Amazing Facts About Nepal That You Should Definitely Know

How much do you know about Nepal?

There are various facts about Nepal that you might not know. But after reading this article, completely you will be amazed by knowing some interesting and amazing facts about Nepal.

Despite being a land-locked and small developing country, Nepal is one of the countries where globalization of modernity has not easily affected their ancestral culture. Nepal is a multicultural country where its ancient religions, its extensive nature, and its gigantic mountains have contributed to Nepali traditions much of this currently is the main nation attraction for all tourists. 

Interesting And Mind-Blowing Facts About Nepal

After hearing the name of the country Nepal, most people must be thinking Nepal is a country of Mt. Everest, the birthplace of Gautam Budhha, a land of Sherpas and Gurkhas, etc. But Nepal is in fact very much different than these things. Nepal has a lot of things to offer you to know more and more.

There are still numbers of least known facts of Nepal that most of the people in the world have no idea about. Further now in this article, we are going to unfold some interesting and amazing facts about Nepal that might increase your interest in knowing Nepal more than before.

1. Only Country In The World Without A Non-Quadrilateral Flag

Well now, many know about this fact. Where all the countries in the world have a Quadrilateral shape of a flag, there is Nepal whose flag isn’t in the shape of a Quadrilateral. This makes Nepal the only country in the world without a Non-Quadrilateral Flag.

The flag of Nepal is made in the shape of two triangles that are placed one after another. Two triangles have two different symbols in them. One has the symbol of the Sun whereas the other one has the symbol of the Moon that denotes Nepal will have its existence until there are the Sun and the Moon in the sky.

2. Country Of Living Goddess

There is a very unique and religious tradition in the country of worshiping a prepubescent girl by considering her as a Goddess Kumari or also known as Kumari Devi. This is one of the oldest traditions of Nepal. Kumari is considered to be an incarnation of Taleju, an ancient Malla Dynasty Queen.

A girl is chosen especially from the Newari community of the country and is considered as the Goddess Kumari. This worship is done for only one day on certain occasions like Navaratri or Durga Pooja and Indra Jatra.

3. Birthplaces Of Goddess Sita And Lord Gautam Buddha

Nepal is the birthplace of two great religious personalities who are also considered gods. The land of Nepal has given birth to Goddess Sita also known as the wife of Lord Rama and another one who was born on the land of Nepal is Gautam Buddha, the founder of Buddhism.

Goddess Sita was born in the capital of Mithila Kingdom Janakpur where King Janak used to rule. Janakpur is still in existence and is one of the largest cities in Nepal.

The god that shows the light to this world was born in Kapilvastu of Lumbini which is now a great tourist destination and is enlisted in World Heritage Sites.

4. Sunday Isn’t Public Holiday In Nepal

Nepal is really known for having some strange and unique facts. This is also one of them. Nepal doesn’t celebrate the public holiday on Sunday as in other countries of the world. It doesn’t mean Nepal doesn’t have a public holiday. Nepal also celebrates a holiday once a week. 

Like other countries of the world, Nepal also has six working days and a holiday in a week of seven days. But the difference here is the day of the holiday. While other countries celebrate the holiday on Sunday, Nepal celebrates its holiday on Saturday and this is considered the last day of the week according to Nepali Calendar. 

5. Never Suffered From Religious And Cultural Riots

Though Nepal is a country of multi-ethnic and multi-cultural countries with hundreds of languages being spoken and different religions living here, Nepal has never suffered from any kind of religious and cultural riots.

There were some political fights in the country in the past but that too wasn’t in the name of religion or culture. This is the reason that Nepal is still considered a peace-loving country in the world.

6. One Of The World’s Dangerous Airport

Nepal also has one of the world’s dangerous airports in the world. The airport situated at the altitude of 9334 ft in Lukla of Nepal was also listed as World’s dangerous airport in the world by The History Channel in the year 2010.

This airport named Tenzing-Hillary Airport is a domestic airport of the country whose runway is made on a single cliff of more than 9000 ft from sea level. Pilots really feel very very difficult to land the aircraft at this airport. The airport is popular also because of Mt. Everest. Many climbers start to climb Mt. Everest from Lukla to Mt. Everest Base Camp.

7. Origin Of Elephant Polo Game

Though Elephant Polo isn’t a very popular game, it is played in a country like India, Nepal, Thailand, England, Scotland, etc. This is also a kind of Polo but this is played by riding on an Elephant.

The game is originally from Nepal. The place in Nepal from where Elephant Polo begins for the first time is Meghauli where is also the main headquarter of Elephant Polo. Not only the common matches are played in this game but also the World Elephant Polo Championship is organized in which many countries participate.

8. No History Of Foreign Invasion

Even when the neighboring country India was colonized by the British, Nepal was independent. Whereas the other countries in the world as well as in Asia are being invaded and colonized by foreign invaders, Nepal always stood alone with all pride and glory. There is no single history of Nepal being invaded by other countries.

Nepal never has to suffer from any kind of foreign invasion. That’s why the country of Nepal was never in control of foreign invaders. So Nepal is among the few countries in the world that do not celebrate any kind of Independence Day.

9. Land Of Lakes

Nepal has always being a rich country in terms of water resources, and the lakes and rivers here make Nepal rich in water resources. There is a number of large and big lakes in Nepal. Some of the largest lakes in Nepal are Shey-Phoksundo Lake, Rara Lake, Fewa Lake, Indra Sarowar, Kamal Daha, etc.

Also, the lake situated at the highest altitude from the sea level is located in Nepal. The lake called Tilicho Lake is situated in the Manang District of Gandaki Zone at the height of 4929m from sea level. This makes this the lake situated at the height altitude in the world.

