Nepal | |
Travel Destination Guide | |
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Nepal forms the very watershed of Asia. Landlocked between India and Tibet, it spans terrain from subtropical jungle to the icy Himalaya, and contains or shares eight of the world's ten highest mountains. Its cultural landscape is every bit as diverse: a dozen major ethnic groups , speaking as many as fifty languages and dialects, coexist in this narrow, jumbled buffer state, while two of the world's great religions , Hinduism and Buddhism, overlap and mingle with older tribal traditions - yet it's a testimony to the Nepalis' tolerance and good humour that there is no tradition of ethnic or religious strife. Unlike India, Nepal was never colonized, a fact which comes through in fierce national pride and other, more idiosyncratic ways. Founded on trans-Himalayan trade, its dense, medieval cities display a unique pagoda-style architecture, not to mention an astounding flair for festivals and pageantry. But above all, Nepal is a nation of unaffected villages and terraced hillsides - more than eighty percent of the population lives off the land - and whether you're trekking, biking or bouncing around in packed buses, sampling this simple lifestyle is perhaps the greatest pleasure of all.
But it would be misleading to portray Nepal as a fabled Shangri-la. One of the world's poorest countries (if you go by per capita income), it suffers from many of the pangs and uncertainties of the Third World, including overpopulation and deforestation; development is coming in fits and starts, and not all of it is being shared equitably. Heavily reliant on its big-brother neighbours, Nepal was, until 1990, run by one of the last remaining absolute monarchies, a regime that combined China's repressiveness and India's bureaucracy in equal measure. It's now a democracy , but corruption and frequent changes of government have led to widespread disillusion and spawned a simmering rebel insurgency; political freedom has changed little for the average struggling Nepali family. Travelling in Nepal isn't a straightforward or predictable activity. Certain tourist areas are highly developed, even overdeveloped, but facilities elsewhere are rudimentary; getting around is time-consuming and sometimes uncomfortable. Nepalis are well used to shrugging off such inconveniences with the all-purpose phrase, Ke garne ? ("What to do?"). Nepal is also a more fragile country than most - culturally as well as environmentally - so it's necessary to be especially sensitive as a traveller. Topography is obviously a key consideration when travelling in Nepal. Generally speaking, the country divides into three altitude zones running from west to east. The northernmost of these is, of course, the Himalayan chain , broken into a series of himal (permanently snow-covered mountain ranges) and alpine valleys, and inhabited, at least part of the year, as high as 5000m. The largest part of the country consists of a wide belt of middle-elevation foothills and valleys , Nepal's traditional heartland; two ranges, the Mahabharat Lek and the lower, southernmost Chure (or Siwalik) Hills, stand out. Finally, the Tarai , a strip of flat, lowland jungle and farmland along the southern border, has more in common with India than with the rest of Nepal. Nepal's Tourism Department runs on a shoestring budget, letting the free market fill the gap with a confusing welter of advertising. There are no tourist offices outside the country, and those few in Nepal are chronically starved of printed materials and generally bereft of maps. They can, however, sometimes come up with information on festival dates, local bus schedules and the like. You'll always get the most useful information from other travellers. Check the informal notice boards in restaurants around the tourist quarters for news of upcoming events or to find travelling or trekking companions. In Kathmandu, the neighbouring offices of the Kathmandu Environmental Education Project and the Himalayan Rescue Association can help out with information on trekking routes and conditions. Despite its shameless advertiser bias, Travellers' Nepal, a free monthly magazine distributed to the big hotels and travel agencies, is the best of several sources of what's-on information. It's hard to generalize about the climate of a country ranging in elevation from near sea level to Mount Everest. About the only thing that can be said is that all but a few parts of Nepal are governed by the same monsoonal pattern, with temperatures varying according to elevation. Five seasons prevail in Nepal, but these are based on more than just weather: whenever you choose to go, you'll have to weigh other factors, both positive (mountain visibility, festivals, wildlife) and negative (crowds, disease). Probably half of all tourists visit Nepal in the autumn (October to November), and for good reasons. The weather is clear and dry, and temperatures aren't too cold in the high country nor too hot in the Tarai. With the air washed clean by the monsoon rains, the mountains are at their most visible, making this the most popular time for trekking. Two major festivals also fall during this season. The downside, however, is that the tourist quarters are heaving and hustley, prices are higher and it may be hard to find a decent room, you'll wait ages for food and for trekking permits, and people are short on ready smiles and chat. Winter (December and January) weather is for the most part clear and stable. It isn't especially cold at lower elevations - it never snows in Kathmandu, and afternoon temperatures are balmy - but the "mists of Indra" can make mornings dank and chilly (especially in unheated budget lodgings). Most travellers head down into India, leaving the tourist areas fairly quiet - too quiet, sometimes, as many restaurants pare down their menus for the season, and most trekking lodges close. This is an excellent time to visit the Tarai, where temperatures are relatively mild. Spring (February to mid-April) brings warmer temperatures, longer days, weddings and more festivals. The rhododendrons are in bloom in the hills towards the end of this period, and in the Tarai the thatch has been cut, so despite the increasing heat this is the best time for viewing wildlife. All of which creates another tourist crush, albeit not quite as bad as in the autumn. The one factor that keeps people away is a disappointing haze that obscures the mountains from lower elevations, though it's usually possible to trek above it. The pre-monsoon (mid-April to early June) is stifling at lower elevations, and dusty wind squalls are common. People get a little edgy with the heat; this is the time for popular unrest, but also for the Kathmandu Valley's great rainmaking festival. Trek high, where the temperatures are more tolerable. Nepalis welcome the monsoon (June to September), which breaks the enervating monotony of the previous months, and makes the fields come alive with rushing water and green shoots. The rains rinse and renew the land. This can be a fascinating time to visit, when Nepal is at its most Nepali, but there are many drawbacks: mountain views are rare, leeches come out in force along the mid-elevation trekking routes, roads become impassable, flights get cancelled, and disease runs rampant as the rising water table brings the entire contents of city sewers to the surface. | |
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Popular Destinations in Nepal: Bhaktapur Bhadgaun - Janakpur - Kathmandu - Patan (Lalitpur) - Pokhara View All Cities in Nepal | |
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