Nepal
Edited by:
Massimo Martini
Access
Nepal is a landlocked state, accessible from abroad mainly by air via the Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu, the only airport with intercontinental connections. It is also the departure point for internal flights to the country's main centres and the airports at high altitude - Lukla (2,860m), the gateway to the Khumbu region and Everest, and Jomsom, in Mustang - whose use is subject to weather conditions, which often determine their daily opening and closing. Pokhara Airport, reopened after expansion work, serves as a hub for the Annapurna region. The railway network is limited to a short metre-gauge section connecting Janakpur to the Indian border in the Terai, with no strategic function for trekking or mountaineering. The road system is the main internal communication route: the five national roads known as rājamārga - including the Mahendra rājamārga, which crosses the Terai longitudinally, and the Araniko rājamārga, from Kathmandu to the Tibetan border - form the backbone network. The connection with China is through the Tatopani-Zhangmu pass, which is subject to seasonal closures and remodelling due to the 2015 earthquake damage; that with India through several border posts in the Terai, the main one being Birgunj-Raxaul. For mountaineering expeditions, access to the base areas of major eight-thousanders requires specific permits issued by the Nepalese Department of Tourism; rates and expedition windows vary for each peak.
Introduction
Nepal stretches along the southern slope of the central section of the Himalayas, wedged between China to the north - with which it borders through the Tibet Autonomous Region - and India to the south, east and west. The territory, stretching from east to west for about 850 kilometres and no more than 250 kilometres wide, concentrates an extraordinary morphological variety in a small space: From the alluvial plain of the Terai, at an elevation of less than 100 metres, one ascends through the Siwalik Hills and the ranges of the middle Himalayas to the great walls of the high Himalayas, where eight of the fourteen eight-thousand-metre peaks of the planet are located, including the Everest (8,848.86m), Earth's highest point. This exceptional difference in altitude - from 60 to 8,848 metres in less than 200 kilometres - has produced a variety of ecosystems ranging from the tropical forests of the Terai to the perennial nival zones of the high altitudes, via rhododendron forests, coniferous forests and alpine grasslands. Nepalese culture is the result of an overlapping of Hindu and Buddhist traditions, with a strong presence of the mountain ethnic groups - Sherpa, Gurung, Tamang, Magar, Rai, Limbu - each with its own language and tradition. The country has been a federal republic since 2008, after the end of a centuries-old monarchy.
Description
The morphology of Nepal is divided into three parallel belts running from south to north. The Terai is the northern alluvial plain of the Gangetic system, with altitudes between 60 and 300 metres, characterised by subtropical forests, swamp areas and agricultural land; it is home to about 47% of the population and is the breadbasket of the country. The intermediate hill belt - the Pahad - comprises the Siwalik and Mahabharat ranges with altitudes of up to 3,000 metres; the main inhabited valleys are concentrated here, including Kathmandu (around 1,350m) and Pokhara. The Himalayan belt - the Himal - occupies 15% of the territory and is dominated by the great ranges with perennial snow above 5,000 metres. The hydrographic system is organised into large perennial rivers fed by snow and glaciers - Koshi, Gandaki, Karnali - that flow into the Ganges after crossing the Terai.
The history of Nepal is structured around a succession of medieval kingdoms in the Kathmandu valley - Licchavi, Malla - until the founding of the first unitary state in the 18th century by Prithvi Narayan Shah, who conquered the three cities in the valley (Kathmandu, Lalitpur, Bhaktapur) and made them the capital. Nepal remained one of the few Asian countries never to have been colonised by European powers, concluding treaties with Tibet and British India that guaranteed its sovereignty. The Treaty of Sugauli of 1816, with the East India Company, defined the country's borders and reduced its territory compared to the previous expansionary phase. The monarchy lasted until 2008, marked in its final phase by the Maoist civil war (1996-2006) and the massacre of the royal family in 2001; the republican transition and the writing of a new federal constitution (2015) have defined the contemporary set-up.
The economy is among the least developed in Asia: agriculture employs more than 60% of the labour force with rice, maize and millet cultivation in the valleys; tourism, particularly the trekking and mountaineering industry, is the main source of foreign currency. Remittances from emigrants - to Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia and India - contribute significantly to GDP. Traditional handicrafts, in particular the production of thangka (Buddhist religious painting on canvas), wood carving and metalwork in the three medieval towns of the Kathmandu valley, constitute a heritage of high cultural value. The cuisine is simple and rooted in local availability: dal bhat - lentils with rice and vegetables - is the daily meal of most of the population; in the Sherpa areas tsampa soups and yak butter tea are staple foods.
