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Geography
Sandwiched between Asia's two major
giants—China and India, Nepal is a
sovereign, independent Himalayan Kingdom
(lying between 800 4' and 880 12' East
Longitude and 260 22' and 300 27' North
Latitude). Nepal is the country of amazing
extremes, which is surrounded by Tibet, the
Autonomous Region of the People's Republic
of China, in the north, and India in the
east, south and west. Covering a total area
of 147,181 sq. kilometers, the country
expands to about 885 kilometers from the
east to the west. Its breadth (north-south)
ranges between 145-241 kilometers.
Geographically, the country can be divided
into three regions— Himalayan region, hilly
region and the plain area in the Terai. The
Himalayan region that covers 20 per cent of
the total area ranges between 4,877-8,848
meters. The region has 8 of the world's 14
highest peaks above 8,000 meters. The
mountain region covers about 64 per cent of
the total land area. Terai region is the low
land occupying 17 per cent land.
Climate
Nepal has four main seasons that include
Winter (December-February), Spring
(March-May), Summer (June-August), and
Autumn (September-November). Visitors can
visit Nepal throughout the year. Lightweight
closing is recommended for May-October. And
warm garments are necessary for
October-March. During summer, an umbrella or
a raincoat is essential. Climatic variation
is one of Nepal's unique characteristics.
Various types of climate can be found from
the tropical to the plain of the Terai
region.
High Altitude Sickness
An acute mountain sickness (AMS), also known
as altitude sickness, may affect those who
ascend rapidly to more than 3,000 meters of
height. The initial symptoms of AMS include
nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite,
insomnia/sleeplessness, persistent headache,
dizziness, light headedness, confusion, dis-orientation,
drunken gait, weakness, fatigue, lassitude,
slight swelling of hands and face,
breathlessness and breathing irregular and
reduced urine output.
Medical facility
Health care services are available at the
government hospitals and private nursing
homes in Kathmandu and other cities outside
the Kathmandu Valley. In the countryside,
primary health care services are available.
You are advised to consult your family
doctor regarding any health-related problem
before visiting Nepal and follow his/her
advice. However, if you are taking any
medicines, bring them with you. It would be
better if you could bring some first aid
medicines for cold, headache, fever,
diarrhea, bandages, handy-plasters,
anti-septic lotion, etc.
People
Around 23 million people belonging to more
than 40 ethnic communities live in this
world's only Hindu Kingdom, which is also
known as a hidden Shangri-La. The different
ethnic groups of the country speak around 70
dialects.
Etiquette
Taking off one's shoes before entering a
temple, shrine or any religiously and
culturally sacred place is Nepal’s
traditional custom.
Language
Despite Nepali being the national language,
people involved in the travel trade business
and other educated ones communicate in
English. Tourist guides having
specialization in various languages of the
world are available here.
Political System
The Nepalese people have been practicing
multiparty democracy with constitutional
monarchy since 1990.
International Time
Nepal's standard time is 5 hours and 45
minutes ahead of the Greenwich Mean Time
(GMT) and 15 minutes ahead of Indian
standard time.
Traffic system
Left-hand drive system is in practice in
Nepal.
Electricity
The current is 220V/50 cycles in Nepal.
Sockets have either three round pairs or two
thick round pairs. If you have your own
electrical appliance, you need to bring an
international converter kit and a set of
adapter plugs. Alternatively, it is more
practical to travel with battery-operated
appliance, if possible. While on trek, you
can recharge your batteries in some lodges
as they use generators.
Communication facility
Highly standard communication system is
available in major cities like Kathmandu,
Dharan, Biratnagar, Pokhara, Chitwan. But
during the time of rafting and trekking,
telephone and fax facilities may not be
available in some places.
Working hours
The government offices open at 9 A. M. and
close at 17 P. M. in summer and they open at
9 A. M. and close at 16 P. M.
Drinking water
Boiled or well-filtered water is advised. |
We, a married couple from Canada completed the
Annapurna Circuit 11 April to 29 April. We
booked the services of a guide and a porter
through MR. Shekhar Bahadur Thapa at Alpine
Asian Treks have nothing but good things to say
regarding our experience with MR. Shekhar and
the guide and Porter which we hired through
Alpine. 
