Nepal

Nepal, through which the Everest 2000 Expedition will trek to reach Basecamp on Mt. Everest, is a Kingdom of high Himalayan mountains, artistic monuments, exotic wildlife, and diverse cultures.

It is also the land where Lord Buddha was born over 2, 500 years ago.

Roughly rectangular in shape, the Kingdom of Nepal is situated between China in the north and India in the south. The land extends approximately 885 km east to west, and 193 km north to south, with an area of about 145, 391 square kilometers.

Nepal is primarily an agricultural country. Tourism, carpets, and garments are the major industries.

Land. For its size, Nepal surprisingly contains the greatest altitude variation on the planet. The land rises from the Terai, the southern plains at almost sea level, and within a short distance to the north, culminates at the highest point on earth, Sagarmatha (in English, Mt. Everest). Of the world's 14 summits over 8,000 metres, eight lie in Nepal.

WEB LINKS The Nepal Digest info-nepal.com Radio Nepal ( hear music and news in English or Nepali) Nepal Travel Information Guide Nepal article from infoplease.com

Climate. Nepal contains a variety of climatic conditions ranging from the tropical heat of the Terai plains to the freezing cold of the high Himalayas. The mid-hills, and particularly the Kathmandu Valley, are pleasant; with warm summers and cool winters.

Temperatures range between a maximum of 38 degrees Celsius and a minimum of 8 C in the plains, 28 C and 2 C in the Kathmandu Valley, and between 16 C and -6 C in the mountains. The rainy season lasts from June to August.

Plowing a potato field in Khumjung, March 24, 2000

People. Nepal's many ethnic groups are as varied as its land, each with their own language and culture. In the Kathmandu valley are the Newars, whose culture and artistry have earned them an international reputation. The Sherpas of the Himalaya are known as tough mountain climbers.

Brahmins and Chhetris are scattered over the hills and valleys, and Tamangs are found in the districts around the Kathmandu Valley.

The Rais, Limbus, Magars, and Gurungs of the mid-hills have earned fame as Gurkha soldiers. Lowland ethnic groups such as the Maithili, Bhojpuri, and Tharu enhance the colorful mosaic.

The total population of Nepal is about 19 million. About one million people live in the Kathmandu Valley and about 500,000 in the captial Kathmandu.

Language. Nepali, written in the Devanagari script, is the national language as well as the common language (lingua franca) for Nepal's diverse communities which each have their own languages and dialects. English and Hindi are widely understood in the urban centers and areas frequented by tourists.

Sherpas. Sherpa is a combination of Tibetan words shar (east) and pa (people) - 'People of the east'. Sherpas settled in the Everest area around AD 1540 and are the most famous of Nepal's ethnic groups since they came into prominence when the 1921 Everest reconnaissance team hired them as guides and porters.
Read about climbing Sherpas

Sherpa school children outside the primary school at Namche Bazaar, March 22, 2000.

The term 'Sherpa', as commonly used by Nepalese, does not stand for a specific job description, but for a group of people who originally migrated from eastern Tibet and settled in the Solu-Khumbu region of Nepal.

Though most Sherpa settlements are in Khumbu, near Everest, Sherpas are found throughout the eastern regions of Nepal. Some dwell in the remote Rolwaling valley, and as far west as the Helambu region north of Kathmandu, but the most renowned come from the villages of Solu-Khumbu, along the upper valley of the Dudh Kosi and its tributaries, in the Mount Everest region.

Sherpas speak a Tibetan dialect, dress like their Tibetan neighbors - or often like Western trekkers - and live as traders, farmers, and shepherds herding yak and sheep.

Buddhist Sherpas who climb Mt. Everest begin their expeditions with a puja ceremony, offering worship to the mountain god. The tradition has become part of western climbers' experience as well and all expeditions begin with a puja ceremony.