• Land
• Government and Politics
• Economy
• People
• Women
• Sherpas and Mount Everest
Nepal
(Nepali: नेपाल) is a landlocked nation
in South Asia. It is bordered by the Tibet Autonomous Region of the People's
Republic of China to the northeast and India to the south and west. It is
separated from Bhutan by the Indian state of
Sikkim and
from Bangladesh by a small strip of the Indian state of West Bengal, known
as the "Chicken's Neck". The Himalaya mountain range runs across Nepal's
north and western parts, and eight of the world's ten highest mountains,
including the highest, Mount Everest are situated within its territory.
The modern state was formed with the Unification of Nepal
on December 21, 1768. Prior to 2006, Nepal was a kingdom and the only nation
with Hinduism as its official religion. Its recent history has involved
struggles for democratic government with periods of direct monarchic rule.
Land
The Kingdom of Nepal, situated between China to the north and India to the
south, is home to more than 25 million people. It is the only surviving
Hindu kingdom in the world.
Geography of Nepal is uncommonly diverse. Nepal is
roughly a trapezoidal shape of approximately 800 kilometres (500 miles)
long and 200 kilometres (125 miles) wide, covering an area of 147,181 square
kilometres (56,827 sq miles).
Nepal is commonly divided into four physiographic areas:
the Mountain, Hill, Siwalik region and Terai Regions. These ecological belts
run east-west and are vertically intersected by Nepal's major, north to
south flowing river systems.
The southern lowland Plains bordering India are
part of the northern rim of the Indo-Gangetic plains. They were formed and
are fed by three major rivers: the
Kosi,
the Narayani (India's Gandak River), and the Karnali. This region has a hot,
humid climate.
The Hill Region (Pahad) abuts the mountains and varies from
1,000 to 4,000 metres (3,300–13,125 ft)
in altitude. Two low mountain ranges, the Mahabharat Lekh and Shiwalik Range
(also called the Churia Range) dominate the region. The hilly belt includes
the Kathmandu Valley, the country's most fertile and urbanised area. Unlike
the valleys called Inner Tarai (Bhitri Tarai Uptyaka), elevations above
2,500 metres (8,200 ft) are sparsely populated.
Nepal lies along the center of the Himalayan arc. Within
its borders lie eight of the 10 highest mountains on Earth, including Mount
Everest, the world's tallest peak. Nepal's mountain region occupies about 64
percent of the country's total land.
The Mountain Region, situated in the Great
Himalayan Range, makes the northern part of Nepal. It contains the regions
of highest altitude in the world; the world's highest mountain, 8,848 metres
(29,028 ft) height Mount Everest (Sagarmatha in Nepali) is located
here on the border with Tibet. Seven other of the world's ten highest
mountains are located in Nepal: Lhotse, Makalu, Cho Oyu, Kanchenjunga,
Dhaulagiri, Annapurna and Manaslu.
Nepal has five climatic zones, broadly corresponding to
the altitudes. The tropical and subtropical zones lie below 1,200 metres
(3,940 ft), the temperate zone 1,200 to 2,400 metres (3,900–7,875 ft), the
cold zone 2,400 to 3,600 metres (7,875–11,800 ft), the subarctic zone 3,600
to 4,400 metres (11,800–14,400 ft), and the Arctic zone above 4,400 metres
(14,400 ft).
Nepal experiences five seasons: summer, monsoon, autumn, winter and
spring. The Himalaya blocks cold winds from Central Asia in winter, and
forms the northern limit of the monsoon wind patterns. Once thickly
forested, deforestation is a major problem in all regions, with resulting
erosion and degradation of ecosystems.
Nepal is a hotspot of mountaineering, containing some of the highest and
most challenging mountains in the world, including Mount Everest.
Technically, the south-east ridge on the Nepali side of the mountain is
easier to climb; so, most climbers prefer to trek to Everest through Nepal.
Previous Conflicts
There is historical evidence that, at one time, the boundary of
Greater Nepal extended from Tista River on the East to Kangara, across
Sutlej River, in the west. A dispute and subsequently war with Tibet over
the control of mountain passes forced the Nepalese to retreat and pay heavy
reparations. Rivalry between Nepal and the British East India Company over
the annexation of minor states bordering Nepal eventually led to the
Anglo-Nepalese War (1815–16). The valor displayed by the Nepalese during the
war astounded their enemies and earned them their image of fierce and
ruthless "Gurkhas". The war ended with the Treaty of Sugauli. This treaty
ceded Sikkim and lands in Terai to the British East India Company.
Government and Politics
Nepal was governed by a constitutional monarchy for 250 years, but held
their 1st free election on the 10th of April. It soon became apparent the
the Maoist Party had sweep the elections. A multiparty legislature was
instituted in 1991, after 30 years of absolutist rule under the Panchayat
system was dismantled. The Nepali Maoist Party, while winning the main
election, seems not to have won a majority of the parliament seats, and as
of the 3rd of May, 2008, are working with other parties in creating a unity
government.
In 1996, after winning only nine of 205 parliament seats
in an earlier election, a hard-line communist faction in Nepal went
underground and took up arms. For approximately 8 years the Maoist
insurgents, who call themselves the People's Army, were believed to number
5,000, and they controlled about a third of Nepal's countryside. Before a
cease-fire in January 2003, clashes between the rebels and government forces
left nearly 8,000 Nepali dead. The U.S. State Department had added the rebel
group to its new second-tier list of 38 terrorist groups. It remains to be
seen if they will be removed from that list.
Nepal's political stability was seriously jeopardized in
2001 when 10 members of the royal family, including the king and queen, were
massacred by one of the family's own discontented sons.
Economy
Agriculture is the mainstay of the Nepali economy, providing a livelihood
for more than 80 percent of the population and accounting for more than 40
percent of the gross domestic product.
