Nepal

General Info	Kathmandu	Durbar Square	Swoyambhu
Pashupatinath	Bauddhanath	Patan	More Photos

Map of Nepal

During the summer of 2006, I traveled to Nepal as the tail end of my trip to India. I only had 5 days, so I stayed around the Kathmandu and Patan area. I hope to return soon to see the rest of the country!

Nepal is among the poorest and least developed countries in the world with almost one-third of its population living below the poverty line. Agriculture is the mainstay of the economy, providing a livelihood for three-fourths of the population and accounting for 38% of GDP.

Nepal has recent turbulent political history. In 2001, it was reported that the crowned prince massacred ten members of the royal family, including the king and queen, and then took his own life. Though many of the Nepalese I spoke with thought it was a conspiracy and said that the prince couldn't have killed himself because he was shot in the back of the head. Many think it was the prince's brother who was behind the massacre and took the throne afterwards.

The government continues to be in a delicate state. Tens of thousands of people have since been killed in fighting between Maoists rebels and the government forces. The Maoists' goals are to end the Nepalese monarchy and replace it with a Maoist people's republic, as well as an end to "Indian imperialism," capitalist exploitation, the caste system, and ethnic, religious, and linguistic exploitation. Growing pro-democracy protests have been met by arrests of students and opposition politicians and Maoists have repeatedly blockaded all roads into and out of Kathmandu. The most recent ceasefire collapsed in January 2006 when a spate of rebel attacks on towns across Nepal killed hundreds. Nepal has effectively had no parliamentary democracy at all since February 2005, when the King declared a state of emergency.

Kathmandu >