14 Interesting Facts About Nepal That You Didn’t Know


The enigmatic country of Nepal boasts its diverse ethnicity, rich culture and awe-inspiring natural beauty. With a wide variety of flora and fauna, Nepal holds some of the rarest species wildlife such as the one-horned Rhino, Bengal tiger, Red Panda and the national flower Rhododendron. Nepal is truly a god’s playground with stunning majestic mountains, dramatic landscapes and mesmerizing lakes.
We are listing some of the most interesting fun facts about Nepal. The most baffling fact about Nepal is that all of the following remarkable things happens within the area of 147,181 sq. km (56,827 sq. mi).

1. Map of Nepal and Portugal is similar

Nepal and Portugal are twins in the world Map. They both have similar rectangular shape. If the map of Nepal is turned 90 degrees clockwise, it looks very similar to the map of Portugal.


Map of Nepal
Map of Nepal




Map of Portugal
Map of Portugal

2. Nepali Calendar is 67 years ahead of Gregorian Calendar.



Planning Contingency day for trekking in Nepal

The Nepali calendar called Bikram Sambhat is approximately 67 years and 8.5 months ahead of Gregorian calendar. The Nepali New Year is celebrated in mid-April.

3. It is illegal to slaughter cows in Nepal.



Cows in the street of Kathmandu, Nepal

As a national animal of the country, slaughtering of cows is illegal in Nepal. It is not uncommon to see cows wandering around the streets of Kathmandu.

4. Nepal is called Amazon of Asia. Rhino in Nepal

In terms of biodiversity, Nepal is one of the richest countries in the world. It is rightfully called Amazon of Asia due to the unique variety of species found in here. Nepal has more than 900 species of birds, which accounts to 8.9% of the total species of birds all around the world. It has 4.2 % of the world’s butterfly species and 3.96 percent of the world’s mammal species.

5. Kathmandu, capital of Nepal, is the living cultural museum of the world.



Durbar Squares in Kathmandu
Durbar Squares in Kathmandu

Nepal is culturally very rich country. It has the densest concentration of World Heritage Sites. Kathmandu valley alone has seven UNESCO’s World Heritage Cultural sites within a radius of 15 kilometers. No wonder Kathmandu is known to be the living cultural museum of the world.

6. Mt. Everest is in Nepal.



Mount Everest Nepal facts
Nepal has 8 out of 10 of the world’s highest mountains, including the world highest Mount Everest standing 8848 meters high. Mount Everest is called Sagarmatha in Nepali and Chomolungma by the local Sherpas and Tibetans.

7. Lord Buddha was born in Nepal.



Buddha's Birthplace Lumbini, Nepal


Nepal is the birthplace of the Light of Asia, Buddha. Siddhartha Gautam (Buddha) was born in 623 B.C. in Kapilvastu, Lumbini, which lies in Nepal. Lumbini is now a sacred place for Buddhists.

8. Nepal’s flag is non-rectangular.



Nepalese flag


Nepal is the only country with a non-rectangular flag. Nepal’s flag is maroon in color with two triangular shapes stacked on one another with dark blue border. The upper triangle consists of moon and the lower triangle consists of the sun. The current flag has been in place since 1962, although the basic design has been used for over 2,000 years in Nepal.

9. Nepal was never colonized.Independent Nepal- Ghorkha

The famous warriors in the world, Gurkhas, are from Nepal. Having been protected by the bravest warriors of the world, Nepal does not have an independent day as it was never colonized by any super powers of the world.

10. The only living Goddess in the world lives here.



Living Goddess Kumari From Nepal


Nepal has the only living Goddess in the world called Kumari. Kumari literally means virgin in Nepali.

11. It was the last Hindu country.



Hindus in Nepal


Nepal was the last Hindu Country in the world when it was declared secular by the parliament in the year 2006. Although many religion harmoniously co-exist in the country, 81.3 percent of the population in the country follows Hinduism. Nepal still has the highest proportion of Hindus in the world.

12. Namaste – I salute the God in you



Namaste Nepal


Handshake is not very common in Nepal. People of Nepal put their palms together and bow their forehead and say Namaste or Tashidele (in the Sherpa Communities). Namaste is directly translated as ‘I salute the God in you’.

13. Yeti is said to be spotted in the Nepalese Himalayas.



Mysterious Yeti From Nepal


The mysterious creature of the Himalayas called Yeti is said to be spotted in the Nepalese Himalayas by many who have trodden the secluded path in the Himalayas. Sir Edmund Hillary even led an expedition to find the Yeti in 1958.

14. The altitude variation is striking.Beautiful landscape of Nepal

Nepal is the only country with altitudinal variation that ranges from 59 meters to 8848 meters. Nepal holds some of the most extreme places on the earth such as the highest lake on the earth (Tilicho 4800 meters), the highest valley on earth (Arun valley), the deepest gorges (1200 meter) in Kaligandaki and the tallest grassland in the world in Chitwan.
                                                                                                    News source: trekroute.com

No comments:

Powered by Blogger.