Although Nepal is a small country of only 147,181 square km it contains the greatest altitude variation on earth, from the lowland Terai, almost at sea level, to Mt.Everest, which at 8848 metres is the highest point on earth. The country is about 800 km. long and from 90 to 230 km wide. A cross-section shows four main areas to the country. Close to the border with India is a low fertile strip of jungle land known as the Terai.
Above the Terai rise the Siwalik foothills and beyond them the higher Mahabharat range.Most of the population of Nepal is found in the fertile valleys, such as Kathmandu Valley and the Pokhara Valley. These are north of the Mahabharat range at an altitude between 1000 and 2000 meters.In the north,in the higher altitude Himalayan range form a border between Tibet and Nepal.