स्वागतम् / Welcome to the Nepal Portal
Mount Everest,Koshi,Nepal

The flag of Nepal
Location on the world map
Location on the world map

Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China to the north, and India in the south, east, and west, while it is narrowly separated from Bangladesh by the Siliguri Corridor, and from Bhutan by the Indian state of Sikkim. Nepal has a diverse geography, including fertile plains, subalpine forested hills, and eight of the world's ten tallest mountains, including Mount Everest, the highest point on Earth. Kathmandu is the nation's capital and the largest city. Nepal is a multi-ethnic, multi-lingual, multi-religious and multi-cultural state, with Nepali as the official language.

The name "Nepal" is first recorded in texts from the Vedic period of the Indian subcontinent, the era in ancient Nepal when Hinduism was founded, the predominant religion of the country. In the middle of the first millennium BC, Gautama Buddha, the founder of Buddhism, was born in Lumbini in southern Nepal. Parts of northern Nepal were intertwined with the culture of Tibet. The centrally located Kathmandu Valley is intertwined with the culture of Indo-Aryans, and was the seat of the prosperous Newar confederacy known as Nepal Mandala. The Himalayan branch of the ancient Silk Road was dominated by the valley's traders. The cosmopolitan region developed distinct traditional art and architecture. By the 18th century, the Gorkha Kingdom achieved the unification of Nepal. The Shah dynasty established the Kingdom of Nepal and later formed an alliance with the British Empire, under its Rana dynasty of premiers. The country was never colonised but served as a buffer state between Imperial China and British India. Parliamentary democracy was introduced in 1951 but was twice suspended by Nepalese monarchs, in 1960 and 2005. The Nepalese Civil War in the 1990s and early 2000s resulted in the establishment of a secular republic in 2008, ending the world's last Hindu monarchy.

The Constitution of Nepal, adopted in 2015, affirms the country as a secular federal parliamentary republic divided into seven provinces. Nepal was admitted to the United Nations in 1955, and friendship treaties were signed with India in 1950 and China in 1960. Nepal hosts the permanent secretariat of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), of which it is a founding member. Nepal is also a member of the Non-Aligned Movement and the Bay of Bengal Initiative. The Nepalese Armed Forces are the fifth-largest in South Asia; and are notable for their Gurkha history, particularly during the world wars, and has been a significant contributor to United Nations peacekeeping operations. (Full article...)

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Map of Nepal
Deforestation in Nepal has always been a serious issue, which has a severe effect on the lives of poor people. In the past, Nepal was a widely forested nation. However now with the requirement for the extension of rural areas, migration of hills people to the plains, the developing regional interest for timber, and the local residents dependence on firewood as the essential source of energy, less than 30% of the nation's forest cover remains. Due to the continuous deforestation in Nepal, many people and creatures are dying. Around 70 percent of the people in Nepal work in agriculture, even if it is difficult to farm in the prevailing unfavourable weather conditions. (Full article...)

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The Seven Mother Goddesses (Matrikas) flanked by Shiva (left) and Ganesha (right)

Matrikas (Sanskrit: मातृका (singular), IAST: mātṝkās, lit. "mothers") also called Matar or Matri, are a group of mother goddesses who are always depicted together in Hinduism. The Matrikas are often depicted in a group of seven, the Saptamatrika(s) (Seven Mothers). However, they are also depicted as a group of eight, the Ashtamatrika(s). In the Brihat Samhita, Varahamihira says that "Mothers are to be made with cognizance of (different major Hindu) gods corresponding to their names." They are associated with these gods as their spouses or their energies (Shaktis). Brahmani emerged from Brahma, Vaishnavi from Vishnu, Maheshvari from Shiva, Indrani from Indra, Kaumari from Kartikeya, Varahi from Varaha and Chamunda from Chandi. and additionals are Narasimhi from Narasimha and Vinayaki from Ganesha.

Originally believed to be a personification of the seven stars of the star cluster the Pleiades, they became quite popular by the seventh century and a standard feature of goddess temples from the ninth century onwards. In South India, Saptamatrika worship is prevalent whereas the Ashtamatrika are venerated in Nepal, among other places. (Full article...)

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The Ganges, is a trans-boundary river of Asia which flows through India and Bangladesh. The 2,525 km (1,569 mi) river rises in the western Himalayas in the Indian state of Uttarakhand, and flows south and east through the Gangetic Plain of North India into Bangladesh, where it empties into the Bay of Bengal. It is the third largest river by discharge.


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Selected biography -

Oli in New Delhi, 2018

Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli (Nepali: खड्ग प्रसाद शर्मा ओली, pronounced [ˈkʰʌɽɡʌprʌsad̪ ˈoli]; born 22 February 1952) is a Nepali Communist politician, former Prime Minister of Nepal and the current leader of the Opposition. He has served three terms as prime minister, from 11 October 2015 to 3 August 2016, from 15 February 2018 to 13 May 2021 as the first prime minister to be appointed following the first general election under the new constitution, and from 13 May 2021 to 13 July 2021.

KP Oli is noted for taking a more hardline stance with regard to the Indian government during and in the aftermath of the 2015 Nepal blockade. He strengthened relations with China as an alternative to Nepal's traditional close trade ties with India and updated the map of Nepal by constitutional amendment including territories disputed with India, for which he has received some domestic praise and a reputation as a nationalist. While in office, Oli was marred by controversy for frequent use of tongue-in-cheek remarks, hostility towards critics and the media, silence on corruption by colleagues and business aides, failing to deliver on economic growth, and for deviating from promised budgetary expenditures despite a historic majority in the 2017 legislative election (Full article...)

Selected fare or cuisine -

Gundruk left out in the sun for drying process

Gundruk (Nepali: गुन्द्रुक pronounced [ɡund̪ruk] ⓘ) is a fermented leafy green vegetable originated in Nepal. Alongside Nepal, it is also popular cuisine in Sikkim and few regions of India, Bhutan, Myanmar and other parts of the world. The annual production of gundruk in Nepal is estimated at 2,000 tons and most of the production is carried out at the household level.

Gundruk is obtained from the fermentation of leafy vegetables (saag; Nepali: साग). It is served as a side dish with the main meal and is also used as an appetizer. Gundruk is an important source of minerals, particularly during the off-season when the diet consists of mostly starchy tubers and maize, which tend to be low in minerals. (Full article...)

Did you know -

  • Nepal has 8% of the total species of birds found in the world.
  • The highest lake on Earth, Tilicho, is in Nepal. It rests at 4800 meters.
  • Gautam Buddha was born in Nepal.

Wiki Loves Nepal

The following pages at Wikimedia Commons contain a plethora of images taken in Nepal.
Suspension bridge over he Kali Gandaki river near Tatopani.: Wiki Loves Earth 2017 3rd Price Winner Gokyo Lakes This image won the 2nd prize in the national contest of Nepal in Wiki Loves Earth 2017: Sunrise near Samagauon village – Manaslu trek area.

Wiki Loves Earth is an international photographic competition to promote natural heritage sites around the World through Wikimedia projects (mainly Wikipedia and Wikimedia Commons).

Wiki Loves Monuments is an international photographic competition to promote cultural monuments around the World through Wikimedia projects (mainly Wikipedia and Wikimedia Commons.

Provinces

Below is a clickable map of Nepal's Provinces

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