Nepal is a small, landlocked country, 800 km long and 200 km wide. It covers the area of 147.181 square kilometers. It is situated between China in the north and India in the south.
Nepal has its own history, modern Nepal was unified by King Prithvi Narayan Shah of Gorkha. Before the unification, Nepal was ruled by various Kirats, Lichchavis, Thakuris and Mallas. The history mentioned that Kirats ruled Nepal during the 7th century BC. Though much was not known about Kirats, the Lichachavi dynasty followed the Kirats which lasted from the 2nd to 9th century AD. Nepal was ruled by the Thakuris who were followed by the Mallas for two centuries after The Lichchavis. Nepal was divided into many principalities and small kingdoms In the fifth centuries of Malla rule. Those kingdoms have their own currency, administration and large armies. Malla dynasty is known as golden period and it was during the reign of the Mallas that Nepal developed into a great center of art and architecture. It was mentioned in history that some of the best known monuments were built during this time which can be seen even today. Taking the advantage of quarrel between these small kingdoms, in 1768, King Prithvi Narayan Shah of Gorkha invaded the Kathmandu Valley and unified Nepal, thus Shah Dynasty was established in Nepal.
Geography
Geographically Nepal is divided into three Geographic regions. They are Himalayan region, hilly and Terai region.
The Himalayan Region
The Himalayan region (above 3.000m) comprises mountains, alpine pastures and temperate forests limited by the tree-line (4.000m) and snow line (5.500m). Eight of the 14 eight-thousanders of the world lie in Nepal:
Sagarmatha or Mount Everest (8.848m), Kanchenjunga (8.586m), Lhotse (8.516m), Makalu (8.463m), Cho Oyu (8.201m), Dhaulagiri (8.167m), Manaslu (8.163m) and Annapurna (8.091m). The inner Himalayan valley (above 3.600. m) such as Mustang and Dolpa are cold deserts sharing topographical characteristics with the Tibetan plateau.
The Terai Region
The Terai region, with a width of ranging 26 to 32 km and altitude ranging from 60 - 305 m, occupies about 17 percent of total land area of the country. KechanaKalan, the lowest point of the country with an altitude of 60 m, lies in Jhapa district of the eastern Terai.The southern lowland Terai continues to the Bhabar belt covered with the Char KoseJhadi forests known for rich wildlife. Further north, the Siwalik zone (700 – 1.500m) and the Mahabharat range (1.500 – 2.700m) give way to the Duns (valleys), such as Trijuga, Sindhuli, Chitwan, Dang and Surkhet. The Midlands (600 – 3.500m), north of the Mahabharat range is where the two beautiful valleys of Kathmandu and Pokhara lie covered with terraced rice fields, and surrounded by forested watersheds.
The most fascinating place to visit in this region are:
Lumbini (Birth place of Lord Buddha)
Chitwan (Best Jungle Safari experience)
The Hilly Region
The Hilly region, locally referred to as "PahadiBheg", occupies around 64% of the total land of Nepal and lies as a broad belt between the southern plains of the Terai and the Himalayas.
The Mahabharat range fills most of the hill region with its high hills and once dense forests. Below the Mahabharat range of hills lies the Siwalik range which constitutes the lower hills and valleys near the southern plains. The Char KosheJhadi was once a dense forest that began from the Mahabharat range and ended around the borders of Nepal and India in the Terai. Today little of it remains.
The most fascinating place to visit in this region are:
Kathmandu Valley
Pokhara