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Katmandu takes
on a complete air of mysticism when the early morning mist in the high
valleys all around rises up to the icy ridges of the Himalayas. Temples
and images of the gods are swallowed up in a sea of white, one imagines
hearing distant muffled sounds of gongs and detecting a cold whiff of decay
and charred wood. In these unreal moments the Newar people believe they
find spiritual cleansing, with all sins and bad thoughts being freed and
born away by the mist.
This does not last long
because in the modern parts of the "city of a thousand temples" the cleansing
mist is replaced by smelly gases from car and moped exhausts. The large
volume of foreign visitors has long since changed the isolated town in
the Himalayas into a noisy major city with a sudden rise in population
-from 123,000 to 450,000 within four years. But in the midst of modern
Kathmandu there is still the virtually undisturbed age old scene of many
shrines, images of gods, and palaces.
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In two of the three dimensions,
length and breadth, Nepal is just another small country. In the third,
height, it's number one in the world. Nepal starches from north-west to
south-east about 800 km and varies in width from around 90 km to 230 km.
This gives it a total area of just 147,181 sq. km according to the official
figures.
Within that small area,
however, is the greatest range of altitude to be seen on this earth - starting
with the Terai, only 100m or so above sea level, and finishing at the top
of Mt. Everest (8848m), the highest point on earth.
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Often a visitor's overriding
goal is to see the mountains, especially Everest and Annapurna. However,
to exclude the people, flowers, birds and wildlife from the experience
is to miss the essence of the country regions, or natural zones: the plains
in the south, four mountain ranges, and the valley lying between them.
The lowlands with their fertile soils, and the southern slopes of the mountains
with sunny exposures, allow for cultivation and are the main inhabited
regions.
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Whether you begin your trek
at a roadhead or fly into a remote mountain airstrip, a large part of it
will be in the Middle Hills region at elevations between 500 and 3000 metres.
In this region, there are always well-developed trails through villages
and across mountain passes. Even at high altitudes there are intermittent
settlements used during summer by shepherds, so the trails, though often
indistinct, are always there. You can easily travel on any trail without
the aid of ropes or mountaineering skills. There are rare occasions when
there is snow on the trail, and on some high passes it might be necessary
to place a safety line for your companions or porters if there is deep
snow. Still, alpine techniques are almost never used on a traditional trek.
Anyone who has walked extensively in the mountains has all the skills necessary
for an extended trek in Nepal.
Nepal has many mountain ranges
like the Mahabharat and Himalayan Mountains with average heights ranging
between 8000-14000 feet (2400m-4300m) which includes the famous Annapurna
26538 ft, 8091m, Cho Oyu 26899 ft, 8201m, Dhaulagiri 26787 ft, 8167m, Kanchanjungha
28162 ft, 8586m, Lhotse 27932 ft, 8516m, Makalu 27758 ft, 8463m, Manaslu
26774 ft, 8163m, and the Everest 29021 ft, 8848m. There are three general
regions in Nepal, each one differs in climate from the other . The Himalayan
region has long, harsh winters and short, cool summers. The hill and valley
region has cool, wet climate during summer and winters are dry and cold.
The Terai Region is more moderate than the other two.
Winter, which is from November
to March brings average temperature of 66°F (19°C) in the south
and 55°F (13°C) in the northern mountain ranges. You will find
snow from 3000 meters (10,000 ft) altitude. Summer from April to June also
has rain averaging from 70-75 inches (178-191 cm) in the east and 30-35
inches (76-89 cm) in the west. The heaviest rain falls in the Terai region
where the weather is the best described as being "subtropical monsoon"
and is heaviest from July to end of September.
For the adventures there
are many thing to do in Nepal, for e. g. trekking, rafting, safaris, expeditions
etc. The most popular trekking routes are the Everest Base Camp reaching
a maximum altitude of 18532 ft, 5650m , Around Annapurna with maximum altitude
17761 ft, 5415m , Annapurna Base Camp 13940 ft, 4250m, Langtang 14104 ft,
4300m , Ghorepani 10824 ft, 3300m ( Annapurna Region).These treks can be
planned between 3 to 25 days |
