This is one of the world’s most glorious Buddhist Chaityas. It is said to be 2000 years old. Painted on the four-sides of the spire bases are the all seeing eyes of Lord Buddha. It is three kilometres west of Kathmandu city and is situated on a hillock about 77 meters above the level of the Kathmandu valley. A collection of legends about the site, the 15th century Swayambhu Purana, tells of a miraculous lotus, planted by a past Buddha, which blossomed from the lake that once covered Kathmandu valley. The lotus mysteriously radiated a brilliant light, and the name of the place came to be Swayambhu, meaning ‘Self-Created or Self-Existent’. Saints, sages and divinities travelled to the lake to venerate this miraculous light for its power in granting enlightenment.

The capital of Nepal, Kathmandu valley, is the biggest and the most cosmopolitan city of Nepal. Known as the ‘City of Temples’, it has great temples with historic, architectural and religious importance attached to them. The Valley consists of three main cities of great historic and cultural interest Kathmandu, Lalitpur (Patan) and Bhaktapur (Bhadgaon). Situated at an altitude of 1336 meter above the sea level, the Kathmandu valley covers an area of 218 sq. miles. Few of the spiritual attractions in Kathmandu valley include :

 Budha Nilkantha 

About eight kilometers north of Kathmandu, at the base of Sivapuri hill is a remarkable deity of Lord Vishnu, reclining on the bed of snakes. This deity is in the middle of a small pond and seems to float in water. This temple shrine attracts regular pilgrims and large crowds gather during the festivals of Haribodhini Ekadasi and Kartik Poornima.

Called the Sleeping Vishnu, or Jalakshayan Narayan, the deity depicts the deity reclining on the twisting coils of the Shesha. Lord Vishnu’s legs are crossed and the eleven heads of Shesha cradle his head. Vishnu’s four hands hold: a chakra or disc, a conch-shell, a lotus flower and the club.

It is said that in previous yuga, a very old farmer and his wife occupied a farm around this area and while cultivating the land they struck the Deity inside the ground. Immediately afterwards blood began to flow from the ground and thus the lost Deity of Budhanilkantha was uncovered and placed in its rightful position here. This old (Budha) farmer name was Nilkantha but more commonly known as Budha Nilkantha. Deity received its name from the farmer and hence Lord was called as Budhanilkantha. Later when Lord Krishna came in dwapar yuga to Kathmandu, he told his devotees here that he will always be present with them in Kathmandu in this form of Budhanilkantha deity. Lord Krishna during his visit had dried the Kathmandu valley which was full of water reservoir and thus made land inhabitable. Many great sages, pandits and scholars settled here and would recite the two scriptures Katha Upanishad and Manduka Upanishad. Thus place became well known for learning centre of this two upanishads. As a result locals say this place received the name Kathamandu.

Some say that name Nepal comes from age old name “Nyaya pal” means a place where both ruler and subjects diligently followed all rules and regulations enjoined in scriptures.

Also Nepal is said to be so named after a great king “Ne” who was the son of Marichi and ruled this tract of land. Just like Bharat got its name after the name of King Bharat, son of Rishabdev, so was in case of Nepal too.

Nepal has many facets. It is crowned by Himalayas, the highest mountains in the world. It has an extremely intriguing culture which passed on through generations across centuries. Amazing landscape, impressive scenic views, evocative palaces and museums, sacred religious places, thrilling adventure activities, Nepal seems to have it all.

Known as the Land of Everest, Nepal is a developing country with extensive tourist facilities. Cited below is a table on the important facts of Nepal.

Name of the Country – Kingdom of Nepal

Area  – 140,800 sq km

Population – 23 million (2001 census)

Capital City – Kathmandu

People – Hindus, Newars, Tibetans, Gurungs, Magars, Tamangs, Rais, Limbus, Sherpas

National  Language – Nepali (Khaskura)

Other Languages – Awadhi, Newari, Hindi, Bahing, Limbu, Maithili, Mundari

Tourist Language – English

Religion – Hindu

Government – Parliamentary Democracy & Constitutional Monarchy

Major Industries – Tourism, Handicraft, Agriculture and Water Resources

Nepal, a sovereign independent kingdom, (between 80° 4′ and 88° 12′ East longitude and 26° 22′ and 30° 27′ North latitude) is bounded on the North by the Tibet Autonomous Region of the People’s Republic of China, the East-South and West by India. The length of the kingdom is 885 kilometers east-west, and it’s breadth varies from 145-241 kilometers north-south.

The country can be divided into three main geographical regions.

(a) Himalayan Region : The altitude of this region ranges between 4877 m. – 8848 m. m. It includes 8 of the highest 14 summits in the world which exceed altitude of 8000 meters including, Annapurna, Dhaulagiri and others.

(b) Mountain Region : This region accounts for about 64 percent of total land area. It is formed by the Mahabharat range that soars up to 4877 meter and the lower Churia range.

(c) Terai Region : The low-land Terai occupies about 17 percent of the total land area of the country.

There are 58 cities in Nepal, which are also listed as municipalities. Kathmandu, which is the capital city of Nepal, is the largest city. The major cities of Nepal are:

» Kathmandu
» Patan/Lalitpur
» Bhaktpur
» Pokhara
» Tansen
» Gorkha
» Chitwan
» Lumbini
» Janakpur