The word ‘Himalaya‘ means the home or abode of snow.

– According to Hindu mythology, God Shiva resides in the Himalaya.

– There are eight peaks with a total of 19 points above 8000 metres in Nepal.

– Fourteen mountains in the Himalaya exceed 8000 metres.

– There are 25 points in all which exceed 8000 metres in the Himalaya.

– Nameha Barwa peak is the easternmost and Nanga Parbat is the western  most  peak of the Himalaya.

– The geological age of the Himalaya is approximately 70 million years.

– Himalayan rivers are older than the Himalayan peaks.

– Kumbhakarna is the new name of mount Jannu (7,710 m).

– Gosainthan (8046 m) is the Nepali name for Shisha Pangma.

– Ninety-five percent of earthquakes occur in mountainous regions.

– Sir Andrew Waugh, Surveyor General of India wished to honour his predecessor, Sir George Everest. For this, Sir Andrew pretended that there was no local name for Everest and hence named the mountain as Mount Everest  though there were two local names of the mountain. e.g. Sagarmatha in Nepal and Chomolungma in Tibet.Sir Andrew Waugh announced the  name ‘Mount Everest’ in 1865.

- The ideal height gain per day for mountaineers is 1,000 ft above 10,000 ft.

- Nepal opened its borders to the world in 1949.

- Mallory described Mount Everest from Rongbuk as, ‘a great white fang  excrescent on the jawbone of the earth’.

- Why do men climb Everest ? Mallory said, “Because it is there.”

- Sir Edmund Hillary led an expedition to find the Yeti in 1958.

- According to Dr. George Schaller, the existence of Yeti unknown to science  cannot be ruled out at high altitude.

- Reinhold Messner climbed Everest alone.

- Tenzing buried his daughter’s red and blue pencils on the top of Everest.

- Approximately 150 people have died in different expeditions of Mount  Everest  so far. Tenzing was known as ‘Himalayan Club Sherpa No 48′.

Unique Facts about Nepal

Top ten outstanding & unique reasons qualifying Nepal to be the most preferred tourism destinations of the world.

- Nepal is the most preferred eco-tourism destination in the world.

- Survey report carried out in UK and Germany

-Nepal has all the conditions for qualifying as the best adventure tourism destination in the world. .

- Survey report carried out by the Australian Tourism Authority

- Nepal is one of the best places to visit before you die. BBC Holiday

1. Annapurna region of Nepal and Everest base camp trek are voted as the top  ten trekking trails in the world.

2. Nepal is the only country with altitudinal variation that ranges from 70 meters  to 8848 meters.

3. In Nepal there are 8 of the world’s 14 highest mountains above 8000 meters  including Mt. Everest.

4. Nepal has 8 % of the total species of birds found in the world.

5. Nepal offers diverse adventure activities like mountaineering, trekking, white  water rafting, jungle safari, hot air ballooning, Para-gliding, mountain flight, bungee jumping, ultra-light             aircraft ride etc.

6. Nepal holds wonderful / diverse records such as:

– The highest lake on the earth (Tilicho 4800 meters)

– The deepest lake (145 meter) She Phoksundo at the highest elevation (3600mt.)

– The deepest gorges (1200 meter) in Kaligandaki & other glaciers

– The highest valley on earth (Arun valley)

7. Nepal is a four season destination.

8. Nepal is the birth place of Lord Buddha- the apostle of peace and is also the  only country where people worship the Living Goddess (Kumari).

9. Nepal has the densest concentration of World Heritage Sites. Kathmandu  valley alone has 7 World Heritage Cultural sites within a radius of 15  kilometers.

10. In Nepal there are as many 80 ethnic groups speaking more than 100  different languages.