Nepal is among the poorest countries in the world -- more
than 40 percent of the population earns less than $100 per year. The country
has a per-capita gross national product of $220 a year. Nearly 40 percent of
the Nepali people lack access to basic health care and education.
People
There are more than 30 ethnic groups living in Nepal, including the Brahman,
Chetri, Newar, Gurung, Magar, Sakya, Tamang, Rai, Limbu, Sherpa, Tharu and
others.
About 86 percent of Nepalese practice Hinduism; about 8
percent practice Buddhism; 4 percent, Islam; and 2 percent, other religions.
The country is revered as the birthplace of Buddha.
Nepali is the official language and is spoken by 90 percent
of the population. About a dozen other languages and 30 major dialects are
also spoken in Nepal. Many who are in government and business speak English
in addition to their native language.
Women
Although Nepal's literacy rate has improved in recent years, the percentage
of literate women lags far behind the percentage of literate men. The
literacy rate for men is about 62 percent, and for women, about 28 percent.
Nepal has one of the world's widest gaps between primary
school enrollment of girls and boys. About 79 percent of Nepali boys are
enrolled in primary school compared with about 60 percent of Nepali girls.
Nepal is one of only two countries in the world where a
woman's average life expectancy is lower than a man's.
The mortality rate of women in childbirth in Nepal is one of
the highest in Asia.
In 40 percent of Nepali marriages, the bride is under the
age of 14.
Sherpas and Mount Everest
"Sherpa" means "person of the east." Although Westerners pronounce it "SHUR-pa,"
the native pronunciation is "SHAR-wa," "shar" meaning "east," and "wa"
meaning "person." (The word "sherpa" has also come to be the generic term
for a porter, or guide.) Most Sherpas are Buddhists of the Nyingmapa sect.
The first Sherpas settled in the Khumbu Valley, the gateway
to the south side of Mount Everest. It is believed that they walked from
eastern Tibet 500 years ago.
Some 70,000 Sherpas live in northeastern Nepal. About 10,000
of them reside in the Khumbu Valley.
Yak-keeping is one of the oldest Sherpa occupations. Sherpa
yak-trains still transport buffalo hides, salt, and wool between India and
Tibet, across mountain passes that are nearly 20,000 feet above sea level.
The Sherpas refer to Mount Everest as Chomolongma,
which means "Mother Goddess of the Universe."
Mount Everest is approximately 29,035 feet high, and because
of geological forces, it grows a few millimeters taller each year. More than
two-thirds of the earth's troposphere (the lowest level of the atmosphere)
lies below Mount Everest's summit, and for someone who is not acclimated to
the altitude and has no oxygen, the top of the mountain is more endurable
than outer space by only two or three minutes.
Ever since the first British mountaineering expeditions
headed up Mount Everest in the early 20th century, Sherpas have been an
essential part of every climbing expedition.
Dr. Alexander Kellas is generally regarded as the first
person to recognize the natural aptitude of the Sherpa people for climbing
at high altitude. In the 1920s, Kellas was perhaps the world's leading
expert on mountain sickness, what we know today as hypoxia, or oxygen
deprivation. Hypoxia can cause people to hallucinate and to lose their
ability to think clearly. Kellas recognized that Sherpas did not feel these
effects in the same way others did, although it's still unclear whether
their resistance is because of genetics or an upbringing at high altitude.
More than 1,200 people have successfully reached Mount
Everest's summit since New Zealander Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tensing
Norgay successfully made the ascent a half-century ago.
Hundreds of climbers have failed in their expeditions, and
more than 180 people have died on the mountain -- a third of whom were
Sherpas.
It costs about $65,000 for a guided expedition up Mount
Everest. One of the big-line items is the cost of guides. A lead guide
commands about $25,000, and assistant guides earn about $10,000 to $15,000
each. Then there is the park permit, which ranges from $10,000 to $25,000
per person depending on the size of the team. The Nepali government also
requires groups to pay a $4,000 advance deposit as a guarantee that they
will pack their trash. A climber starting out from scratch can spend an
additional $8,000 for basic equipment and gear costs.
Mount Everest porters who work up to base camp are paid $2
to $3 a day, sometimes even less. Higher-altitude porters earn more. Working
from base camp to Camp II, they earn about $20 a day, and between Camps II
and III, $50 a day. Porters who work from Camp III to the summit earn up to
$350 a day. They are also usually given an equipment allowance of about
$2,000.
Sherpas involved in tourism can earn as much as five times
more than the average per-capita income in Nepal.
At least 50 tons of trash has accumulated on Mount Everest
since the first successful ascent of the mountain 50 years ago. The problem
has become so severe that climbers mount expeditions specifically to clean
up after past mountaineers. Refuse includes thousands of empty oxygen
bottles, human waste and crashed helicopter debris. A government incentive
program, instituted in 1994, pays Sherpas for every discarded oxygen bottle
they retrieve from the mountain. Glass bottles were banned on Everest in
1998.
Thousands of tourists from around the world visit Mount
Everest every year, generating millions of dollars for Nepal. However,
previous concerns over the country's Maoist conflict, coupled with the worldwide
downturn in tourism after September 11, 2001,has resulted in a 28 percent
drop in visitors to Mount Everest. The Maoist conflict is long over and with
new elections behind the country, perhaps tourism, as well as the economy
will now rise.
Read Our; Kathmandu Nepal April 2008 Review
&
Our Pokhara May 2008 Review
Pokhara Tourism Information -
Pokhara Stats
Nepal Travel
Information
Travel
Guides
Guest Houses
Hotels
Jungle Lodges
Resorts
Adventure
Travel
Airlines
Photos
Tour Operators
Travelogues
Tourism Info
April 2008 Review
