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Nepal
sits uneasily on the shoulder of the southern Himalaya, wedged
between China to the north and India to the south. In length
and breadth it is just another small country, but in height
it's a world-beater. Not only does it have the world's tallest
mountains, including the cloud-hugging Everest and Annapurna,
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it also has the youngest
- and they're still growing. Apart from its four mountain ranges -
Chure Hills, Mahabharat Range, Himalaya and the Tibetan Marginals
- Nepal also has vast plains in the south, fertile valleys in the
midlands and high-altitude deserts in the north. The heavily cultivated
belt between the Mahabharat Range and the Himalaya supports the bulk
of the country's population.
There are over 6500 species of trees, shrubs and wildflowers in Nepal.
The height of floral glory is in March and April, when rhododendrons,
the national flower, burst into colour. Nepal also boasts an astounding
diversity of animal life, with 800 bird species and exotic mammals
such as the royal Bengal tiger and snow leopard, as well as rhinoceros,
elephant, bear, deer, monkey and jackal. Unfortunately, due to habitat
degeneration and poaching, opportunities for seeing wildlife are usually
restricted to national parks, reserves and western Nepal, where the
human population is sparse.
Nepal has a typically monsoonal two-season year: the dry season (October
to May) and the wet season (June to September). The monsoon affects
the whole country, often flooding the southern plains, before tailing
off as it moves away to the north and west. Temperatures vary but
are generally hottest in the summer months of May and June and coldest
during December and January.
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