Nepal

BRIEF HISTORY

What is now Nepal was once a collection of feudal principalities sandwiched between India and China. You can see the palaces of these ancient rulers as you trek through Nepal at places such as Sinja near Jumla, Nagarkot, Besi Sahar (Lamjung) near Dumre, lo Manthang in Mustang, Gorkha and, of course, the Kathmandu Valley. Many of these small kingdoms had little or no contact with Kathmandu. The early history of the Kathmandu valley, with its Licchavi dynasty from the 3rd to 13th centuries and the Malla reign from the 13th to 18th centuries, had little effect on the remote hill region.

In 1769, Prithvi Narayan Shah, the ruler of the House of Gorkha, succeeded in unifying these diverse kingdoms and established the general shape of the present borders of Nepal. he also founded the Shah Dynasty. The last king of Nepal Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah is a direct descendant of Prithvi Narayan Shah.

“Nepal”, the Himalayan Land between the two giant country India and China is place of amazing extremes. It may not be very large in size, but here you will find compact within its small area a roster of the highest mountains in the world, a repertoire of enchanting cultures and exquisite temples, monasteries, great-ridged carpeted in alpine flowers, forest of rhododendron, isolated hamlets, villages, untouched mountain town, birds, animals, and many different ethnic groups of people. A delightful similarity is that they all speak the language of courtesy, and hospitality is a national culture.

Uncover a place so alive with color and movement, the monasteries so deeply spiritual, Everest, Annapurna, Dhaulagiri and Kailash among so many legendary and highest in the world, peaks succeeding peaks and crags, glaciers and lakes so serene, the mountain villages perched on the notch with bountiful of Himalayan backdrops, the jungles lush with flora and fauna and the rivers so beautiful and wild.

Nepal’s climate varies with its topography. It ranges from tropical to arctic depending upon the altitude. The Tarai region, which lies in the tropical southern part of the country has a hot, humid climate. The mid-land regions are pleasant almost all the year round. The northern mountain region, above the an altitude of 3353m. From sea level has alpine climate with considerably lower temperature in winter. Nepal has four major seasons, namely Winter (December – February), Spring (March – May), Summer (June – August) and Autumn (September – November) is cool with clear skies, and is the most popular trekking season.

The Average Annual Temperatures of some popular areas. (In degrees Celsius; *rainy season)

Absolute extreme temperatures: Bhairawa (max 42- min 5); Gorkha (33-5); Jiri (28-6).

Nepal is 5 hours 45 minutes ahead of GMT & 15 minutes ahead of Indian Standard Time.

Money, Currency regulations & Credit cards
The local currency is Nepalese Rupee subdivided into 100 Paisas. Currency notes are available in 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 25, 50, 100, 500 & 1000 rupee denominations.

Import of Indian currency by any tourist except Indian nationals is strictly prohibited. A foreign exchange encashment receipt must be obtained for all foreign currency exchanged and it is possible to exchange back into foreign currency upon production of exchange receipts at the time of departure at the airport. Credit cards like American Express, Master & Visa cards are widely accepted at all major hotels, shops & restaurants.