Nepal: landmarks, animals & facts for kids

Nepal is a landlocked country in South Asia, squeezed between China's Tibet region to the north and India to the south, east and west. Its capital is Kathmandu. Nepal holds eight of the ten highest mountains on Earth, including Mount Everest, the highest of all. It is also the birthplace of the Buddha and is known for its Hindu and Buddhist temples, trekking trails, Sherpa mountaineers and its unusual flag.

On My Earth Toy you can see Mount Everest, 8,849 metres tall on the border with China, and Boudhanath, one of the largest stupas in the world, a huge white dome in Kathmandu painted with the watchful eyes of the Buddha.

Geography and nature

Nepal climbs from hot lowlands to the roof of the world in a very short distance. In the south, the flat Terai has jungles and grasslands where Chitwan National Park protects one-horned rhinos, tigers and elephants. The middle hills have terraced farms, river valleys and the Kathmandu Valley. In the north rise the Himalayas, with Everest, Kangchenjunga, Lhotse, Makalu and other giants. Summer monsoon rains feed fast rivers that rush down to India's plains.

People, languages and culture

Nepali is the official language, and more than a hundred other languages are spoken, including Maithili, Bhojpuri, Tharu, Tamang and Newari. Most Nepalis are Hindu, and many are Buddhist; temples of both faiths often stand side by side. The Sherpa people of the Everest region are famous mountain guides. Dashain and Tihar, the festival of lights, are the biggest celebrations. Dal bhat, lentil soup with rice, is eaten at almost every meal, and momos, steamed dumplings, are a favourite snack.

History in a nutshell

Siddhartha Gautama, who became the Buddha, was born at Lumbini in southern Nepal more than 2,500 years ago. For centuries, kingdoms in the Kathmandu Valley, especially under the Malla kings, built beautiful palaces and temples. In 1768 King Prithvi Narayan Shah unified Nepal, which was never colonised by a European power. In 1953, Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary made the first confirmed ascent of Everest. Nepal ended its monarchy in 2008 and became a federal republic.