What is solo travel? (13) Nepal

(8) Nepal

It is a landlocked country located in the Himalayas of South Asia, and its capital is Kathmandu (काठमाडौँ, Kathmandu). With a rich cultural heritage at the foot of the Himalayas for many years, solo backpackers can enjoy trekking, temple visits, and yoga classes.

And among the landlocked countries facing the Himalayas, it is the only country that belongs to the Indian cultural sphere, and more than 70% of the people are of Indian descent, and the rest of the cultures are of different Tibetan and Myanmar descents, and there are many other ethnic groups and various ethnicities.

Although it is poor, it has a population of 30 million people and a land area of about two-thirds of the Korean Peninsula, so it can be said that it is not a small country at all.

It was also known as the State of Nepal (Nep āl Adhirājya) before 2006, but after the democratic revolution in 2006, it became known as the State of Nepal, and after the end of the monarchy in 2007, the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal (Sanghiya Loktāntrik Ganatantra Nepāl) is the official name of the country.

Shakyamuni, the founder of Buddhism, was born in Lumbini and raised in Kapila, both of whom are now in Nepal, and the Nepalese claim that Shakyamuni is Nepalese, not Indian, and there are constant disputes with India.

However, more than 80% of the people are Hindus, and only about 8% of Buddhists are Buddhists, but since Hinduism is a polytheistic religion that encompasses many gods, Shakyamuni is one of the gods worshipped in Hinduism.

It is ironic that there are Hindu temples where even Jesus is worshipped as his god, and even though the Communist Party is in power, all religions are open, and the caste system based on Hinduism is still firmly maintained.

In addition, we have 14 peaks over 8,000 meters on earth, including the famous world’s highest peak, Mount Everest, and 8 of them are in Nepal, so most of the country is mountainous, so it can be said that transportation is poor.

In addition, there are plains and jungles in the south-central part of the country, and most of the country is not well developed, so the environment is well preserved as it is.

Even though it is not a Muslim country that has Friday and Saturday as weekend rest days, Saturday is a weekend holiday, and Sunday is just a weekday. And unlike neighboring India, Nepal’s security is good except for Kathmandu, where protests and problems often occur.

In general, it’s not too dangerous for tourists, and most locals are friendly and hospitable to outsiders. However, we must not forget that there is no guarantee that there will be no bad people here as it is also a place where people live.

Also, there is no big problem if you ride a local bus or a tourist bus alone, but you often must pay a rip-off fee.

The problem is that they do not think it is wrong at all, but rather they are rife with national rip-offs, and there are many countries such as India and Bhutan that can travel without a visa, and there are many places that have different price lists for each nationality, but this is also legal.

In addition, if you come down from mountainous areas and go to national parks such as jungles on plains, you should be careful of wild animals.