Swayambhunath Temple

If you enjoy looking to the mystical, magical and religious facets of other cultures, a trip to the Swayambhunath Temple in Nepal is an absolute one. This majestic temple is the oldest of all holy shrines in Kathmandu Valley. Swayambhunath is also sometimes called the ‘monkey temple’ since numerous monkeys often swarm the area. The Swayambhunath Temple is visited by Hindus, Vajrayana Buddhists from Nepal and Tibet and Newari Buddhists from Nepal, as well as a large number of tourists who come seeking spiritual enlightenment or the opportunity to explore the Nepalese culture and religion.

The surrounding area is filled with Chaityas, temples and icons. Small shrines filled with deities and prayer wheels can also be found. There is an ever-present sense of contemplation and worship and even if you do not intend to become a Hindu or Buddhist follower, the people and colors that can be found here make for stunning photography. This temple is on a small mountain surrounded by a forest. We can get nice view of Kathmandu Valley from this place.

Pashupatinath Temple

 
 The Pashupatinath Temple is situated in Kathmandu, the capital city of Nepal near the Bagmati River. Near the river is where you will find Arya Ghat where most of the dead are taken and cremated.

Each day you will find hordes of people from all over Nepal and India pilgrimaging to the temple of Pashupati in order to give worship to Pashupati, "the master of all living beings in the universe". They start off this process early in the morning where they are blessed by Lord Shiva. Each year there is a formal celebration called Shivaratri, which means "night of Lord Shiva", that is attended to by thousands of people.

Pashupatinath temple is only accessible for Hindu, for those who are not they must be satisfied with viewing the temple from a distance. Even from a distance it is worth viewing the gold and silver temple and its surroundings with other many temples.



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Flag of Nepal

Every country have flag. Every people are proud of their flag. But our flag is different.
Totally different from others. All other country's flag is square in shape while Nepal's flag is triangular in shape. It is a combination of two triangles. The symbols on the flag also looks very beautiful.. The colour of the flag is also very beautiful. There are three colours in our flag. Red, white and blue colour holding its own meaning. The symbols the Sun and the Moon also have their own meanings.



My flag,  My pride,  My Nepal

Geography

Nepal is a jagged rectangular shaped country landlocked by India in the South and China in the North. It is 885 km long from the east to west with an average width of 193 km from north to south. Many writers call Nepal a “tiny” country in comparison to its large & most-populous neighbors China & India.. Nepal ranks world’s 93rd by land area. However, the country is still 3rd largest country by land area in the SAARC region. Nepal is mostly a hilly country with 77% of land covered by rock, snow, and mountains.

Geographically, Nepal has been divided into three regions – the plains or the Terai, the mountains, and the Hills. Each region is unique – geographically, culturally, as well as in terms of vegetation & animal variety.


The Himalayas: The high Himalayas of Nepal is one of world’s youngest mountain systems formed by the collision of Indian plateau with the Tibetan (or Eurasian) plateau some 55 million years ago. One of the startling facts that the early mountaineers & trekkers encountered in the high Himalayas was the fossil rocks of sea creatures


 
The Hills: The middle hills of Nepal are found within a short area of about 60 km but they constitute the largest portion of total land area. The range between low lying Churia hills (610-1524 meters) and the high Mahabharata mountains that grow up to 4877 meters cover about 64 percent of Nepal’s land area. Majority of the large towns including the capital Kathmandu lie in this range. The vast and tricky mountains provided Nepal’s military strategist to keep themselves at an advantageous position in the wars with Britain & China.

The Tarai: Terai which is the extension of the Gangetic plains constitutes about 15% land area but provide more than 50% of the country’s food requirement. Lush dense tropical forests make home for the most of the endangered wildlife species in the region. Most of the country’s national parks are in the Terai plains including the World Heritage Site listed Chitwan National Park. The national parks at Chitwan & Bardia are the region’s major protected natural habitats for such rare wild mammals like the Bengal Tiger, Asian Rhino, Asian Elephant, Gharial Crocodile, and the deer species. The elephant safari rides, bird watching, and natures walks with camping inside the jungle are favorite activities among the tourists in Nepal.

Nepal and its festivals

The Dasain & Tihar: Dasain & Tihar, which begin just after the ending of monsoons in October, are a month-long season of festivals mostly celebrated by Nepali Hindus.

Buddha Jayanti: Celebration of Buddha’s birth in Nepal’s Kapilvastu, & his enlightenment on a full-moon day of March.

Losar: A festival celebrated by three different ethnic groups from different religions in their own way.

Chatha: People of all faith, Hindu, Muslim, & Christians living in the Terai region, worship the Sun God during the festival.
Eid: A festival celebrated by Nepali Muslims with all Muslims in the world after the one-month long Ramadan fastings.

Holi: This is the festival of colour. Most of the people seems to be enjoying this festival.
The young generation love it very much because they play colour with their friends and relatives.

