22 Cool Facts About Nepal

Nepal is located in the south of the Himalayas. It is a country with a diverse ethnic population, numerous festivals, breathtaking scenery, and rich culture. The country is home to some of the world’s highest mountain peaks. This small country has elevations ranging from 70m to 8848 meters at its highest point. The majority of Nepalese are Hindus or Buddhists, and the two religions have coexisted peacefully for centuries. Buddha is worshipped by both Buddhists and Hindus in Nepal.

1. Nepal is a mountainous landlocked country in the Himalayas. It shares the longest borders with India, which includes Himalayan territories as well as indo-Gangetic plains. It also shares a border with china (Tibet Autonomous Region (Xizang)).
2. Nepal has one of the shortest railway networks. The railway network only comprises 59 Km of distance and has 38 passenger coaches, four diesel engines, and 11 steam engines.
3. About 90% of the total electric supply of Nepal comes from hydro projects.
4. The country is home to the world’s highest mountains of the world. Mount Everest is the highest mountain peak with an elevation of 29,029 ft (8,848 meters). Eight out of the ten highest mountains of the world lie in the country.
5. About 44.6% of total Nepal’s population speaks their official language, and there are over 123 Nepalese languages and dialects spoken as mother tongue.
6. The national tree of the country is the peepal. It is also believed that Gautam buddha got enlightened under this tree only.
7. Over 81.3% of Nepal’s population follow Hinduism, 9.0% are Buddhist, 4.4% follow Islam, 3.0% are Kiratist (indigenous ethnic religion), 1.4% follow Christianity, 0.1% are Sikhs, 0.1% are Jains and 0.7% follow other religions or have no religion.
8. Gautama Buddha was born in the Lumbini region of Nepal in 623 B.C.

   

9. Around 5 million people in Nepal are undernourished, and over 25 percent of the population lives under 50 cents a day.
10. Volleyball is the national sport of the country.
11. The flag of Nepal is the only flag out of all countries’ flag, which is not rectangular or of squared shape.
12. The country has 10 UNESCO World Heritage sites, including seven in the capital region of Kathmandu, Lumbini, Chitwan national park, and Sagarmatha national park. It also has the densest concentration of world heritage sites on the planet.

    

13. Khagendra Thapa Magar of Nepal is the world’s shortest man on the planet earth. He was born on 14 October 1992 and stood at 67.08 cm (2 ft 2.41 inch).
14. Nepal is one of the oldest countries in the south Asia region as it has never been invaded by a foreign country.
15. There are over 6000 rivers in the country, out of which 1000 rivers are more than 10 km long. In contrast, the cumulative length of the rivers is about 45000 km.
16. The national animal of the country is the cow. Whereas the Himalayan monal pheasant is the national bird.

    

17. Over 37.4% or 5.5 million hectares of the total land is covered in forests, because of which the country is also known as the Amazon of Asia.
18. The top 5 exports of the country are Non-Retail Synthetic Staple Fibers Yarn ($82.5M), Knotted Carpets ($71.9M), Flavored Water ($43.5M), Nutmeg, mace and cardamons ($35.7M), and Other Plastic Products ($30.5M).
19. The top 5 imports of Nepal are Refined Petroleum ($1.35B), Semi-Finished Iron ($585M), Planes, Helicopters and Spacecraft ($292M), Gold ($279M), and Petroleum Gas ($266M).
20. There are about 5,358 lakes in Nepal, out of which rara lake is the biggest lake in the country with an area of 9.8km.

    

21. Gundruk is the national dish of Nepal that is quite popular. There is another dish which Nepalese like very much is the dal bhat.
22. Nepal has a unique calendar system according to which the current year as per the calendar is the 2077 Bikram sambat. The calendar is approximately 56 years and eight months ahead of the English calendar.