Festivals celebrated in Nepal

Nepal is hindu a country and is culturally and religiously reach country. Mainly Brahman, kshetri, Newar, Tharu, Rai, Limbu, Muslim etc reside in Nepal. These different caste, customs, traditions, languages spread in overall Nepal. Thus there are various festivles and celebration. Here is a brief account about two main festival of Nepal.
Dashain and Tihar is the biggest festival of Nepal. This two festival is celebrated all over Nepal. In Dashain, Goddess Durga is worshiped. During this occasion relatives and family members gather and celebrate with joy. They put 'Tika' from elders and take blessings.
Tihar also known as Deepawali, is the festival of light. Goddess Laxmi is worshiped in this occasion. This festival is also celebrated in India. In evening time every house burn 'diyo' and make there house bright. Darkness is avoided in this festival. Boys and girls play 'dheusi-vailo' which is most important part of Tihar.

Top cities of Nepal

Kathmandu, Pokhara, Nepalgunj, Biratnagar, Butwal and Dhangadhi are top cities of Nepal. These city are more populated and almost every facilities are available. Here is a brief account on them.
Kathmandu is the capital city and largest metropolitan of Nepal. It is densely populated. The city is the urban core of the Kathmandu valley in the Himalayas, which also contains two sister cities namely Patan or Lalitpur, 5 kilometers (3.1 mi) to its southeast (an ancient city of fine arts and crafts) and Bhaktapur, 14 kilometers (8.7 mi) to its east (city of devotees).
Pokhara is sub metropolitan city of Nepal. There are about 200,000 inhabitants in this city and lies in central Nepal at 28.25°N, 83.99°E, 198 km west of Kathmandu. It is the third largest city of Nepal. It is the headquarters of kaski district, gandaki zone and the Western Development Region.

Lakes of Nepal

There are many lakes in Nepal. Some of them one should not miss to visit are described below.

• Rara Lake: Rara lake is the biggest lake in Nepal. It lies in Mugu district of western region and fall under the Rara national park.Its total length is 2980 meter.The lake is also known as Mahendra Daha,the late king of Nepal and lies at an altitude above 3200 meters above sea level covering an area of 16 sq. km.This lake is surrounded by tall trees in three side and high mountain peak on the fourth.  

• Phewa Lake: This lake is the pride of Pokhara. It is the second largest lake of Nepal. Its major attraction is the island temple in the middle of lake. lying at an altitude of 784 m (2,572 ft) it covers an area of about 4.43 sq. km.

Wildlife reserve- Loshi tappu, dhorpatan and shivapuri

Koshi-Tappu wildlife reserve: This reserve was established in the year 2032 B.S (1975 A.D). This reserve lies on the flood plain of the Koshi river. It has covered the area of 175 square kilometers. It lies in Sunsari district of Koshi zone on the island of the Saptakoshi river in Spatari and Udaypur district of Sagarmatha Zone in the eastern development region. Different kinds of wild animals and Birds are found here.

Dhorpatan hunting reserve: It was established in the year 2041 B.S (1985 A.D). This reserve is stretched through Rukum, Myagdi, and Baglung district of Dhulagiri range of western Nepal. It has the area of 1325 square kilometers. It is only Hunting reserve of Nepal. It is established with the view of encouraging the Nepalese and foreign hunters. This wildlife has been set up with the objective of utilizing the wildlife as well as conserving them.

Shivapuri watershed area and wildlife reserve: This reserve was established in 2033 B.S (1976 A.D). It has an area of 144 square kilometers. It is spread in Kathmandu district of central development region. It was made the Shivapuri national park in 2059 B.S (2002 A.D). It lies in 12 kilometers north of Kathmandu. Various kinds of vegetation, wild animals and birds are found here.

National park-shey phoksundo, khaptad, and rara

Shey-Phoksundo national park was established in 2040 B.S (1984 A.D). This park lies in the westren part of nepal in the mountain district of Dolpa and Mugu. it has an area of 3555 square kilometers that represent trans-Himalayan eco-system. this is the largest National Park. Various type of vegitation and birds are found here.

Khaptad National Park was established in 2040 B.S (1984 A.D) it preserves the Eco-system of the mid hilly region of the western Nepal. The area of this park is 225 square Kilometers. It lies in the altitude ranging between 1450 and 3300 meters. It is spread in the district of Bajhang, Bajura, Doti and Accham of Seti zone. there are various kinds of vegetative and wild organisms.

  Rara National Park was established in 2032 B.S (1975 A.D). It is situated nearly at the altitude of 1800 meters to 4048 meters. This park lies in the northwest of Nepal. It is spread from Mugu to Jumla district. The total area of this park is 106 square kilometers. The main attraction of this park is Rara lake which is the biggest lake in Nepal. It is the smallest park of the country.

Other national park to visit are:

1. Langtang national park
2. Makalu-Barun national park
3. Bardia national park

Cultural heritage of Nepal

The Nepalese culture is mostly based on the religious beliefs. The religious and cultural heritage has its own significance. There are unlimited cultural heritages in Nepal that are based on religion.
Heritages that are listed in world culture heritage are:

• Kathmandu Durbar square
• Bhaktapur Durbar square
• Lalitpur Durbar square
• The pashupati Nath Temple
• The Changu Narayan Temple
• Boudha Nath Stupa
• Lord Swyambhu Nath
• Lumbini Site

Here is some description about Kathmandu and Bhaktapur durbar square.

•  Kathmandu Durbar square is a beautiful chauk full of cultural and ancient crafts, drawings and handicrafts, etc. There is Marushattal made of only one tree. This is known as Kasthamandap. The pleasent art of Hanuman Dhoka, the temple Taleju Bhawani, Panchamukhi Hanuman temple, the temple of kumari (living goddess) etc have decorated Kathmandu durbar square.
• Bhaktapur Durbar square is an example of culture and ancient drawings and handicrafts. The fifty-five windows durbar and sundhoka (golden gate) built during the time of Malla king and the statue of Bhuipteendra Malla is found in this city.