Christmas: The trend of celebrating Christmas is also gaining popularity in urban places like Kathmandu and Pokhara.

Nepalese People

Some Major types of People found in Nepal: Brahmins, Chetris, & Newars are the found everywhere in Nepal. The people of other castes & tribes sometimes make fun of these three castes by calling them the “mobile castes”.

Brahmins: These are the uppermost caste in the Hindu hierarchical caste system. Brahmins are of Aryan descent and found all over Nepal except in the upper Himalayas. Brahmins are mostly teachers, priests, & government officials.

Chetris: The Hindu people of the warrior Aryan caste. The Shah Kings, the Ranas, & the high-profile army postions are still occupied by the Chetris in Nepal.

Newars: The ethnic people from the Kathmandu valley. The Newars have their own physical characteristics, system of language & rituals. Newars are mostly business people and artisans. Most are the Hindus, but some are also Buddhist by generations.

Sherpas: Shrepa people are the original inhabitants of the Nepal’s side of Himalaya. The Sherpas are world famous for their mountaineering skills.

Magar, Gurung, Tamang, Rai, Limbu: These are the original inhabitants of mountain region. Although comparatively than Europeans, these ethnic people constitute most of the soldiers in Nepal Army, and the British & Indian Gurkha Army.

Madhesis: The people of the Terai regions constituting both Hindus & Muslims of Aryan descent. Some (but not all) of these people have their relations on both sides of the India-Nepal border. The Madhesi people constitute more than 40% of the Nepali population.

Tharu, Rajbansi, Danuwar, Majhi: These people consider themselves to be original inhabitants of the Terai.
Beside these there are many kinds of people living in Nepal together as a family.

Famous people of Nepal

Nepal is the birthplace of many notable individuals who have contributed or had an influence on either their country or on the world. Famous people from Nepal include  mountaineers and political rulers. Among Nepal's most famous people are the
Sherpas. renowned for their great mountaineering skills. Another famous group are the Nepalese Ghurkas, excellent warriors. The Gurkhas are well known all over the world.

  
Perhaps the best known Nepali person is Siddhartha Gautama, better known around the world as Buddha. Siddhartha was born in Lumbini of Nepal. Buddhism is based on the teachings of Gautama who became known as Buddha meaning “the awakened” or “Enlightened One”.
 
Tenzing Norgay is the most famous Nepalese Sherpa. Born in 1914, Tenzing Norgay took part in many expeditions of the magnificent Mount Everest. In 1953 he joined Sir John Hunt's expedition of the grand mountain. Norgay and Sir Edmund Hillary were the first people to reach the summit of Mount Everest. Tenzing never took the glory, but rather always pointed to Hillary as the conqueror of Mount Everest.

Kathmandu

Kathmandu is the capital and largest city of Nepal. It is situated in a valley in the heart of Nepal. The entire terrain of Kathmandu is like a steep incline, descending from the Himalayan heights to the Terai flatland within a short distance.

It is said that Kathmandu has been found by King Gun Kamdev in AD 723. According to the legend, the area was a lake in the past, but Manjushri, a disciple of the Shakyamuni Buddha, cut open a hill to the south and allowed the water to flow out, making the region habitable. The origin of the present name is unclear, but one of the more likely theories is that it was named after Kastha-Mandap ("temple of wood" in Sanskrit), after a pagoda carved from the single tree on the order of King Lakshmi Narasingha Malla in 1596

The old city is noted for its many Buddhist and Hindu temples and palaces.One good example is the Kathmandu Durbar Square. It contains a marvelous royal palace and many temples built in the traditional Newar, Pagoda style. It is also known for other temples like Pashupatinath, Swayambhonath, Baudhanath etc.

Climate in Nepal

Climate in Nepal vary from place to place for its unequal distribution of land and  height. Snow pick mountains in the north remain very cold throughout the year. This northern region lies  in the Nepal-China border. Here the weather is very cold. The next is hilly region. Many people live in this region. The climate is not too cold and not very hot. Here it is perfect climate to live and for cultivation. The third is tarai region. This lies along the Nepal-India border. This region is hotter than most part of the country. Many people live in this area also.

Introduction

Nepal is situated in Asia. It is a landlocked country. It is locked between two big countries China and India. Nepal is a small country but it is beautiful and filled with natural gifts.

In Nepal there are many mountains. So it is also called a mountainous country. The highest peak of the world Mount Everest is also in Nepal. Though most of the part is mountainous there are vallie's and planes.

Gautam Buddha was born in Nepal. Lord Buddha  spread Buddhism all over the world. Buddha has helped to spread the message of peace in this world.  

Nepal is also famous for tourism. Many tourist visit Nepal every year. Mountain view, mountain climbing, trekking, rafting, historical places, temples, lakes, wild life resorts are the main attraction of Nepal. Kathmandu the capital of  Nepal is the main entry point for tourist by air.

Finally I can say that Nepal is a beautiful country and I love my Nepal very much.