स्वागतम् / Welcome to the Nepal Portal


The flag of Nepal
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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 to 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 have been a significant contributor to United Nations peacekeeping operations. (Full article...)

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Chitwan National Park is the first national park of Nepal. It was established in 1973 as the Royal Chitwan National Park and was granted the status of a World Heritage Site in 1984. It covers an area of 952.63 km2 (367.81 sq mi) in the subtropical Inner Terai lowlands of south-central Nepal in Nawalpur, Chitwan, Makwanpur and Parsa Districts. It ranges in elevation from about 100 m (330 ft) in the river valleys to 815 m (2,674 ft) in the Sivalik Hills.

In the north and west of the protected area the Narayani-Rapti river system forms a natural boundary to human settlements. Adjacent to the east of Chitwan National Park is Parsa National Park, contiguous in the south is the Indian Tiger Reserve Valmiki National Park. The coherent protected area of 2,075 km2 (801 sq mi) represents the Tiger Conservation Unit (TCU) Chitwan-Parsa-Valmiki, which covers a 3,549 km2 (1,370 sq mi) huge block of alluvial grasslands and subtropical moist deciduous forests. (Full article...)

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Death of Rollo Gillespie (Cassell's illustrated history of India, 1890)

The Battle of Nalapani was the first battle of the Anglo-Nepalese War of 1814–1816, fought between the forces of the British East India Company and Nepal, then ruled by the House of Gorkha. The battle took place around the Nalapani fort, near Dehradun, which was placed under a month-long siege by the British, between 31 October and 30 November 1814. The fort's garrison was commanded by Captain Balbhadra Kunwar, while Major-General Robert Rollo Gillespie, who had previously fought in the Battle of Java, was in charge of the attacking British troops. Gillespie was killed on the first day of the siege while rallying his men. Despite considerable odds, both in terms of numbers and firepower, Balbhadra and his 600-strong garrison successfully held out against more than 5,000 British troops for over a month.

After two costly and unsuccessful attempts to seize the fort by direct attack, the British changed their approach and sought to force the garrison to surrender by cutting off the fort's external water supply. Having suffered three days of thirst, on the last day of the siege, Balbhadra, refusing to surrender, led the 70 surviving members of the garrison in a charge against the besieging force. Fighting their way out of the fort, the survivors escaped into the nearby hills. Considering the time, effort, and resources spent to capture the small fort, it was a pyrrhic victory for the British. A number of later engagements, including one at Jaithak, unfolded in a similar way; but more than any other battle of the war, the fighting around Nalapani established the Gurkhas' reputation as warriors. As a result, they were later recruited by the British to serve in their army. (Full article...)

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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...)

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  • 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

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