Nepal, with almost 87% of its land area comprising of hills and mountains, is truly a mountainous country. Despite its small size, it composes a major section of the Great Himalayan Trail. In 2017, around 940,000 tourists visited Nepal, which is the highest number, considering the record of the last 25 years. This alone is evident of the growing popularity of Nepal as a must visit tourist destination. The country is known particularly for its landscapes including hills and mountains, the wildlife and cultural heritages. We have covered the most visited places in nepal in our blog post “Top 10 Places to Visit in Nepal“. You may also like to read the interesting blog post on “12 Authentic Nepali Food items“.
Nepal hosts a huge list of assorted mountains that are popular around the world for their height, and as well as the difficulty level when it comes to climbing them. Mt. Kanchenjunga, Mt. Everest and Mt. Annapurna make it to the list of top 5 toughest peaks to climb in the world. Also, 8 out of the top 10 highest peaks in the world happens to be in Nepal. Mt. Everest standing at whopping 8848 m is the highest. Due to the massive size of many of the mountains, Nepal happens to share portions of their mass with neighboring countries like India and China.
The country is also known for its fresh water resources. Rivers like Bagmati, Seti, Karnali and so on, and lakes like Rara, Fewa, Tilicho and so on have always been attractive to the tourists. The rivers and tributaries in Nepal mainly spring from the mountains, and flow down to the south. On its journey, it swirls around other mountains and the hills offering a landscape that doesn’t fail to awe the tourists. Often they come across suspension bridges establishing connection between two hills.
In such serene environments, adventure sports like White Water Rafting, Canyoning, Bungee Jumping and Tandem Swing have flourished tremendously. Many hiking and trekking trails in Nepal are designed along these rivers, which are a source of water, food and amusement for the travelers. Other popular adventure sports include Paragliding, Sky Diving, Heli Skiing, Para hawking and Zip Flyer. The Zip Flyer at Sarangkot is considered to have the world’s longest and fastest zip line.
Nepal extends from the steep mountains and hills in the north to the plain area to the south. The southern part of Nepal is known for its lush green forests. Built around these forests are various national parks and wildlife reserves. One in particular is the Chitwan National Park, which is easily the most popular one in Nepal. It offers activities like Jungle Safari, Elephant Rides, Wild Boat Rides and so on. There are around 700 species of animals in this parks, few of which include the Bengal Tiger, Clouded Leopard, One-horned Rhinoceros and so on. The wildlife in the hills and mountains includes animals like Himalayan Tahr, Blue Sheep, Snow Leopard, Musk Deer and so on.
Needless to say, the fauna in the hilla are quite distinct when compared to the ones in the plains. Protected areas are allocated in the hills as well for their conservation. Few really popular ones include Sagarmatha National Park, Rara National Park, Langtang National Park and so on. The largest and the oldest wildlife conservation area in Nepal in Annapurna Conservation Area Project. Altogether, Nepal is considered to have one of the highest concentration of birds and animals in the world. With 850 species, the country houses 9% of all the birds, and with 185 species, the nation houses 4% of all the mammals in the world.
The nation is also the home to United Nations’ World Heritages Sites. The two natural sites are Chitwan and Sagarmatha National Parks. And the two cultural ones include Mayadevi Temple in Lumbini, which is considered as the Birthplace of Gautam Buddha, and various locations in Kathmandu Valley like Pashupatinath, Swayambhunath, Boudhanath and so on.
Nepal, for a long period of time in the past, has acted as a passageway between India and China. It’s quite obvious for the people, the lifestyle, the religious characteristics to seem highly similar, and influenced by those of the two great nations. Overtime, Nepal has gained its own identity, and is known all over the world for its diverse culture and tradition, and rich history. All this can be reflected in the monuments, the heritages that the great rulers, who reigned over this land, built for their future generations. As a tourist, you’ll not just be welcomed but celebrated. You’re sure to have nothing but fun, spending your time here in this amazing nation.