Nepal lies in the central Himalayas between India and China (Tibet).
From the beautiful Himalayan Mountains to the central hills down in the flat Terai it is rich in culture and diversity.
There are a wide variety of races and tribes and they have their own religious and cultural patterns. Brahmins and Chetris are widely distributed throughout the country and many Newars are concentrated in the Kathmandu valley. Approximately 90 percent of the people live as subsistence farmers and work in agriculture with tourism as the next highest income earner.
Tourism one of the country’s most important industrys that plays a large role in the economic activity in Nepal. It is the major source of income for most people in the Kathmandu valley.
Kathmandu, the capital city is the urban core of the Himalayas and the largest metropolitan city and sits at an elevation of about 1400 metres. Its estimated population is 1.5 million and the estimated total population of Nepal is 21 million spread over of an area of 147.181 square miles.
Nepal is predominantly Hindu (70 %) and Buddhist (20 %) with a few Christians and other religions as well.
The varying topography and altitude mean there is a wide range of climatic conditions. In summer the temperature is usually between 28-30 degress celcius and in winter around 10 degrees. The highest rainfall is in the monsoon season which is June to August.
Politically speaking Nepal is a relatively young democracy and it was an absolute monarchy until 1990. Recent political developments are more difficult to predict and follow. After the killing of the King and his family his brother became the new King. He dissolved parliament and set up his own government. The Maoists since then have taken over most of rural Nepal and in 2006 forced the King to step down and release his control over the political process.
Since then the Maoists were elected into government and they then resigned and now Nepal is actually in a hung parliament. They are working on electing a new prime minister. However, now the tourism industry is not affected by the political situation. In fact, 2011 is being promoted as tourism year in Nepal by the Nepalese Tourism Board.