Read: Top 10 Most Popular Lakes in Nepal

10. One Of The Oldest Country In Southern Asia

Another mind-blowing fact about Nepal is that it is one of the oldest countries situated in Southern Asia. The History of Nepal is really very very long and old. According to several books and references, the first civilization in Nepal was established or started by Gopal Bansha or Gopal Dynasty which is believed to be brought to Nepal by Lord Krishna. Lord Krishna also comes from the same Gopal Bansha which means the one who keeps Cows.

Gopal Bansha used to rule the central Himalayan territory which was termed Nepal by them at that time. They ruled over Nepal for a long time. After that, the Kirat Dynasty ruled the country. It is believed that the then King of Kirat Bansha had taken part in the battle of Kurukshetra or simply known as the battle of Mahabharat. 

The civilization in Nepal changes from time to time over thousands of years. Till the mid 18th century, Nepal wasn’t a single kingdom. There were hundreds of small kingdoms separately. They weren’t as unified as considered as a single nation. But later around Prithvi Narayan Shah, the founder of modern Nepal won all these kingdoms that are scattered like seeds and unified them and formed a single nation Nepal on 25 September 1768. 

This makes Nepal one of the oldest countries in South Asia. 

11. The Highest Percentage Of Hinduism In The World

Though Nepal is a secular country more than 81% population of Nepal follows the Hindu religion. This is the highest percentage of the Hindu population than many other countries where Hindus live like India, Indonesia or etc. 

Even with the country’s high percentage of Hindu the country is declared as a secular country where all religions are considered the same by the constitution of the country. There are very few percentages of other religions here in the country, though there has never been a single history of any kind of riots or conflicts in the name of religions. 

12. Cinema Is New In The Country

The history of films or cinema is very new in the country. Cinema hasn’t introduced a very long time ago in the country.  The cinema is very new to the country as compared to other countries in the world that make movies and cinemas. 

The first featured film of the country is AAMA which means MOTHER that released on October 7, 1964. Though the movie was Nepali, there were lots of Indian contributions in the movie. Nepali cinema is also known as Kollywood. Especially in Nepal, movies are made in three languages of the country Nepali, Maithali, and Bhojpuri. 

13. World’s Tallest Statue Of Lord Shiva

This is one of the amazing facts about Nepal that make Nepal popular more in countries like India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and other South Asian countries. This fact is that the world’s tallest statue of Lord Shiva is also situated in Nepal. 

The statue is also known as the Kailashnath Mahadev Statue which is located in the Sanga, on the border of Bhaktapur and Kavrepalanchowk district of Nepal. The statue is fully dedicated to the Lord Shiva of Hindu Mythology. This place is about 20 KM from the capital city of Nepal, Kathmandu. 

The statue is made using concrete, steel, copper, and zinc. The statue is 143 ft tall that makes it the world’s largest statue of Lord Shiva. The construction of the statue was started in 2003, completed in 2010, and was opened for the public on June 11, 2011, on the occasion of the Teej festival.

14. Nepal Is 56 Years Ahead Than Other Countries

Well, this is an awesome fact about Nepal, that will surely blow your mind if you haven’t heard or read about this. While the world is living in the year 2020, Nepal is living in the year 2076. Sounds crazy, doesn’t it…In other words, Nepal is living 56 years ahead of the rest of the world according to the calenders. 

Logically, this isn’t true. Nepal totally follows another calendar than the other countries in the world. Almost in every country of the world, the calendar of A.D ( Anno Domini) is followed whereas, in Nepal, people follow the B.S. calendar also known as Bikram Sambant Calender. It is the historical calendar of Hindu civilization.

15. The Most Number Of World Heritage Sites In A Particular City

Many of you must have an idea about the names of world heritage sites that are enlisted by UNESCO. UNESCO enlists the religious, historical, cultural, and traditional sites of different countries in the list of World Heritage Sites. This amazing fact that you are going to know will surely blow your mind. 

Even being a very small country of the size of 147,181 sq. km, Nepal has a total of 10 places that are listed by UNESCO as World Heritage Sites in Nepal. The fact that you will get to know me is really insane. You will be amazed after knowing that 7 out of 10 World Heritage Sites of Nepal are located in a single city. 

It is interesting, isn’t it?

You have read it correctly. 7 out of 10 World Heritage Sites of Nepal is located in a single city Kathmandu that too in the range of only 20 KM. 7 such sites only in the range of 20 KM is really a very big thing for a country like Nepal. These 7 World Heritage Sites that are located  only in Kathmandu are: 

• Pashupatinath Temple
• Kathmandu Durbar Square
• Bhaktapur Durbar Square
• Patan Durbar Square
• Changunarayan Temple
• Swayambhunath Temple
• Boudh Stupa

16. Also Knew As The Capital Of Weeds At A Time

One of the most amazing facts about Nepal is that it was once nicknamed The Capital of Weeds. If you want to do enjoy cannabis today in Nepal that wouldn’t possibly be well at least not legally. Marijuana has been illegal in Nepal for more than 45 years being officially banned in 1973 that year. 

All the cannabis shops and farms had their licenses canceled and the dealers were banned from conducting their activities. The reason for the popularity of marijuana in Nepal was the so-called hippie trail. It was a route from Europe all the way to the Far East. It was extremely popular in the 1960s with the birth of the counterculture. 

Many young people flocked to Asian countries in pursuit of adventure many of the roads led through Nepal and the cannabis economy flourished. It was so massive that you could literally buy the stuff everywhere. But once the government saw what they considered to be the disruptive power of the drug economy, it put it all to an end. Nowadays it is legal to smoke hashish but only during the Hindu festival of Maha Shivratri.

Conclusion: Facts About Nepal

We hope these interesting and awesome facts about Nepal amazed you. There are still many facts related to different things about Nepal. In the coming days, we will let you know more and more interesting facts about different topics in Nepal.

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