandu valley is part of three districts, Kathmandu District, Lalitpur District and Bhaktapur District, with the highest population density in the country and accounting for about 1/5 of its population.
Kathmandu is not only the capital of the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal but also the headquarters of the Central Region (Madhyamanchal) among the five development regions constituted by the 14 administrative zones of Nepal located at the central part of the country. The Central region has three zones namely, Bagmati, Narayani and Janakpur. Kathmandu is located in the Bagmati Zone.

NEPAL

✪ No comment yet
Nepal, Country, southern Asia.
Area: 56,827 sq mi (147,181 sq km). Population: (2010 est.) 28,952,000. Capital: Kathmandu. Most of the people are Nepalese of Indo-European ancestry; there is a significant minority of Tibeto-Nepalese peoples. Languages: Nepali (official), English, various others. Religions: Hinduism; also Buddhism, Islam. Currency: Nepalese rupee. Nepal contains some of the most rugged mountainous terrain in the world. The Great Himalayas, including Mount Everest, are in its central and northern parts. As a result of its years of geographic and self-imposed isolation, it is one of the world’s least-developed countries. Its market economy is mostly based on agriculture, including livestock raising; tourism is also important. The region developed under early Buddhist influence, with dynastic rule dating to about the 4th century ce. Nepal was formed into a single kingdom in 1769 and fought border wars in the 18th–19th century. Its independence was recognized by Britain in 1923. Nepal operated as a constitutional monarchy from 1959 into the early 21st century. A new constitution in 1990 restricted royal authority and accepted a democratically elected parliamentary government. Nepal signed trade agreements with India in 1997. The country was stunned in 2001 when the crown prince killed most members of the royal family, including himself. After a historic vote by a constituent assembly in 2008, the monarchy was abolished, and Nepal became a multiparty republic with an interim legislature. The president is head of state, and the prime minister is head of government.
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)