Protected areas cover more than 23% of the territory, distributed in national parks, reserves and conservation areas. Sagarmatha National Park (1976), in the Khumbu region, protects the Nepalese side of Mount Everest, with glaciers such as the Khumbu, fir and rhododendron forests, and populations of snow leopard (Panthera uncia) and Himalayan thar (Hemitragus jemlahicus). Langtang National Park, in the massif of the same name north of Kathmandu, is home to the red panda (Ailurus fulgens) and Pallas' cat (Otocolobus manul). Chitwan National Park in the Terai is one of the main refuges of the Indian rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis) and the Bengal tiger (Panthera tigris tigris) and has been on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 1984. The Bardia National Park in the western Terai is also home to rhinos, tigers and Ganges dolphins (Platanista gangetica). The Kathmandu Valley, with its seven monumental zones including temples, palaces and squares of the Malla Kings, has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1979; the site of Lumbini, the birthplace of Siddhartha Gautama, is also on the UNESCO List.
Hiking and trekking are the outdoor activities for which Nepal is best known internationally. The three main circuits are the Annapurna Tour - a 160-230 kilometre route around the Annapurna massif with the Thorung La pass (5,416m) - the Everest Base Camp, an itinerary of about 130 kilometres from Lukla to 5,364 metres above sea level, and the Langtang trek, which is less frequented and of great natural interest. The Manaslu Circuit, a route around the world's eighth-highest mountain with the Larkya Pass (5,106m), is an increasingly popular alternative with a more remote character. The Upper Dolpo and Mustang Valley, which has been open to trekkers since 1992, offers Tibetan plateau landscapes in Nepalese territory with access regulated by special permits. Winter activities of snowshoeing and ski mountaineering are limited and niche, given the expedient nature of the high altitude areas.
Nepal is the mountaineering nation par excellence: it is home to eight of the world's eight-thousanders - Everest (8,848.86m), Kanchenjunga (8,586m), Lhotse (8,516m), Makalu (8.463m), Cho Oyu (8.201m), Dhaulagiri (8.167m), Manaslu (8.163m) and Annapurna (8,091m) - and dozens of seven-thousand-meter peaks of prime mountaineering importance. The history of mountaineering in Nepal begins with the great British exploratory expeditions of the 1920s to Everest (1921, 1922, 1924), with the legendary disappearance of George Mallory and Andrew Irvine in 1924. On 29 May 1953, Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay reached the summit of Everest for the first time. The 1950s saw a succession of first ascents of eight-thousanders: Annapurna (1950, Maurice Herzog and Louis Lachenal, first ascent of an eight-thousander in history), Cho Oyu (1954, Herbert Tichy and Sepp Jöchler), Manaslu (1956, Japanese expedition), Lhotse (1956, Ernst Reiss and Fritz Luchsinger), Makalu (1955, French expedition), Dhaulagiri (1960, international expedition). Reinhold Messner completed the collection of all fourteen eight-thousanders in 1986, with Nepal as the scene of many of his most important ascents. The expedition permit system - managed by the Nepalese government and local operators - has defined an economic and regulatory model that now involves thousands of mountaineers each season.
Trail running in Nepal has developed rapidly, driven by the growing popularity of trekking and the availability of trails and infrastructure. The best known race is the Mustang Trail Race, which takes place in the high valley of the Kali Gandaki with trails between 3,000 and 4,500 metres above sea level. The Nepal Skyrace takes place near the Langtang massif. The Kathmandu Ultra, a hilly route around the capital, is among the most popular events. The Annapurna Ultra Trail is the benchmark race in the region of the same name, with distances of up to 140 kilometres and a total altitude difference of more than 10,000 metres. The Himalayan landscape, with its historic trails linking villages, provides a natural terrain for the discipline, which continues to attract international athletes attracted by the heights and unique scenery.
Information
General Data
Capital: Kathmandu
Area: 147,181 km²
Minimum elevation: 60m (Kechana Kalan, Jhapa, Eastern Terai)
Maximum elevation: 8,848.86m - Everest
Inhabitants: 29.164.578 (as of 2021)
Official name: सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल - Saṅghīya Lokatāntrika Gaṇatantra Nepāl
Name of inhabitants: Nepali
Provinces: 7 - Districts: 77
Bordering nations: China - India
Institutional website: https://www.nepal.gov.np